Productivity and physical touch during coronavirus

We dive into why you're not feeling very productive right now and why we miss human touch so much.

Listen 49:15
Peck's Food owner Theodore Peck touches hands with a customer through window glass while closing his storefront due to the coronavirus outbreak, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Peck's Food owner Theodore Peck touches hands with a customer through window glass while closing his storefront due to the coronavirus outbreak, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

As the weeks of quarantine continue to mount, so do photos of impressive sourdough loaves, complex knitting projects, and home improvement DIYs on social media. But if you’re not feeling particularly productive during your days at home, you’re not alone. VAILE WRIGHT, Director of Clinical Research and Quality at the American Psychological Association, joins to talk about burnout, boredom, and why it’s okay to give yourself a break. Then, we know that human touch is vital for our emotional and mental wellbeing. But physical touch can also boost our immune and nervous systems and improve sleep. So how can we cope during this period of touch deprivation? TIFFANY FIELD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine joins to discuss why humans need skin-to-skin contact and how to remain healthy during this period of physical distancing.

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