HealthWatch: Holding Hands Can Help Ease Pain

BOSTON (CBS) - A new study finds that holding hands can help ease the pain of a loved one.

Researchers took 22 romantic heterosexual couples and applied mild heat pain to the arms of the female partners.

They found when the male partners held the female partners' hands, their brain waves synched up and the women's pain subsided.

In fact, the more their brain waves synced, the greater the pain relief for the women.

Interestingly, just having the male partners nearby wasn't as effective as hand-holding.  The skin to skin contact had the biggest impact on brain wave coupling and pain relief.