Search This Blog

Showing posts with label Research Shows That Hugs Help Protect Against Stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research Shows That Hugs Help Protect Against Stress. Show all posts

Research Shows That Hugs Help Protect Against Stress. Can Hugs Help You Fight a Cold?

Research Shows That Hugs Help Protect Against Stress. Can Hugs Help You Fight a Cold?

I love Thursday nights. On Thursday nights I meet with the group of friends for a Current Events and Hot Topics Discussion Group. We have been meeting for many years so we greet each other with warm welcoming hugs. As I said I love those hugs.  Below is the latest research on the health benefits of hugging.

When I taught body language at Florida State my students called me Dr. Hugs (I had not gotten my PHD) because after my lectures on the benefits of touch they might open up their arms to give or get a hug from myself and fellow students. Today, I fear I might get in trouble for encouraging warm, nonthreatening hugs on campus. That’s a shame as recent research shows that hugs can be beneficial to our health. My original doctoral dissertation was on touch, so I am always searching for and reading the latest research on the benefits of touch and my book SNAP Making the Most of First Impressions Body Language and Charisma  Book Website has a chapter on hugging and has more information on my Website.

Here is the latest research on the health benefits of hugging. 


Date: December 17, 2014
Source: Carnegie Mellon University
Summary:
Researchers tested whether hugs act as a form of social support, protecting stressed people from getting sick. They found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with being stressed and resulted in less severe illness symptoms.



Mother hugging her daughter (stock image). Researchers found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with being stressed and resulted in less severe illness symptoms.
Credit: © De Visu / Fotolia
Instead of an apple, could a hug-a-day keep the doctor away? According to new research from Carnegie Mellon University, that may not be that far-fetched of an idea.
Related Articles
Led by Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty University Professor of Psychology in CMU's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the researchers tested whether hugs act as a form of social support, protecting stressed people from getting sick. Published in Psychological Science, they found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with being stressed and resulted in less severe illness symptoms.
Cohen and his team chose 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.
"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. "We tested whether perceptions of social support are equally effective in protecting us from stress-induced susceptibility to infection and also whether receiving hugs might partially account for those feelings of support and themselves protect a person against infection."
In 404 healthy adults, perceived support was assessed by a questionnaire, and frequencies of interpersonal conflicts and receiving hugs were derived from telephone interviews conducted on 14 consecutive evenings. Then, the participants were intentionally exposed to a common cold virus and monitored in quarantine to assess infection and signs of illness.
The results showed that perceived social support reduced the risk of infection associated with experiencing conflicts. Hugs were responsible for one-third of the protective effect of social support. Among infected participants, greater perceived social support and more frequent hugs both resulted in less severe illness symptoms whether or not they experienced conflicts.
"This suggests that being hugged by a trusted person may act as an effective means of conveying support and that increasing the frequency of hugs might be an effective means of reducing the deleterious effects of stress," Cohen said. "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."
Cohen added, "Either way, those who receive more hugs are somewhat more protected from infection."

More articles on Hugs:



Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Carnegie Mellon University. The original article was written by Shilo Rea. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.


Journal Reference:
1.   S. Cohen, D. Janicki-Deverts, R. B. Turner, W. J. Doyle. Does Hugging Provide Stress-Buffering Social Support? A Study of Susceptibility to Upper Respiratory Infection and IllnessPsychological Science, 2014; DOI:10.1177/0956797614559284


Cite This Page:
·         MLA
·         APA
·         Chicago
Carnegie Mellon University. "Hugs help protect against stress, infection, say researchers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 December 2014. .


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.