In this latest chapter of our new book, Snap Strategies for Couples: 40 Fast Fixes for Everyday Relationship Pitfalls, Dr. Pepper and I remind everyone the importance of physical contact with one's partner, no matter how small. Enjoy this, another free sample!

Touch has the power to lower blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, calm the brain, and give you a feeling of connection. That’s because a touch sets off your endorphins. Endorphins are hormones that, according to a study by Robert Lee, M.D., save lives by lowering your risk of heart disease, strengthen the immune system, repair cells, relieve pain, and counter the affects of aging. Endorphins are created by what we do, like dancing, singing, biking, exercising, kissing, or laughing. They are also generated when we think positive thoughts and give or receive compliments.

Endorphins are nature’s miracle drug for repairing both brain and body. They counteract steroids, the toxic hormones we create when we are frightened, angry, or full of anxiety. Steroids are part of the body’s defense system, wired into us to create an involuntary defense when we are threatened. But they exact a cost for the sudden energy, bravery, or strength they give us. High levels of steroids every day has been linked to heart disease, cancer, stroke, accidental death, diabetes, obesity, and so on. In general, we want a life that produces steroids only under extreme conditions (flight, fight, or sometimes extreme sports) and endorphins daily!

Most important to us is how endorphins affect your relationship. Recent research by Matt Hertenstein M.D., shows that they lower your levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) and increase oxytocin, a bonding hormone. Endorphins give us a natural high. We need endorphins as part of our daily life as well as during trying times. When we keep up our endorphin levels, we are ready for whatever comes our way.

Again, for the other pages of the chapter and the rest of the book, order here!