Health Benefits of Cuddling
Ease Stress
May Help Your Heart
Relieves Pain
Fight Colds
Connects You to Your Partner
Helps You Sleep
Helps You Bond With Your Newborn
Good for Baby’s Health
Should You Hug Your Dog?
Hug Your … Phone?
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Anxiety, Stress, and Coping: “Relations between plasma oxytocin, depressive symptoms and coping strategies in response to a stressor: the impact of social support.”
Association for Psychological Science: “Touch May Alleviate Existential Fears for People With Low Self-Esteem.”
Biological Psychology: “Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress,” “More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women.”
Carnegie Mellon University: “Hugs Help Protect Against Stress and Infection, Say Carnegie Mellon Researchers.”
Current Pharmaceutical Design: “Oxytocin -- A Multifunctional Analgesic for Chronic Deep Tissue Pain.”
Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism: “The orgasmic history of oxytocin: Love, lust, and labor.”
National Sleep Foundation: “How Cuddling Affects Your Sleep.”
Open Nursing Journal: “Kangaroo Care in a Neonatal Context: Parents’ Experiences of Information and Communication of Nurse-Parents.”
Pediatrics: “Kangaroo Mother Care and Neonatal Outcomes: A Meta-analysis.”
Psychological Science: “Oxytocin and Social Bonds: The Role of Oxytocin in Perceptions of Romantic Partners’ Bonding Behavior,” “Does hugging provide stress-buffering social support? A study of susceptibility to upper respiratory infection and illness.”
Psychology Today: “Can My Dog Make Me Healthier?” “The Data Says ‘Don't Hug the Dog!’ ”
Psychosomatic Medicine: “Effects of partner support on resting oxytocin, cortisol, norepinephrine, and blood pressure before and after warm partner contact.”
Scientific Reports: “Huggable communication medium decreases cortisol levels.”
University of Rochester Medical Center: “Stress Can Increase Your Risk for Heart Disease.”