Most of us have probably heard the phrase “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Well I’m taking that a bit further with my new quotation, “A hug a day keeps the blues away.”
Embrace it with me, won’t you?
A couple of weeks ago I was driving to work listening to Internet radio station K-Love on FM-96.9 out of Little Rock (it’s available on different frequencies around the state). I enjoy the encouraging and uplifting Christian music they play, and the banter of the morning show hosts.
One of them mentioned a study about hugs, and how important they can be to our health and well-being. They never mentioned who did the study, but a bit of research online seems to bear that theory out.
I have friends and loved ones who are or have been affected by loneliness. It can be depressing and lead to, I think, an overall feeling of sadness. Some of them are single and childless. Some aren’t, which proves the point that just living with or being married to someone doesn’t guarantee you will feel loved or will not experience feelings of loneliness.
Thankfully I have close family and friends, and I try to make a point of hugging on or patting on folks, especially if they seem down. My church family is amazing at loving on folks too. And they are a great example to me of how to love on others.
I found an article from June 1998 that ran in the Harvard University Gazette. The article, titled “Of Hugs and Hormones,” was written by William J. Cromie.
It tells of decades of research by Mary Carlson, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. Carlson measured stress in Romanian children who were raised in orphanages or attended poor-quality day care centers.
Her studies concluded that lack of touching and attention stunted their growth and had a negative effect on their behavior. The bottom line, Carlson found, was that money can be thrown at the problem of child care but children need social interaction. And the most important part of that interaction is touch.
So what about here in the United States? Carlson was quoted as saying that in the U.S. neglect is usually combined with abuse of various kinds. Stories about it are all over the news these days. It’s heartbreaking.
Carlson also did research with monkeys and rats that demonstrates the crucial links between touch, the secretion of stress hormones and social development. Overall her animal studies found that touch is the key to bonding.
Socially deprived children, according to Carlson, do not form normal relationships with others, are unresponsive and fearful, and exhibit behavior such as self-clasping, rocking and swaying.
So, like those poor children, monkeys and rats, do we ever feel like that? I won’t lie; I have. And that’s when I seek out my son and tell him Mom needs a hug. It really does help.
Some days it feels good to have a pity party, but celebrating it too long is destructive for our bodies and minds. Thankfully though, most of us eventually realize it’s time to put away the lonely cake, depression punch and streamers of sadness, and move on. But that’s not always the easiest thing to do.
HUGS AND HORMONES
I reached out to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and was put in touch with Dane Clement, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute’s Walker Family Clinic.
I asked Clement about studies on hugging, and he confirmed that research suggests human contact is important to health and well-being.
A warm hug of at least three seconds with someone you trust can reduce blood pressure, lower risk of heart disease and strengthen the immune system. It can also cause an increase in the “feel good” hormones like oxytocin, which helps lower stress chemicals like cortisol.
Cortisol does have positive benefits to the body, such as playing a key role in immunity and the healing process, and helping to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. But when a body is stressed, either physically or emotionally, it secretes the hormone. It’s part of the old “fight or flight” response.
Faced with a bad situation, cortisol increases the flow of glucose, protein and fat from the tissues into the bloodstream to increase energy. And it gives us the physical readiness to handle a stressful situation or threat.
So what about oxytocin, the “feel good” hormone?
Oxytocin plays a part in social behaviors like memory and attachment, sexual and maternal behavior, human bonding and trust. It has a built-in mechanism to help counter the negative effects of cortisol.
Oxytocin promotes eye contact, touching, cuddling and hugging, which, Clement says, can help build trust and a sense of safety, as well as boost self-esteem.
ANCIENT WISDOM
Hugging involves touching, and touching is the first human language we learn. Derived from the Saxon word “hog,” which meant “to be tender of, to embrace,” hugging has been shown to offer positive, often healing benefits.
We all possess an instinctive drive for acceptance, safety and pleasure, Clement says. Being touched can result in bonding, experiencing a greater sense of connection with others and feeling more secure and less anxious.
In our technological age, it seems that when people reach out to touch someone it’s more likely to be through a cellphone than a hug. And that, he says, might be a problem in the making, too. I think, the same can be said of email and the Internet.
Clement says that the benefits of hugging are greatest when those involved enjoy some level of trust and knowledge of each other. In fact, receiving a hug from someone we do not feel in some way connected to can produce anxiety and discomfort.
So what do we do if we don’t have built-in hug partners?
Clement says we need to get creative. He works in nursing homes where there are many “hug deprived” people. How about volunteering at a local nursing home where part of your ministry could be showing love to those who need it? What about your neighbors? There is great hug potential there, especially if your friends include widows or widowers who live alone.
Another option is a pet. They provide a sense of closeness and well-being as well as promoting interaction with an animal that needs you to survive.
Regardless of who or what you hug, just do it. It benefits not only the hugee but the hugger as well.
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ActiveStyle, Pages 28 on 04/07/2014