What is hugging good for? It is a moment of incredible pleasure that immediately improves your mood, reduces stress, and fills you with positive energy. However, hugging has many more benefits that are scientifically proven. Hugging is suitable for people of all ages, regardless of the situation. You can find everything about hugging right here!
What does hugging bring?
Do you wonder what one hug will do for you? In addition to a moment of pleasure, it has many other benefits! Hugging has many positive effects on your health, not only psychological but also physical. It is the cheapest, most effective, most enjoyable, and safest therapy in the world.
If you are in a bad mood, afraid of something, or feel insecure, do you long for someone to hug you? This is a habit we have had since childhood. Being hugged by our mother, father, or grandmother was a cure for everything bad. At that time, physical proximity gave us a sense of security and also had a calming effect on us.
Over the years, this has not changed – hugging reduces stress and helps us get rid of negative emotions. However, for a hug to have maximum benefits, it should last for at least 20 seconds.
Touching another person’s body has a favorable effect on our body – hugging activates the release of hormones that trigger feelings of happiness and contentment: serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, which is called the “love hormone” because it “heals” feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.
The results of research conducted by a team of scientists led by Dr. Sheldon Cohen from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, published in the journal Psychological Science, show that hugging has a direct impact on our physical health as well. Here’s how it works:
1.Hugging increases self-esteem, attractiveness, and boosts self-confidence.
This state is recorded in our nervous system from birth. When as adults we receive hugs, our cells “remind” us of the feeling that we are loved.
2.Hugging helps with communication and strengthens relationships.
Touch is the most important in non-verbal communication. If you don’t know what to say to your friend who is struggling, a hug is your best solution.
3.It protects against heart disease and reduces stress levels.
Every time you hug, you lower your heart rate, reducing the production of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone that causes confusion in our bodies.
Hugging and Health – Summary:
Hugging helps you stay healthy. What else does hugging do for your health? This simple gesture of affection can also ease physical pain. How does it work? It’s a relationship called the love hormone, which triggers a need for closeness and affection.
Interestingly, it has a different effect on men than on women. Oxytocin causes women to experience less stress and feel sexually stimulated, but this is not the case for men. High levels of oxytocin in men can contribute to a decrease in testosterone, which is their driving force for interest in their partner, caring, and overall satisfaction with life.
Hugging is beneficial for men as well as for women, but because of hormonal differences, men do not need it as much.
Everyone loves hugging – children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly. We hug each other and even our pets. This gesture even has its own holiday! When is Hugging Day? We celebrate it twice a year! June 24th and January 31st, which is International Hugging Day.