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Hugs can give you a healthier heart and happier relationship

With a hug, we send the message: I’m here, I’m paying attention to you, I’m with you. Love and care are powerfully condensed in this simple gesture, and sometimes we can express these feelings much more easily with a hug than by using words... Research proves that oxytocin, also known as the happiness hormone, is released during hugging, and it’s considered the bonding hormone. Hugging not only makes us happier but also helps in forming a deeper bond with the other person. A great advantage of hugging is that we can use it anywhere and anytime. In a difficult moment or a happy event, in a public space or the intimacy of home – there’s always room for a loving hug!

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 How to hug, according to science

Love them or hate them, hugs are part of Western culture. They don’t just confer emotional closeness, they’ve been shown to improve our mental and physical health. But hugging is not as straightforward as it may seem. Where do your arms go? How long is too long? Never fear, science has your … back. In total, the results suggest the safest, most likely to be pleasant hug is one that’s 5 to 10 seconds long with crisscrossed arms. Good luck out there, humans!

Articles of Interest

‘Five to ten seconds appears to be optimal’: the science behind hugs

Be it a brief squeeze or a bone-crushing bear hug, few can deny the comfort of a farewell cuddle from a person you love. Yet in an effort to keep traffic flowing at Dunedin international airport on New Zealand’s South Island, bosses have decided to impose a three-minute cap on hugging in the airport’s drop-off zone. Passengers wishing to engage in longer and fonder farewells have been instructed to use the car park instead.

Do We Need Hugs to Be Happy? I Don’t.

Embraces are now deeply entwined in the American psyche—just not in mine.

Do You Hug Left or Right?

You probably don’t remember, because hugs are (usually) performed without much worry about their logistics. But if you’re like most people, you hugged to the right, unless—unless!—you happened to have a very emotional embrace.

Does hugging provide stress-buffering social support? A study of susceptibility to upper respiratory infection and illness

The apparent protective effect of hugs may be attributable to the physical contact itself or to hugging being a behavioral indicator of support and intimacy. Either way, those who receive more hugs are somewhat protected from infection and illness-related symptoms. The overall positive associations with hugs are consistent with experimental research wherein married couples who were trained to increase warm touch evidenced higher levels of salivary oxytocin, and lower levels of salivary alpha amylase and blood pressure (Holt-Lundstat et al., 2008). However, whether touch had an overall positive effect or was operating only when individuals were being challenged by stressors—interpersonal or otherwise, was not addressed in this study.

Doing This Super-Surprising Thing May Fight the Common Cold

One of the first rules of Avoiding Germ Club is most often this: Avoid close personal contact. (It's among the reasons the fist-bump started overtaking the handshake as a greeting!) But this new research just might turn all of that on its head. Why? The research says that hugging may actually fight against colds and flu while boosting your immune system. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University tested to see whether or not frequent hugs—as a form of positive social support—can help anyone who's stressed out from getting sick. Stress is associated with all kinds of wah-wah health effects: Low energy, headaches, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, lowered immune system. But the researchers think that the power of hugs just might be able to provide protection against depression, anxiety—and even germs that cause colds. In the study, more than 400 healthy adults answered a questionnaire about perceived social support. Then, participants were exposed to a cold virus; their symptoms were monitored. The results: The participants who received more frequent hugs had less severe symptoms of illness.

Four health benefits of hugs – and why they feel so good

The reason hugs feel so good has to do with our sense of touch. It’s an extremely important sense which allows us not only to physically explore the world around us, but also to communicate with others by creating and maintaining social bonds. Touch consists of two distinct systems. The first is “fast-touch”, a system of nerves which allows us to rapidly detect contact (for example, if a fly landed on your nose, or you touched something hot). The second system is “slow-touch”. This is a population of recently discovered nerves, called c-tactile afferents, which process the emotional meaning of touch.

Handshakes and hugs are good for you – it’s vital they make a comeback after the pandemic

The loss of casual touch may be detrimental to society as a whole in a way that can’t be made up for by hugging those few people closest to us or in our household. It may be that, once it is deemed safe to do so, the long-term benefits of the handshake, the hug or the kiss on the cheek may outweigh the risks.

Health Benefits of Hugging, Backed By Science

The benefits of hugs go beyond just spreading joy and enjoying a good squeeze with someone you care about. It’s important to note that not everyone feels comfortable with the same level of physical touch, but, in many cases hugs are thought to positively impact both your mental and physical health. In fact, this is what happens to your body when you get a hug.

