# The Hug Machine, its calming effects and the mechanism of it



## LotusBlossom (Apr 2, 2011)

I've been watching documentaries and videos on Temple Grandin and the hug machine came up several times. It's a device she invented in 1965 that's used to calm hyper-sensitive people, usually somebody with an autism-spectrum disorder, because while deep pressure touch calm these people down, they cannot stand to get hugs from other people because these also over-stimulate them.








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Dr. Grandin also wrote a few papers on her own hug machine. I followed the reference links at the bottom of the hug machine's Wikipedia page and one paper was only viewable from a pay-per-view website and the other one is this:
Calming Effects of Deep Touch Pressure in Patients with Autistic Disorder, College Students, and Animals

The premise is that deep touch pressure calms while light touch excites, which has been consistent with my own experience. 

However I have a question that doesn't seem to be addressed in the article on her web page: if deep touch pressure calms, then by what mechanism does it accomplish this? Like, what chain of neurotransmitters or hormones is triggered by deep touch pressure? The closest explanation that I can think of is the mechanism in which massages calm people down by "blocking nociception (gate control theory), activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which may stimulate the release of endorphins and serotonin". (source) Do you think something similar is happening here?


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## Digger Blue (Dec 1, 2010)

Interesting topic. Nice thread, Kayness!
digger blue


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## Monty (Jul 12, 2011)

this is interesting, im not autistic or anything like that but i tend to like rubbing my face on my pillow with lots of pressure since it helps me go to sleep.


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## LotusBlossom (Apr 2, 2011)

biscuit20 said:


> this is interesting, im not autistic or anything like that but i tend to like rubbing my face on my pillow with lots of pressure since it helps me go to sleep.


 in Grandin's paper that I linked, she tested it on normal subjects too without telling them what it's for, and the majority reported increased relaxation and even sleepiness afterwards.

I think this has something to do with why massages feel so relaxing and calming. And yeah, it's also why I like sleeping on my side with one leg pressed over a side pillow, or my stomach (although I read that this is the worst sleeping position ever :O)


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## wuliheron (Sep 5, 2011)

My wife used a technique called "Holding Time" with our children. If they threw a tantrum she'd just forcefully hold them on her lap, pet them, and whisper reassuring words. Its not exactly rocket science and some people use similar techniques with animals. 

Part of the explanation is that touch is fundamental and widely considered the one sense you cannot survive without. With mammals if their mother does not lick their fur and even toss them around a bit immediately after birth they tend to die within hours. Human babies that are fed and cleaned, but not held and loved also tend to die from what is called "failure to thrive". In experiments with apes those given a chicken wire surrogate mother with bottles for breasts and at most a piece of carpet tended to become anti-social and never mate. Experiments with pigs have also indicated they are happiest when their pens are just a little crowded. 

They need to touch and be touched. We are not reptiles who lay their eggs and walk away and even the most independent and vicious land mammals like wolverines have surprising rich family lives and an appreciation for touch. We can simulate various types of touch, but nothing can ever replace the human touch.


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