This Sunday, January 21, 2018, is World Hug Day – did you know that this simple gesture of affection has many health benefits?
From a chemical point of view, the hug (that is to say the act of taking someone in one’s arms) contributes to the production of oxytocin: this “hormone of affection and attachment is the direct antagonist of cortisol, the “stress hormone”.
In other words, a hug is a real natural antidepressant. In December 2014, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (in the United States) discovered that people who receive regular hugs generally have a better resistance to certain illnesses – the common cold, for example.
The doctor’s prescription: one hug a day, minimum!
According to some experts, 20 seconds are enough to feel the benefits: the body’s defenses are boosted, the heart rate calms down, stress is reduced, negative thoughts regress. The ideal? One hug a day, minimum.
For children too, the hug is essential: a study carried out in November 2017 by the University of British Columbia (in Canada) showed that at the age of 4 and a half years, there was a real genetic difference between babies who have been cuddled and those who have not benefited from frequent physical contact. The latter even presented a “biological immaturity”…
But cuddling is also… a business. Thus, in Tokyo, it is possible to buy a 20-minute hug with a stranger for the modest sum of 3000 yen (22 euros) – the service is a little more expensive in the United States, where an American offers 1 hour of cuddle (friendly!) for 60 dollars (77 euros).
Read also :
Cuddle therapy: cuddly workshops to rehabilitate tenderness
Decline in desire: 6 tips for reconnecting with your sexuality after baby
Is sex really the cement of the couple?