Happy Saturday lovers. We are now more than halfway through the month. I don’t want to stress you out with that but as we all settle into our own daily lives of this year with goals and dreams and plans in mind, I want to talk to you about something very important that you may want to start scheduling into your days. Hugs.
Hugs are one of those things we rarely think about. They're like handshakes. It’s almost an expected reaction to seeing a friend or for the latter perhaps a coworker. And I think we all took them kind of for granted until 2020 when Covid struck. It totally altered how we thought about physical touch. And I think a lot of people realised how important it actually is.
Hugs are a simple way in which we can connect with others. Though verbal communication is important, physical touch is just as much, if not more. Hugs really do have so many great benefits. So much so that there have been plenty of studies done to learn about the effects that hugs have on people. And I want to share some of them with you. Because ultimately I think we could all use more hugs and why not indulge ourselves in learning some of the scientific reasons that’ll hopefully push you to increase your daily hug intake.
Hugs can reduce stress
And they can reduce stress for not only the receiver of the hug but the giver too. A study was done that observed women holding the arms of their partners while the latter got slight electric shocks. What they found was that the partners felt less stress as they were supported and the women also felt a reduction of stress as they were providing care. Additionally, another study found that hugs can prevent future stress by acting as a buffer in a conflict exposure if that person had received a hug from someone (the context of the relationship doesn’t matter).
Hugs can boost the immune system
A study was done that has been used by sources like Healthline and NBC News, which showed that hugs acting as a support system decrease a person’s susceptibility to illnesses or decrease the symptoms if they were to catch it. And I know in the midst of Covid that might seem absurd but let’s remember that these studies were done with illnesses like the common cold and not widespread viruses.
Hugs are good for the heart.
Figuratively and literally.
Hugs have been found to reduce blood pressure and heart rate as one study split adult couples into two groups where one group held hands for 10 minutes and then hugged for 20 seconds while couples from the other one sat in silence for 10 minutes and 20 seconds. The first group was found to have significantly lower blood pressure and heart rate. Another study also supported this as it linked how hugs cause the release of oxytocin and higher oxytocin levels are linked with lower blood pressure and heart rate. Granted the group was of premenopausal women, I think if the study was done on any group of people, you would see similar results as it is quite widely known now that hugs release oxytocin.
Everything is going to be okay
Isn’t that what we all want to hear? Even when things are going well to truly feeling like everything is going to be okay is such a calming and happy feeling. This ties into the previous point where because as hugs release oxytocin, we get happy and then afterwards we feel safe and comfortable and chances are the future looks pretty bright and good.
Real opinions on hugs
So hugs are good. Hugs are great. And they’re beneficial to your mind, body and soul. Ask for hugs. Ask if your loved ones want hugs. Don’t be afraid to offer hugs. Hug when you encounter people you love. Hug those who are sad or even simply feeling down. How often do we feel alone, down or stressed and all we want is someone to just hug us? I feel like it’s like what parents do to kids. Not all the time, I know there are plenty of people who didn’t experience physical touch like that growing up. But the science is there and I think we would probably all be a little happier with a little more hugs.
Virginia Satir a family therapist said “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” And Nick and I ask each other for hugs all the time. But after writing this post, we agreed that we would hug 12 times a day for the entire month of February and see if it makes a difference in our lives. So I’ll definitely be coming back to give you an update on that in March.
What do you think about your daily hug intake? Will you do a 30-day journey of 12 hugs a day? Comment below <3
Until next time, stay present in the now and go give and get hugs ~