There is something comforting about embracing in a nice warm hug with your mom or dad, but is there actual science behind it? Or is it just something we have grown accustomed to doing? An apple a day keeps the doctor away… Does a hug a day do the same?
Just a little hug can lower blood pressure and within ten seconds levels of oxytocin increase and levels of cortisol decrease. Oxytocin is a feel-good hormone and cortisol is a stress chemical. Hugging some one regularly can lower the risk of heart disease and can have many other health benefits. Dr. Jan Astrom said, “The positive emotional experience of hugging gives rise to biochemical and physiological reactions” (Daily Mail).
In men and women aged 20 to 49 hugs for more than ten seconds found that levels of different hormones had changed. More in depth research showed that the vagus nerve is a link between the skin, the brain, as well as oxytocin receptors. One theory is that when this nerve is triggered, there is an increase in oxytocin in the body (Daily Mail). This however is just a theory and just because two things happen at the same time, doesn’t mean that they are directly related, because correlation does not mean causation.
The journal, Psychological Science, published research that showed that hugs reduce the amount of worrying about mortality. The study showed that hugging helped calm individuals’ fears, even if the object that a person is hugging is not another person (Huff Post).
Researchers found that hugging and physical touch become increasingly important with age. The study showed that loneliness, with age, could cause an increased level of stress and have negative side effects because of this. Hugging someone causes us to instantly feel closer to that person and then in turn decrease feelings of being alone (Huff Post).
In an article published by Barrington Brennen, hugging someone for can have a wide variety of benefits. Research shows that hugs give a sense of a meaningful connection with others and also is linked to reducing blood pressure and the risk of heart disease (Oxytocin).
Research in Germany came to the conclusion that levels of oxytocin can protect your marriage. When a group of 57 men were blindfolded and given either oxytocin or a placebo nasal spray, a female walked up to them and they were told to let the woman know when she was too close for comfort. When they study was over, the men who were given the oxytocin or were in monogamous relationships preferred to keep a significantly greater distance from the woman. The conclusion was that oxytocin promotes monogamy because the men that were in relationships were not as interested in the temptress. This all could have happened by chance but that seems unlikely because of the 57 test subjects, the relationship bound men and the men given the oxytocin were less likely to capitulate to the woman’s temptations (Oxytocin).
Putting all of this together, I have come to the conclusion that hugging is good for you, but how good is it for you I am not completely sure about. There are benefits that are linked to hugging, but I am not sure what is actually casual and what is just a coincidence or what happened just because of chance. Does just being in the presence of someone that you love increase your levels of oxytocin even if you do not make physical contact with that person? Maybe further research would be able to find that out.
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This argument makes a lot of sense. When people are feeling down, it is almost instinctual to give them a hug. I find it really interesting that chemicals are also released when hugs are given. An article (http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/02/why-hugging-is-actually-good-for-your-health-video/) written by the Family Health Team at the Cleveland Clinic explains that in addition to reducing stress and releasing cortisol, hugs can also strengthen the immune system. It is intriguing that an act as simple as an embrace can protect against both stress and physical illnesses.
Everyone desires a hug from their mom, dad, or special person when something wrong is going on, in time of anxiety, or even just for fun. A hug is something so simple that can yet change a life. I guess that correlates with psychological feelings of comfort/love. Feeling loved is always a confidence booster and can be super positive for people hence why people give out free hugs as a way of promoting a topic. For example during coming out week at the hub, people were giving free gay hugs. Was it just for fun? No.. It’s because something about hug promotes the cause and brings a sense of comfort and open mindedness to the topic. This article was fairly interesting and the writer’s way of saying that the mechanisms was okay and didn’t draw a toll to her data.