Repetitive movements, like tapping fingers or rubbing the neck, provide temporary distraction by redirecting our focus to physical sensations and away from anxious thoughts. But if an instant sensation is required, out go-to base is the face!
Neuroscientist Dum and colleagues found that repetitive movements effectively alleviate nervousness by engaging sensory systems (Dum et al., 2009).
Touching our own face, and its link with stress
Face-touching is a common habit, typically performed unconsciously. Whether it’s rubbing our temples in frustration, touching our lips in contemplation, or cradling our chin in wonder, these gestures are seldom random. Research suggests that they are essential self-soothing mechanisms (adaptors) wired deeply into our biology, helping us manage a range of emotions or adapt to stress.
Let’s explore why our faces play such a central role in self-regulation.
Why the Face?
The face holds a special place in self-soothing due, in part, to its rich concentration of nerve endings, making it particularly responsive to touch. The trigeminal nerve, or fifth cranial nerve, supplies sensation to many areas, including the forehead, cheeks, lips, and jaw. Because of these direct connections to our brain’s emotional processing centres, a quick touch to our face can trigger calming signals.
Self-touching the face can activate pathways in the brain that release oxytocin and dopamine, hormones known to foster a sense of calm and security. Neuroscientist Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg’s research indicates that self-touch can trigger these “feel-good” neurochemicals, reducing stress (Uvnäs-Moberg, 2003). Some areas, such as the lips and nose, are especially effective for quick soothing.
Self-Soothing and Early Development
Our face-touching habits are often rooted in early childhood. Babies may engage in thumb-sucking or holding comfort blankets to manage negative feelings. John Bowlby, a key figure in attachment theory, suggested that infants naturally seek comfort stimuli to help regulate their emotions (Bowlby, 1969). As we grow, these habits evolve into subtler actions, like face-touching, which remains a favoured behaviour.
Joe Navarro - former FBI agent come body language expert - describes these behaviours as “pacifying” gestures, helping us cope with stress and anxiety. Navarro explains that actions like touching our lips or holding our chin offer psychological grounding, helping to alleviate anxiety in difficult moments (Navarro, 2008).
Face-Touching in Different Emotional Contexts
Our gestures often change with our emotional state and environment. When we’re deep in thought, we might rest our chin on our thumb and forefinger—sometimes referred to as the “thinker’s pose.” This position may assist concentration, stimulating brain areas associated with focus and problem-solving, and allowing us to feel more in control when processing information (Niedenthal et al., 2005). On the other hand, when feeling anxious or frustrated, face-touching gestures can become more intense—rubbing our temples, clenching our jaws, or biting our nails.
In high-stress situations, many of us instinctively touch an eye, a response that may aim to calm the brain’s heightened arousal (touch that may affect the vagus nerve).
Whereas a moment of stress may see a finger move to the eye area, high stress may see the finger rubbing intensely at the eye.
The Role of Nerves and Touch Sensitivity
The face contains specialized nerves that detect and respond to various types of touch. For instance, Meissner’s corpuscles are sensitive to light touches, Merkel cells help us perceive textures, and Pacinian corpuscles are receptive to vibrations (Abraira & Ginty, 2013). This range of receptors allows us to engage in gestures that match our current emotional needs.
Light touches to the lips or cheek may provide quick comfort, while more intense gestures, such as pressing down or scratching, are used for higher levels of anxiety. Hughes (2017) classifies face-touching as an emotional regulator, helping us manage arousal by modulating the types of touch we apply, even if the action itself is unconscious.
Face-Touching as Nonverbal Communication
Our facial gestures help to reveal our emotional states. They are vital indicators of someone’s emotional tension, often signalling discomfort or an attempt to self-regulate (Bowden & Thomson, 2018). Observing face-touching behaviour can provide insight into how someone might be feeling at that time, with sudden shifts in intensity—like light touches becoming scratching or rubbing—indicating rising stress or discomfort (Navarro, 2008).
Psychological studies, including those by Field (2010), suggest that touching the face offers immediate comfort, particularly during situations that amplify stress—such as waiting for important news or anticipating a challenging conversation.
While other forms of self-touch, like rubbing shoulders or hands, can be soothing, face-touching is faster and more accessible.
Stephen Porges, who developed the Polyvagal Theory, notes that these facial gestures act as an adaptive response, tapping into our social and nervous system’s ability to self-soothe quickly (Porges, 2009).
Face-touching is a nuanced behaviour deeply rooted in our psychological makeup. Recognising the reasons behind these actions can help us better understand our emotional needs, equipping us to approach our internal states with greater awareness and compassion, and better spot the signs of stress in others.
References
Abraira, V. E., & Ginty, D. D. (2013). The Sensory Neurons of Touch. Neuron.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss. Basic Books.
Bowden, M., & Thomson, T. (2018). Truth & Lies: What People Are Really Thinking. Harper Collins.
Dum, R. P., Levinthal, D. J., & Strick, P. L. (2009). The Role of the Cerebellum in Self-Initiated Voluntary Movements. Nature Neuroscience.
Ekman, P. (2003). Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life. Times Books.
Field, T. (2010). Touch for Socioemotional and Physical Well-being: A Review. Developmental Review.
Hughes, C. (2017). The Ellipsis Manual: Analysis and Engineering of Human Behavior. Evergreen Press.
Linden, D. J. (2016). Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind.
Navarro, J. (2008). What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People.
Niedenthal, P. M., et al. (2005). Embodied Emotion. Psychological Science.
Porges, S. W. (2009). The Polyvagal Theory: New Insights into Adaptive Reactions of the Autonomic Nervous System.
Uvnäs-Moberg, K. (2003). The Oxytocin Factor: Tapping the Hormone of Calm, Love, and Healing.
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