Health Challenge: Think About the Healing Power of Hugs (and Maybe Give One!)

One, two, three ... hug! As silly as it sounds, giving and receiving hugs may be healthier than you could ever imagine.

Hugging is common and meaningful in the animal kingdom

And hugs are not just the province of primates. Horses groom each other — it lowers their heart rate — as do prairie voles. Dolphins apparently console one another with flipper rubs.

Large Scientific Review Confirms the Benefits of Physical Touch

Premature babies especially benefited from skin-to-skin contact, and women tended to respond more strongly than men did.

National Hugging Day: The Health Benefits of Embracing Connection

January 21st marks National Hugging Day, a celebration of one of the simplest yet most profound human gestures—hugs.

Science Says You Should Embrace Hugging

When a loved one has a tough day, you probably give them a hug without a second thought. And a new study says that simple act may have a larger effect than you realize. Hugs can have a measurable impact on mood and stress after social conflict, according to a paper published Wednesday in PLOS One. The gesture seemed to increase positive feelings and reduce negative ones on days when people experienced relationship problems, the study found.

Should You Hug Yourself More?

Taken together, the results of the study clearly indicate that self-hugging may be helpful to reduce feelings of anxiety. So, the next time, you are anxious because of a stressful situation, such as an important exam, consider hugging yourself.

The Power of a Hug On Our Health

There's no denying the power of a hug. If you’ve ever said you’ve felt starved for touch, you’re actually not that far off. The same areas of our brain that are satisfied by eating are also satisfied by human touch, including hugs.

The power of hugs for reducing inflammation in the body

Dr. Lisa Dahlgren discusses her study on the effect human touch has on our health and wellbeing.

The Science-Backed Benefits of a 20 Second Hug

When a hug lasts at least 20 seconds, it’s long enough to stimulate the release of oxytocin, often called the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin is released in response to soothing touch and promotes feelings of connection, trust, and emotional safety. It’s why hugs can feel so comforting during moments of stress or disconnection.

The surprising benefits of hugging (and how many you actually need)

Whether it’s from your partner, family, friends or a pet - a few hugs a day can do wonders for your brain and body. Hugs trigger the release of oxytocin, a hormone that promotes feelings of love and safety. Oxytocin, often referred to as the "cuddle hormone" or “love hormone”, helps lower stress levels, reduce blood pressure, and improve mood. It helps lowers the level of cortisol, making you feel calmer and more centered.

The Surprising Reason Hugs Might Make You Healthier

You know those people who are constantly pulling you in for embraces and air kisses? They may be onto something. Science suggests frequent hugs may make you healthier. Scientists interviewed 406 people daily for two weeks, asking them how often they'd had fights or hugged anyone. The researchers then exposed the participants to a cold virus (can't imagine volunteering for that) and monitored them during a quarantine period of up to six days.

Why Does a Hug Feel So Good?

Research suggests touch has a positive impact on mental health and development.

Why it’s important to explore the science of touch

Our long physical separations, in fear of COVID-19, reinforced what scientists already believed: that our close connections with others keep us healthy. We experience the world through our senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Among the five, the sense of touch is singularly important, a growing body of research confirms. As contributing writer Cynthia Gorney explains in this month’s cover story, “Human beings require the physical presence of others, the comforting touch of others, in order to stay healthy.”

You can reduce stress with an 8-second hug, according to experts

According to experts, an 8-second hug can help us reduce stress by regulating cortisol. ''Giving (or receiving) a hug longer than 8 seconds triggers a release of oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for reducing cortisol, facilitating a state of calm almost instantaneously," reveals Aurora Vallejo, a psychologist at the Madrid-based Psicolink Center. Simply put, something as simple as a hug that lasts 8 seconds can do wonders for our emotional well-being.

‘Hugging is like medicine, it gives us hope’: friends and lovers on the joy of touch

Longing for a cuddle? Newlyweds, siblings and housemates hug the people they can – and look forward to being close with those they miss

Resources

10 Reasons Hugging is Good For Us

There’s nothing like a good hug to help you feel warm and fuzzy inside! As well as making us feel comforted, hugs are actually good for our wellbeing! Research has shown that hugging is healing and can combat sickness, loneliness and stress.

5 Health Benefits of Hugging

Hugs are more than a momentary feel-good moment. Benefits include emotional regulation, stress reduction, and safe bonding.