The Perfect Gifts To Give Someone With A Physical Touch Love Language

The way you express how you love someone is unique to you. Since 2015, the idea that the way we love can be categorized has caught fire. Your love language, for instance, can have impacts on your relationships. Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts, believes problems that arise between couples are just that they communicate love in different ways. The biggest struggle to get through, no matter your love language, is learning how to communicate with your partner.

One of the five languages is "physical touch." If you're someone who has "touch" as a love language, you generally are comfortable with public displays of affection and pride yourself on being a great hugger. "You look forward to kisses and intimacy with your partner more than anything else," according to Blinkist Magazine.

Physical touch as a love language doesn't mean someone just needs sex in order to feel loved. Holding hands to even gentle shoulder squeezes as you pass by someone can be enough to make them feel loved. "Physical touch, specifically cuddling, releases oxytocin, the feel-good hormone that makes you feel like nothing can hurt you," Clarissa Silva, behavioral scientist and relationship coach told Verywell Mind. "In addition to the bonding [cuddling] creates between the couple, it also helps boost your immune system."

Getting a gift for someone whose love language is touch can be hard. So, we put together a list of gifts that would be perfect for that "physical touch" lover in your life.

A massage is the perfect gift for the person in your life who speaks "physical touch" as their love language. Massages promote the release of endorphins, which help fight off stress, depression, and anxiety. If you want to step up this gift, book a couple's massage. Dana McNeil, a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of The Relationship Place in San Diego, California, told POPSUGAR, "Massages allow for each partner to experience a lowered heart rate, lose the need to participate in physical activity or anxious thinking, and allow each person the ability to experience peace and tranquility in the presence of a partner."

Doing activities together can help you build a stronger bond with your partner. For the person whose love language is touch, surprising them with dancing lessons can be the best gift. Whether you do swing dance or ballroom, learning how to dance together is the ultimate way to connect through touch. Studio Access Ballroom describes dancing lessons as a way to learn "how to be in sync, how to lead ... [and] how to let go." Types of dancing vary in passion and difficulty, so do a little research before you sign up for lessons.

"The sense of touch is one of the central forms of perceptual experience," writes Matthew Fulkerson for the "Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Everything we touch leaves some sort of impact on us, good or bad. So, help your loved one who feels loved by touch start and end their days in comfort. New sheets, especially for the long-distance loved one, are a great way to show someone you care even if you can't be the one there with them.

Touch as a love language is about making someone feel loved through a physical sensory experience. Giving them the gift of an at-home spa night is not only pandemic-friendly but allows your loved one to relax on their own from the comfort of their own bathroom. We suggest including a bath bomb or two, a face mask, and a candle to help set the mood. When you're picking out the perfect spa night, keep aromatherapy in mind (hint: Lavender promotes relaxation). To engage all of the senses, include your love's favorite bottle of wine and snack in their spa basket, and send them a relaxing playlist on Spotify to listen to.

Does your partner who feels the most loved through touch have a weighted blanket yet? If not, you're going to want to get them one. According to the Sleep Foundation, using weighted blankets are supposed to mimic the effects of deep-tissue massages. "By distributing an even amount of weight and pressure across the body, weighted blankets may calm the flight-or-fight response and activate the parasympathetic nervous system in preparation for sleep." Weighted blankets are said to help reduce insomnia, anxiety, and depression. But they're also just really calming and comfortable, especially for someone who feels love through touch.