A hug from a loved one when feeling down and
low is all one desires. But, how about a hug actually boosting your immunity
and protecting you from illness? Well it is true as a research published in the
journal Psychological Science claims.
How can a hug protect you from illness?
The study co relates the fact that stress
weakens the immune system and hugs, more broadly classified as social support,
reduce the susceptibility of individuals who show signs and symptoms of stress,
to illness
Should social support be used as a therapy?
The lead author of the study, Dr. Sheldon
Cohen, explained that since it is known that people already in conflicts with
others find it difficult to fight common infections like cough and cold,
whereas, people part of social support groups or have some other kind of mental
support are partly protected from the effects of psychological stress, such as
depression or anxiety.
He also said that, ‘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.’
Do hugs really work?
The experiment was conducted on 400 healthy
adults, who were assessed using questionnaires and nightly phone interviews to
check the number of times they experienced interpersonal conflict and if they
received hugs that day.
They were also exposed to common cold virus,
and were monitored to assess the signs of infection. It was found that both
social support and frequent hugs reduce the risk of infection associated
interpersonal conflict.
It was also found that regardless of
experiencing any personal conflict, infected participants who had more social
support and frequent hugs showed less symptoms of the disease.
How do hugs work?
‘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… Either way, those who receive
more hugs are somewhat more protected from infection.
Source: ANI