65), that’s a significant benefit.Your hardworking immune system naturally slows down as you get older, leaving it less responsive and able to protect you from infection and disease. But science reveals several strategies for shoring up your immune system, including touch, whether from a friendly hug, a massage, or even sex.
Much of the research on how touch improves immunity has focused on massage therapy in people with cancer or HIV/AIDS. But as the evidence becomes more convincing, researchers are branching out to explore how other forms of touch can benefit people with reduced immunity, such as late-life adults. For example, Japanese researchers found that for older patients who were bedridden after having a stroke, giving their skin a light rubdown with a dry towel for ten minutes a day increased natural killer cell activity.
Massage improves several markers of immune function, such as lymphocyte, T cell, and natural killer cell counts, according to a 2010 review of studies. Researchers suspect much of the benefit comes from stress reduction (the stress hormone cortisol, for example, destroys natural killer cells—the immune system’s front line of defense), and science seems to bear that out. Massage therapy lowers immune-suppressing cortisol levels by an average of 31 percent, according to a 2005 review of studies in the International Journal of Neuroscience. At the same time, massage increases the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, helping prevent or lift depression. Since depression is linked to decreased cellular immunity (65), that’s a significant benefit.
The social contact involved also seems to play a role: A 2003 study in the journal Psychological Science found that the more social people are, the less likely they are to develop a cold when exposed to a cold virus. (There aren’t many studies on the benefits of self-massage, such as a foot rubdown or hand massage, but what evidence there is indicates that it may also reduce anxiety and boost mood.)
Offer new acquaintances a handshake, hug your friends, hold hands with your romantic partner or request a neck rub when you’re tense—all of these forms of touch not only promote feelings of social connection, but they can help bolster a weakening immune system as you get older. One of the ways touching another person, even briefly, can help is by soothing stress. For example, holding hands can reduce anxiety in a stressful situation, reports a 2001 study in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Supportive social relationships also seem to buffer the effects of stress on immunity, thereby allowing an aging immune system to function better (61). Research shows that massage (and, by extension, other forms of touch) and social interaction both spur production of oxytocin, a hormone made in the brain that stimulates our desire to connect with others. It can increase feelings of trust, generosity, and love, and studies show it also lowers cortisol levels and several markers of inflammation, potentially helping a declining immune system keep inflammation levels in check.
Physical intimacy often wanes as you get older, but a good sexual relationship may provide significant immunity-strengthening benefits, such as reducing stress and helping you sleep better. And it can boost levels of important immune system markers: A 2004 study in the journal Psychological Reports found that men and women who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of an immune system protein called immunoglobulin A (IgA) than those who had less sex. Your body also produces sky-high levels of oxytocin during orgasm, which bolsters your immunity and fosters feelings of closeness.
Around age sixty, your thymus gland mostly stops producing new T cells critical to a healthy immune system (61). However, your skin secretes a similar immune hormone, and it just needs a little stimulation to step up production and offset the aging of the thymus. Sex triggers the biggest release, but other forms of touch such as back rubs and snuggling can also signal your skin to secrete this immune-strengthening hormone.