4 reasons why you should hug more

Find out how hugging can be bliss for your health and mind. What are you waiting for? Instead of popping pills, go and get a warm hug.

Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published: October 4, 2018 7:10 pm

Health benefits of hugging © Shutterstock

Be it being wrapped up in the arms of your significant other or cuddling your child or embracing your mom at the end of a hectic day, hugs can do magic in amping up your mind and health. Imagine not having to pop those high dose pills and just go for a heart to heart hug for getting rid of ailing conditions. Isn’t that great? Everyone likes to be hugged and pampered and the more you hug, the more will you be able to overcome stress and enhance your immunity, say experts. Not just that, a recent study has shown how hugs help a great deal in getting over negative moods due to interpersonal conflicts. Here we are with a list of some amazing health benefits of hugging.

Hugs can enhance your self-esteem: Any form of affectionate touch makes us feel loved and special and this happens since the time we are born. That is why infants are cuddled and hugged more by the family members and studies show that more we are hugged, the more we gain in self-esteem. The cuddles that we receive during our childhood develop into our sense of self-worth that we carry into adulthood at a cellular level, say experts. The link between self-worth and sensations of touch remain embedded in our nervous system as adults. This is exactly why you need a hug to feel better every time you feel low and confused.

Hugs improve your relationship: A warm hug is a symbol of trust, attachment, safety, security and belonging and builds up a strong edifice for any healthy relationship. Researches have already shown that relationships with more hugging, touching and cuddling are likely to be stronger and long lasting. Experts say that the energy that gets exchanged between people while hugging encourages empathy and understanding.

Hugs can help you beat stress: If you feel stressed out before a meeting, go and get a warm hug with a colleague. See how it works wonder in pulling down your level of stress in the wink of an eye. Experts say that a hug can help you stay calm and cool during a time of anxiety and excitement. This is because when you hug or kiss someone your oxytocin level goes up and this bonding hormone promotes attachment in all relationships. High levels of oxytocin can help you mitigate social anxiety and produce feelings of trust along with reducing stress, say experts.

Hugs can lower chance of heart disease: It is not just happy feeling but the hormones that are generated in your body while you hug can amp up your heart health. The sensation of touch on your skin activates pressure receptors called Pacinian corpuscles that convey signals to the vagus nerve, a brain area that is responsible for lowering blood pressure, thereby keeping your heart rate lower. It also helps in improving blood flow in your body.

Published: October 4, 2018 7:10 pm

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