“A hug is like a boomerang–you get it back”, said Bil Keane, an American cartoonist. And the best part? The power of a hug can not only lift your mood, but it’s also good for your health. Wait, a hug as medicine? How so?

A hug as medicine: it’s in your pulse

When we were learning pulse reading in Ayurveda school, we did a social experiment. We took each other’s pulses before hugging, then went in for an embrace. After a good 20 or so seconds of hugging, we felt each other’s pulses again. Undeniably, our post-hug pulses were fuller, deeper and more stable. We were calm, relaxed, feeling at ease and smiling from ear to ear.

Ayurvedically speaking, hugging helps lower vata and pitta, and raise kapha dosha. It’s not uncommon that too much vata and pitta could suppress kapha in your body and when doshas go out of balance, you go out of balance. Grounding vata helps relieve stress and anxiety, and balancing pitta helps melt away anger and frustration. On the other hand, more kapha helps bring emotional stability and contentment. So, Ayurvedically speaking, the idea of a hug as medicine is valid.  But, what does modern science say about it?

The health benefits of hugging

What creates that calm, peaceful feeling in our bodies during hugging? A study that put women through a psychosocial stress test found that “women with positive physical partner contact before stress exhibited significantly lower cortisol and heart rate responses”. Putting stress aside, there’s also evidence that frequent hugs between partners contribute to lower blood pressure and higher oxytocin levels in premenopausal women. Clearly, these studies support the idea of a hug as medicine.

Is hugging only beneficial to women?

When it comes to gender, hugging doesn’t discriminate. Hugging lowered blood pressure in a study where couples were instructed to hold hands for 10 minutes followed by a 20-second hug. The effects were comparable for men and women, and interestingly, were greater for African Americans than for Caucasians.

Additional studies confirmed the power of hugging for men and women, although women may realize more benefits. While higher plasma oxytocin levels were reported in both men and women after warm contact, the potential cardioprotective effects of oxytocin on stress reactivity and blood pressure may be more significant in women.

Hug as medicine: an immune system booster

Stress is known to lower immune functioning due to the undesired rise in cortisol levels and other bio-markers, opening the door to sickness and infections. Hugging helps relieve stress and reverse these elevated bio-markers.

So it’s not surprising, that due to its cortisol- and blood pressure-lowering, and oxytocin- and serotonin-increasing ability, hugging is also linked to improved immune system functioning, better sleep and less sickness.

In fact, a study published in Psychological Science found that people who received more frequent hugs were less likely to get sick after being exposed to a common cold virus. Even among those who did become ill, the ones who were hugged more often had less severe symptoms.

There’s even research around its positive effects on weight loss. Hugging naturally stimulates the release of oxytocin in the body, a hormone linked to appetite regulation and metabolism. Research shows that elevated oxytocin levels may help with weight control. For instance, in a randomized controlled trial of 25 healthy men, a single dose of intranasal oxytocin reduced caloric intake by 122 ± 56 kcal, decreased fat consumption by 9 grams, increased the satiety hormone cholecystokinin by 33%, and improved insulin sensitivity by 23% without affecting appetite.

As you can see, the idea of a hug as medicine, is not only encouraged in Ayurveda and other alternative healing modalities, it’s also researched and proven by modern science.

Next time you feel stress building in your body, consider hugging it out. Enjoy a hug as medicine.

This blog is meant to provide information based on ayurveda and modern research, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare practitioner about your specific concerns. 

Image by Andrea Piacquardio, Pexels