Selasa, 02 Oktober 2012 | By: Unknown

What Is Hugging?

Hugging is natural, organic, naturally sweet, free of pesticides and preservatives. Hugging contains no artificial ingredients. It's 100% wholesome. No calories, no caffeine, no nicotine.

Hugging is nearly perfect. There are no removable parts, batteries to wear out, no periodic checkups. It consumes little energy, while yielding a lot.

It's inflation-proof. It's nonfattening. There are no monthly payments. No insurance requirements. It's theft-proof, nontaxable, nonpolluting, and fully refundable. And it costs very little. Hugging is healthy. It assists the body's immune system, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it invigorates, it rejuvenates, and it has no unpleasant side-effects. Hugging is no less than a miracle drug.

Adults, Infants and Hugging

Adults love to hug babies and they do it as often as possible. Adults love to hug other adults, too, yet they seldom do. The reason for this is surprisingly simple ... adults are not afraid to initiate and enjoy hugging with infants because there's little chance of rejection.

What Sort of People Like Hugging?
Nice people. People who like to share things. People who make themselves and the world they live in a little happier by hugging.

The Best People, Places, and Times to Hug?
Anyone. Any place. Any time.

The Value of Hugs

Hugs are free ... perhaps that's why so many take them for granted. If hugs cost a lot of money, people would probably knock themselves out to make enough to buy them. Although hugs are free, they're worthless if they aren't used. An unused hug is lost forever. On a planet that's starved for affection, can we really afford to lose a single hug?

Scientific Research Has Shown the Following:
Every human being needs four hugs per day merely to survive. 
Eight hugs per day to maintain oneself at a strong emotional level.
Twelve hugs per day to grow and become a better person. 
For those who aren't always comfortable with the traditional hug, you should at least try one of the other following forms of Hugs:

A kind word. A touch. A loving smile. A "Thank you!" A "Forgive me." A "Can I help you?" A "I'm Sorry." And anything else you can do to make a person feel good about him or herself.

FACT:

When a hug that lasts 20 seconds is given to a girl, it activates the production of oxytocin from the brain, which enables the girl to trust the person who is hugging her..

How Hugs are Proven to Help Your Health: Have You Been Hugged Today?

Hugs certainly feel good, both on the giving and receiving end, and it turns out their effects are more than skin deep. A study by University of North Carolina researchers found that hugs increase the "bonding" hormone oxytocin and decrease the risk of heart disease.
Hugs are good for your heart, they lower blood pressure, and reduce stress, so make it a point to hug someone today! In fact, when couples hugged for 20 seconds, their levels of oxytocin, released during childbirth and breastfeeding, increased. Those in loving relationships had the highest increases.

Meanwhile, levels of the stress hormone cortisol decreased in women, as did their blood pressure. Said lead researcher and psychologist Dr. Karen Grewen, "Greater partner support is linked to higher oxytocin levels for both men and women. However, the importance of oxytocin and its potentially cardioprotective effects may be greater for women."

Hugging for Your Heart

"Scientists are increasingly interested in the possibility that positive emotions can be good for your health. This study has reinforced research findings that support from a partner, in this case a hug from a loved one, can have beneficial effects on heart health," said Dr. