Because we all need a hug every now and again…
We’re here with 10 reasons why hugs are brilliant for your mental health and wellbeing. Get ready to wrap your friend, family member or significant other in a giant bear hug to start feeling the benefits today!
1. CUDDLE FOR CALM
A well-timed, comforting cuddle can help bring you back to the brink when you’re feeling overwhelmed with anxiety. The touch of someone else can help to ground you and make you feel less stressed.
2. HAPPY HEART
Did you know that hugging can be good for your heart? It’s true! A study found that physical touch such as hugging or handholding can help lower blood pressure levels.
3. ALL ABOUT THAT OXYTOCIN
When you hug, touch or sit close to someone you love, your body releases lots of lovely oxytocin, which makes you feel happier and less stressed. It’s a powerful chemical cocktail of feel-good vibes!
4. SAFE & SECURE
Being enveloped in a warm hug is like being wrapped in a blanket of love. It makes you feel safe, loved and protected. There’s nothing like a bear hug when you’re feeling insecure or anxious.
5. RELIEVES TENSION
Hugs are the perfect remedy for releasing tension – you can practically feel your muscles ‘melt’ as you relax into the comfort of a cosy cuddle.
6. FEEL-GOOD DOPAMINE
Your brain loves a good hug! It releases dopamine, the feel-good chemical, and floods your body with pleasure. This helps to boost your mood and make you feel more motivated.
7. HUGS FOR SELF-LOVE
Hugging helps to boost self-esteem and confidence levels. A hug makes us feel valued and reminds us of how special we truly are. This makes it easier to self-love; to cherish ourselves in the way we all deserve.
8. NATURAL PAINKILLER
A hug can help reduce aches and pains by blocking pain signals from the brain and even improving circulation. When you fell and hurt yourself as a child, do you remember how the pain almost magically disappeared when someone you loved held you tight?
9. INSTANT MINDFULNESS
Hugs make us more aware of the moment – the feel of the other person’s arms, the texture of their clothes, the smell of their skin… This is called being mindful. Mindfulness helps to reduce stress and calm anxieties to improve our mental wellbeing.
10. BETTER COMMUNICATION
A hug can often say much more than your words can. You can show solidarity and support with a hug. Sympathy and shared sadness. Love and lust. Fear, disgust and disappointment. A shared hug is a shared experience and can bring two people closer together during happy and sad times.
