Being hugged uplifts our mood. If you are feeling isolated or are going through a rough time, a hug releases endorphins. Endorphins are the body's natural pain relievers. These neurotransmitters increase our feelings of pleasure.
Psychologists in London claim they have cracked the code on the ideal embrace, saying hugs should last between five and 10 seconds. According to researchers at Goldsmiths university, longer hugs were found to provide an immediate pleasure boost compared to shorter ones (lasting just one second).
Touch starvation occurs when you go without skin-to-skin contact for long periods. Over time, it can impact your mental health and well-being. Being touch starved — aka touch deprived or skin hungry — can happen when you have had little to no touch from other living things.
During a hug, we release oxytocin, a hormone that relaxes us and lowers anxiety. It's often called the “cuddle hormone,” and when it's released during these 20-second hugs it can effectively lower blood pressure and reduce the stress hormone norepinephrine.
Common signs of touch starvation include: Deep feelings of loneliness: A person may isolate themselves from others for a variety of reasons, such as not knowing how to make friends. Either way, if they notice increased loneliness after a lack of human interaction, they may be experiencing touch starvation.
As author and family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth”.
So, as we approach the six-second mark of a hug, the human brain begins to release enhanced levels of serotonin and oxytocin, which promotes bonding and boosts your mood. This physical connection literally forces the body to feel better; the longer the hug, the higher the level of chemical release.
A 'seven second hug' takes you to level two – it's a sincere, genuine transaction of love and care. Level three is the 'run up hug' – a euphoric, outburst of affection.
Holding the babies loosely did calm them, but only a little. However, when hugged with a medium squeeze, the babies calmed way down. As soon as the hug got too tight, that calming effect started to go away. The study concluded that the best hugs provide medium pressure.
Place one arm under her armpit, in the lower half of her ribcage. Put your other hand on the general area of her shoulder blade. As the hug deepens, you can hold her waist or wrap both arms around the small of her back. Alternately, hug her from behind.
This affectionate gesture signifies that your guy cares deeply about you. "The back is a very vulnerable part of the body," Wood says. "You can't see your back, so being touched there can be startling." Softly rubbing you on such an exposed zone shows that he wants to nurture and protect you.
For girls, cuddling means reassurance from their boyfriend that they are safe and can let their guard down. Cuddling also provides happiness due to the release of the hormone oxytocin. When the girl cuddles up, there is a release of a chemical called oxytocin in the brain.
In this case you could say, “I'd really love to cuddle with you sometime. If you like that idea, then let's cuddle together and see how that feels to us. As far as anything beyond that goes, I might be open to more, but I'd only want to do what feels good to both of us.
A new study in UK points out that many women do not like bedtime cuddles. It says that it is the men who are really fond of nighttime hugging, while one out of three women force themselves into doing it, to avoid annoying their partner. This breaks the popular stereotype of women wanting to be hugged in bed.