The Challenge
We’ve all missed connection — especially hugs. Today, try hugging someone a little bit longer than you normally would. When you’re ready to stop the hug, remind yourself to stay close for just five more seconds. Stay present, and tune in to all your senses as you enjoy the embrace.
Why Am I Doing This?
During the pandemic, we were cautious[1] about hugging friends, strangers and even family members who didn’t live with us. But now, as more people get vaccinated, you can start to hug again.
There is a surprisingly large body of science devoted to the health benefits of hugs. The broad conclusion is that hugs are good for you. Not only do hugs help you better cope with the stress of daily life, but they are associated with beneficial physical changes inside your body as well.
One study looked at hugging among Olympic athletes[2] and found the average hug lasted about three seconds. Other research has shown that when women receive hugs from their partner, they have lower cortisol levels[3] during stressful situations. More frequent partner hugs have also been shown to lower blood pressure and raise oxytocin[4], a calming hormone that can lower stress and strengthen feelings of connection.
One truly remarkable study[5] linked hugging with a stronger immune system. The researchers surveyed 404 adults every day for two weeks about moments of conflict in their day and whether they had hugged anyone. After the survey, everyone in the study agreed to let the researchers infect them with a cold virus using nose drops that contained a type of rhinovirus or mild influenza virus. Then the participants were quarantined for five or six days, and later gave blood samples so researchers could gauge their immune response.
Being exposed to a cold virus doesn’t guarantee you’ll get sick. Often your immune system can fight off the germs. But other research has shown that when people have a lot of stress and conflict in their lives, their immune response is less robust and they are more likely to get sick.
In this study, the researchers found that when people had conflict in their day and fewer hugs, they were more likely to become ill. Having more hugs was protective.
“We found that hugging served as a stress buffer,” said Sheldon Cohen,[6] professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon who led the research. “People who got hugged a lot were protected from the negative effects of multiple conflicts. Lower levels of hugs increased the risk of becoming sick among people who had high levels of conflicts.”
The study doesn’t mean that lots of hugging will always boost your immune system. It may be that all the hugging served as an indicator of social support. Several studies show that feeling a high level of social support is good for your health.
In a related 2018 study[7], researchers used the same data set to see how hugging affected people’s moods. Among the study subjects, having conflict in their day led to poorer moods, and the bad feelings stuck around until the next day. But on days when people experienced both conflict and a hug, they felt better. Michael Murphy[8], a research assistant professor of psychological sciences at Texas Tech University who led the 2018 hug research, said he is in the midst of a new 400-person study that will further explore the link between hugs and coping with conflict, including whether it’s better for the hug to come from the person you’re fighting with — or if any hug will do.
“Hugs help us feel more supported and connected, and can calm feelings of anxiety and improve our ability to cope with difficult experiences,” said Dr. Murphy. “Supportive touch seems to serve as a simple yet potent powerful reminder that we have people in our lives who love and care about us.”
References
- ^ we were cautious (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ hugging among Olympic athletes (www.sciencemag.org)
- ^ cortisol levels (www.sciencedirect.com)
- ^ lower blood pressure and raise oxytocin (www.sciencedirect.com)
- ^ One truly remarkable study (www.cmu.edu)
- ^ Sheldon Cohen, (www.cmu.edu)
- ^ In a related 2018 study (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ Michael Murphy (www.depts.ttu.edu)
from NYT > Well https://ift.tt/2R1sb6o
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