Mike Carruthers

I mention it only because I would hate for you to miss an episode.

Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

First up today, we all know that being touched can feel good, but does touch have an actual biological effect?

Well, it sure seems to.

Research on the effects of massage show that massage has a positive impact on anxiety and depression.

But what about simple, supportive touch between friends and family?

Yes, that seems to help too.

Studies, including one done at Brigham Young University, have shown that touch calms our nervous center and slows down our heartbeat.

human touch also lowers blood pressure as well as cortisol our stress hormone it also triggers the release of oxytocin a hormone known for promoting emotional bonding with other people

Studies using brain scans have found that the brain quiets down in response to stress when a person's hand is held.

The effect is greatest when the hand is being held by a loved one, but it still works even with a stranger.

It is hard to argue with the positive power of human touch.

And that is something you should know.

So there is this idea that everything can affect anything, and anything can affect everything.

And ultimately, how your life goes is not as much in your control as you might like to think.

Whether you eat cereal or an egg for breakfast could drastically change the outcome of your life.

I don't know how, but it could.

If you stayed in bed five minutes longer, your life could be very different than if you hadn't.

If you put your left sock on before your right sock, that could change everything.

There's a lot more to this, and here to explain it a lot better than me is Brian Klass.