Hugs are More Potent than Drugs in Stopping Colds and Influenza

Love and hugs might be two of the most effective protection against flu virus.

Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty University professor of psychology at CMU said, “We know that people experiencing ongoing conflicts with others are less able to fight off cold viruses. We also know that people who report having social support are partly protected from the effects of stress on psychological states, such as depression and anxiety,” said

Cohen and the CMU team elected to “study hugging as an example of social support because hugs are typically a marker of having a more intimate and close relationship with another person.”

“The apparent protective effect of hugs may be attributable to the physical contact itself or to hugging being a behavioral indicator of support and intimacy. Either way, those who receive more hugs are somewhat protected from infection and illness-related symptoms,” Cohen continued.

The team wanted to explore the effect of love and affection of people around a person contribute against the depression and susceptibility to flu and colds and other infections.

“The study suggests that people who have relationships that are intimate enough that they’re getting hugged are protected, and that hugging is one indicator of that,” Cohen said in an interview.

Simple as it may seem there’s more to it than what meets the eye. For more than two weeks prior to being exposed to viruses, the research team members recorded the frequency of hugs and the degree of interaction the participants have. The average person, the study revealed, generally obtain one hug on the minimum on 68 percent of the 14 days. Just twenty percent of them were married.

The effect of the findings are, according to the research group, also true for those who are suffering from long term stress conditions which is different from those of the short kind.

If you are keen in helping your love ones fight stress and loneliness, a hug will help a long way. It will also help reduce blood pressure.

The findings of the research were first published in the journal Psychological Science.

 

 

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