No”The best place in the world is inside a hug.”
-J Quest
Have you received a hug lately? Or gave one? If not, you’re missing out on not only warm and friendly vibes but also a genuine, health benefit.
If you think about ailments people routinely take medication for, several come to mind. Heart problems, blood pressure, insomnia, pain, are just some of them. According to numerous scientific studies, hugging is beneficial for all of those ailments and then some.
To understand how, one needs to go back to a basic need for psychological survival: a touch. The way we’re all biologically structured, we all crave love and affection. The desired quantity may vary from person to person but we all want it at some point.
Scientifically, when someone touches you in comforting way, they’re stimulating pressure receptors in the skin. That in turn lowers stress hormones. If done very often and for longer durations, it produces oxytocin which is often nicknamed the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin enhances the feeling of trust in us and puts our minds at ease.
Out of all the ways we can touch people, hugging is the most efficacious when it comes to producing oxytocin. This is because of the way our bodies are positioned and the proximity of a another person.
All of the content above begs an obvious question: If we all hug family members and friends regularly, why aren’t we all healthier?
The answer is much simpler than one might think. We don’t hug enough.
According to several experiments conducted, especially those of author and therapist Virginia Satir, the full potential of oxytocin is discovered when involved in 12 hugs per a day. Not only that, but ideally, each hug should at least last 20 seconds.
According to Satir, four hugs a day enhance basic survival needs. Eight hugs help better maintain those needs and 12 hugs actually stimulate growth to make those needs more effective in everyday tasks. But instinctively, when simply done as a greeting, we hug people for barely two to three seconds. That significantly reduces any benefits and in some cases, nullifies them.
What’s the solution? Try this as an experiment: Hug a family member or your significant other for at least 20 seconds everyday. After a few weeks, see if you feel a difference. The results may not be immediate or even slightly visible for a while. But like many other tips and techniques I’ve suggested in previous articles, it certainly does not cause any harm or side effects. It will either have positive effects or no effects at all.
With all that said, want a hug? 🙂
Are you a hugger a touchy-feely kind of a person? Why or why not? Do you believe that hugging and/or touching has health benefits? Would you be willing to try the technique mentioned in this article? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below on our secure servers.
If you’re not a member of this site, check out our latest options of joining. Become a lifetime member and open your world up to a myriad of poetry, CNF, books, book reviews, custom-made gifts, several publication opportunities and much, much more. Join today!