Can hugging be good for your health?

What are the benefits of hugging?

Improves sleep

Cuddling specifically has been shown to aid with sleep. Being held can provide your brain with a sense of reassurance and affection, allowing you to sleep easily.

It does this by lowering levels of the hormone cortisol, which is a key regulator of our sleep-wake cycle. It increases when we're stressed and high levels of tension can lead to broken sleep or insomnia.

Reduces stress

Receiving a hug during a moment of stress can instantly help you feel calmer, but it can also provide long-term benefits. Physical touch and the soothing feelings it provides can make your body less reactive to stress in the first instance and increase resilience.

This is because a nurturing touch produces higher levels of oxytocin receptors. Oxytocin is a hormone sometimes referred to as 'the love hormone', since its levels increase both during hugging and orgasm. It is linked to happiness, empathy, trust and bonding.

Scientists have found that this hormone has a particularly strong effect in women, causing a reduction in blood pressure and the stress hormone norepinephrine.

One study discovered that oxytocin had the most positive benefits in women who were hugged more frequently by their romantic partner¹.

Equally, hugging reduces stress by lowering levels of cortisol in brain regions that are vital for regulating your emotions. Studies have found that infants who receive high levels of nurturing contact grow up to be less reactive to stressors and show lower levels of anxiety².

Decreases depression and fear of death

Hugging releases 'feel-good' hormones, which include dopamine and serotonin. The release of these hormones into your body generates feelings of happiness and improves mood, lowering levels of depression.

A retirement home in New York implemented a program called Embraceable You in a bid to improve residents' wellbeing and increase contact between the older residents and staff. They found that residents who received three or more hugs per day felt less depressed, had more energy, could concentrate more easily and slept better.

Strengthens your immune system

You might be surprised to learn that hugging can boost your immunity to infections. Hugs do this by stimulating the thymus gland, which regulates the body's production of white blood cells, whose function is to fight off disease.

One study used a sample of 404 healthy adults to test this idea, by examining the effects of received hugs on people's susceptibility to infectious disease.

Participants were exposed to a virus that causes a common cold and were monitored in quarantine to assess infection and any signs of illness. Among infected participants, those who received more frequent hugs displayed signs of less severe illness⁴.

Lowers blood pressure

In addition to regulating your sleep cycle, cortisol also increases the body's blood pressure levels.

Cortisol is reduced when you receive a hug and your levels of oxytocin increase. Blood pressure is also lowered by a type of pressure receptor on the skin, called Pacinian corpuscles.

These are activated following a hug, and send signals to the nerve in the brain that helps lower blood pressure.

The University of North Carolina conducted a study with 59 women which involved talking to them about how often they received hugs and measuring their oxytocin and blood pressure levels. Women who were hugged often had lower blood pressure and higher levels of oxytocin¹.

Other benefits of hugging

These include:

• Relaxing muscles by relieving tension in the body.

• Easing physical pain by increasing circulation in soft tissues.

• Reducing crying, and ensuring correct physical development in newborns.

• Helping you feel safe and connected to a loved one.

• Allowing you to communicate your feelings in times of distress.

• Boosting self-esteem by helping you feel more confident and strengthening feelings of self-love.

• Reducing feelings of loneliness and anger by providing a sense of belonging.

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How many hugs do you need to be healthy?

It has not been scientifically proven how many hugs we need to be healthy. However, family therapist Virginia Satir once said: "We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance.

We need 12 hugs a day for growth." In this case, it's likely many of us are not giving or receiving enough hugs - although, it is thought that the length of a hug is more important than the frequency of hugs.

Psychologists in London claim hugs should last between 5-10 seconds. According to researchers at Goldsmiths University, longer hugs were found to provide an immediate pleasure boost compared to shorter ones that lasted only for one second.

Is it beneficial to hug yourself?

Yoga teacher Sherry Duquet believes self-hugging can immediately soothe anxiety.

She teaches that there is no wrong way to hug yourself, but what's important is focusing on your own self-care, as the simple act of wrapping your arms around yourself can help you feel safe, secure and loved.

One way to hug yourself is to sit or stand up tall with the crown of your head pointed up towards the sky. You should take in a big deep breath and throw open your arms widely before wrapping them around yourself from side to side.

Grab your shoulders and tuck your chin towards your chest before opening your arms, taking another deep breath and starting again.

Duquet recommends repeating your hug several times while alternating which arm is on top with each hug.

Further reading

1. Light et al: More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women.

2. Sharp et al: Frequency of infant stroking reported by mothers moderates the effect of prenatal depression on infant behavioural and physiological outcomes.

3. APS: Touch may alleviate existential fears for people with low self-esteem.

4. Cohen et al: Does hugging provide stress-buffering social support? A study of susceptibility to upper respiratory infection and illness.