wellness

The Health Benefits of Hugging

A hug a day just might keep the doctor away.

Could a hug a day keep the doctor away? The answer may be a resounding"yes!"Besides helping you feel close and connected to people you care about, it turns out that hugs can bring a host of health benefits to your body and mind. Believe it or not, a warm embrace might even help you avoid getting sick this winter.

In a 2015 study involving 404 healthy adults, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University examined the effects of perceived social support and the receipt of hugs on the participants' susceptibility to developing the common cold after being exposed to the virus. People who perceived greater social support were less likely to come down with a cold, and the researchers calculated that the stress-buffering effects of hugging explained 32 percent of that beneficial effect. Even among those who got a cold, those who felt greater social support and received more frequent hugs had less severe symptoms.