Physical touch (when consensually given) can be a powerful tool in relationships with women in reducing their sense and response to acute stress. However, men do not show the same response according to study published in PLOS One from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany.

Naturally, in response to stress, the body increase output of the hormone cortisol leading to other various physiological changes necessary to poise the organism into responding to the stressors.

For this study, researchers analyzed 76 people in romantic relationships. The participants were exposed to a stress which was one hand in an ice-water bath for three minutes while maintaining eye contact with a camera. To the stressors, half of the couples were instructed to embrace each other.

While the embrace did not change other signs of response to stressors such as blood pressure and emotional state, women who embraced their partner had lower cortisol response than women who did not receive an embrace.

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G Berretz et al. Romantic partner embraces reduce cortisol release after acute stress induction in women but not in men. PLOS ONE.DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0266887