diff --git a/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch.h b/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch.h
index 48d962b881..3c512e2de6 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch.h
+++ b/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch.h
@@ -82,6 +82,13 @@ class ESP32TouchComponent : public Component {
   // ESP32 v1 specific
   static void touch_isr_handler(void *arg);
   QueueHandle_t touch_queue_{nullptr};
+
+  // Design note: last_touch_time_ does not require synchronization primitives because:
+  // 1. ESP32 guarantees atomic 32-bit aligned reads/writes
+  // 2. ISR only writes timestamps, main loop only reads (except sentinel value 1)
+  // 3. Timing tolerance allows for occasional stale reads (50ms check interval)
+  // 4. Queue operations provide implicit memory barriers
+  // Using atomic/critical sections would add overhead without meaningful benefit
   uint32_t last_touch_time_[TOUCH_PAD_MAX] = {0};
   uint32_t release_timeout_ms_{1500};
   uint32_t release_check_interval_ms_{50};
diff --git a/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch_v1.cpp b/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch_v1.cpp
index d12722c87f..16fe677f22 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch_v1.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/esp32_touch/esp32_touch_v1.cpp
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ void ESP32TouchComponent::setup() {
   }
 
   // Calculate release timeout based on sleep cycle
+  // Design note: ESP32 v1 hardware limitation - interrupts only fire on touch (not release)
+  // We must use timeout-based detection for release events
+  // Formula: 3 sleep cycles converted to ms, with 100ms minimum
   uint32_t rtc_freq = rtc_clk_slow_freq_get_hz();
   this->release_timeout_ms_ = (this->sleep_cycle_ * 1000 * 3) / (rtc_freq * 2);
   if (this->release_timeout_ms_ < 100) {
@@ -151,6 +154,12 @@ void ESP32TouchComponent::loop() {
     touch_pad_t pad = child->get_touch_pad();
     uint32_t last_time = this->last_touch_time_[pad];
 
+    // Design note: Sentinel value pattern explanation
+    // - 0: Never touched since boot (waiting for initial timeout)
+    // - 1: Initial OFF state has been published (prevents repeated publishes)
+    // - >1: Actual timestamp of last touch event
+    // This avoids needing a separate boolean flag for initial state tracking
+
     // If we've never seen this pad touched (last_time == 0) and enough time has passed
     // since startup, publish OFF state and mark as published with value 1
     if (last_time == 0 && now > this->release_timeout_ms_) {