Hugs Are Healthy
We’ve all observed them: the exuberant embraces between two people at the airport baggage claim that tell a story of long separation and aching hearts soothed. I love watching them happen while traveling, but often I’m too involved with my own search for my suitcases or worrying about finding the car in the airport parking lot, that I miss out on just what those huge hugs are all about.
Then it happened to me.
My twenty-year-old daughter was finally coming home after six months studying abroad, and I was waiting for her at the baggage claim in the Phoenix Airport. She didn’t see me at first so I sneaked up behind her. She looked to the left and then to the right probably wondering where her mother was – and then it happened. We squealed with excitement as we embraced each other not caring who was watching our special moment. And she didn’t let go after the usual few seconds, but remained fully enveloped in her mother’s arms. No words needed to be spoken to let me know she truly missed me and was so excited to see me. Ahhh, I’m still feeling the effects from the huge hug.
According to HuffPost Healthy Living “The simple act of a hug isn’t just felt on our arms. When we embrace someone, oxytocin (also known as “the cuddle hormone”) is released, making us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The chemical has also been linked to social bonding. “Oxytocin is a neuropeptide, which basically promotes feelings of devotion, trust and bonding,” DePauw University psychologist Matt Hertenstein told NPR. “It really lays the biological foundation and structure for connecting to other people.””
Hug someone today and don’t let go. That huge hug will have huge health benefits for you both.
Read more about the benefits of hugs at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/27/health-benefits-of-huggin_n_5008616.html
