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We know that hugs make us feel easy inside.
And this feeling could actually ward off stress and protect the immune (免疫) system, according to a new research from Carnegie
Mellon University.
It's a well-known fact that stress can
weaken the immune system. In this study, the researchers sought to determine
whether hugs could protect individuals from the increased sensitivity to
illness brought on by the particular stress that comes with interpersonal
conflict.
"We know that people experiencing
ongoing conflicts with others are less able to fight off cold viruses. We also
know that people who report having social support are partly protected from the
effects of stress on psychological states, such as depression and
anxiety," the study's lead author, psychologist Dr. Sheldon Cohen , said
in a statement. "We have tested whether awareness of social support is
equally effective in protecting us from sensitivity to infection caused by
stress and also whether receiving hugs might partially account for those
feelings of support and thus protect a person against infection."
In the experiment, over 400 healthy adults
filled out a questionnaire about their perceived (感知到的) social support and also participated
in a nightly phone interview for two weeks. They were asked about the frequency
that they engaged in interpersonal conflict and received hugs that day.
Then, the researchers exposed the
participants to a common cold virus, and monitored them to assess signs of
infection. They found that both perceived social support and more frequent hugs
reduced the risk of infection associated with experiencing interpersonal
conflict. Regardless of whether or not they experienced social conflicts,
infected participants with greater perceived social support and more frequent
hugs had less severe illness symptoms.
"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
effects of stress," Cohen said. "The apparent protective effect of
hugs may result from the physical contact itself or hugging being a behavioral
indicator of support and closeness. Either way, those who receive more hugs are
somewhat more protected from infection."
If you need any more reason to wrap your
arms around someone special, consider this: hugs also lower blood pressure,
reduce fears, improve heart health and decrease feelings of loneliness.
