A loving caress from mother to child or a soft touch between partners may be more than an indicator of love and affection -- a new study in the journal Frontiers of Psychology suggests that receiving this kind of touch could help increase sense of self.

Researchers from University College London and the University of Hertfordshire tested how touch is linked with perception of one's own body by having 53 study participants undergo a rubber hand illusion experiment. In this experiment, a rubber hand stroked each participant in different patterns and speeds, including in asynchronized and synchronized patterns and at faster and slower speeds.

The study participants reported the slower, lighter touch being more pleasant, and that when they were touched more slowly by the rubber hand, they were more likely to believe that the hand was actually theirs.

Researchers said that this finding suggests affective touch -- which is a slow touch, somewhere between 1 and 10 centimeters a second -- plays a role in helping our brain understand the body and sense of self.

"As affective touch is typically received from a loved one, these findings further highlight how close relationships involve behaviors that may play a crucial role in the construction of a sense of self," study researcher Laura Crucianelli said in a statement.

Positive physical touch could also improve health. Research has shown that cuddling can lower blood pressure and release oxytocin, and that the act of hugging someone you love can ease anxiety.

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• Kissing Is Good For Your Teeth

  There's a reason a kiss is called a "wet one" -- smooching stimulates saliva production, which can actually a href="http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/kissing-benefits" target="_hplink"wash harmful bacteria off the teeth/a, Mathew Messina, D.D.S., told WebMD and a href="http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2009/02/kissing-good-or-bad-for-your-h.html" target="_hplink"reduce plaque buildup/a, according to Glamour.com.

  emFlickr photo by a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/midiman/3057487771/" target="_hplink"midiman/a/em

• Kissing Burns Calories

  Okay, so we're not talking the equivalent of a trip to the gym, but hey, every little bit counts, right? Locking lips can burn anywhere from a href="http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/kissing-benefits" target="_hplink"two/a to a href="http://www.self.com/health/2010/08/five-benefits-of-kissing-slideshow#slide=5" target="_hplink"six calories a minute/a, according to Self.com.

  You're also putting a whole slew of a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-122350/Lose-15-years-face-just-10-minutes-day.html" target="_hplink"facial muscles/a to work when you pucker up, and just a few minutes of extra attention to those muscles can make a big difference when it comes to the appearance of frown lines or less-than-perky cheeks, according to the emDaily Mail/em.

  emFlickr photo by a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nduran/4945970636/" target="_hplink"{N}Duran/a/em

• Kissing Boosts Immunity

  There's no denying the fact that when you lock lips, there are bound to be some germs, uh, exchanged. One specific bug can be particularly hazardous to pregnant women, but researchers believe a href="http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/kissing-evolved-spread-germs-not-feelings" target="_hplink"kissing is a way to introduce the virus to a woman in small doses/a before she conceives, triggering her body to build up a resistance to it before she could ever pass it on to a child, according to Popular Science.

  However, if your partner in crime is visibly ill, it's still a good idea to hold off on that kiss, as it's still an a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/kissing-germs_n_963040.html" target="_hplink"easy way to catch mono/a, strep throat and herpes, among other things.

  emFlickr photo by a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lejoe/3892158875/" target="_hplink"lejoe/a/em

• Kissing Eases Stress

  That feeling of relaxation post-kiss isn't all in your head. A small 2009 study measured levels of the bonding hormone oxytocin and a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29187964/" target="_hplink"the stress hormone cortisol in pairs of kissing college students/a, the AP reported. Both men and women experienced a decline in cortisol, a sign of relaxation, that was much greater than when they just held hands.

  emFlickr photo by a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosimoes7/110615445/" target="_hplink"pedrosimoes7/a/em

• Kissing Could Ease Allergy Symptoms

  If those sniffles are due to seasonal allergies and not something contagious, it may be a good idea to go through with the smooch, after all.

  A small Japanese study found that couples who kissed for 30 minutes had a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16650596" target="_hplink"lower levels of allergen-specific IgE/a, the a href="http://io9.com/5758133/could-kissing-ease-your-allergies" target="_hplink"proteins that trigger pesky sypmtoms/a like sneezing and sniffling.

  emFlickr photo by a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dlytle/5347324845/" target="_hplink"davitydave/a/em

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