Why We All Need More Hugs
What’s in a hug?
A hug offers a lot of things.
What does the word “hug” bring to your mind?
Comfort? Love?
Hugs have power.
They have the power to heal. They have the power to lower stress levels. They have the power to build a connection between us and other humans.
When a child is upset and their mother or father swoops them up in a hug, the belief that their boo-boo is being healed by being wrapped in that loving hug makes it the truth.
When you have a bad day at work, and your significant other pulls you into a hug when you get home, you can almost see the stress floating away.
My husband often travels for work, so there are times we don’t see each other for two or more weeks. And it never fails that when he gets home and I walk into his arms, all the stresses that have piled up while he was missing from me just seem to melt away.
The problems, of course, are still there, but that hug bundles me in a cocoon of safety that makes tackling them feel a bit more feasible.
Stress levels don’t just feel like they decrease during the hug from a loved one, science backs that feeling up.
Did you know that science proves that hugging the people closest to you on a regular basis, even if the hugs are brief, can affect your brain and body in positive ways?
Tiffany Field, one of the world’s leading touch researchers and the director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami in Florida, says, “They found that, in fact, people who were given this stressful task, if they’d been holding hands or being hugged, they would have a lower blood pressure and lower heart rate, suggesting that they were less stressed.”
A study published in Sage Journals, conducted with 404 participants, showed that receiving more hugs led to an increase in a person’s immune system, enabling them to fight off common sicknesses more effectively.
So when your kids are getting whiny and you’re worried they’re catching that bug that’s been going around, those extra hugs you lavish on them have more than just a mental benefit. Your love can literally help their bodies fight off whatever germ is attacking.
Hugging increases the hormone oxytocin, which comes with major benefits. Studies show that Oxytocin can lower the risk of having heart disease. When your system is flooded with oxytocin, it decreases the heart rate, also helping decrease blood pressure and cardiac illness.
“Oxytocin is a neuropeptide, which basically promotes feelings of devotion, trust, and bonding,” says Matt Hertenstein, an experimental psychologist at DePauw University in Indiana.
Cool facts to be aware of
1. Hugs come with great health benefits, one of which is lowering your blood pressure
2. Hugging reduces your stress levels, making you less at risk for heart disease
3. Regular hugs can also reduce inflammation in your body, lowering your risk of stroke
4. Hugging can boost your immune system, lowering your chance of catching colds and other common illnesses
5. A hug helps your body produce more dopamine, resulting in less symptoms of depression
6. The production of oxytocin when you collect a hug can boost memory function
Key Message: Hugs are something we all need for our emotional and mental health. But hugging has real physical benefits as well, so grab all the people you care about and hold on tight.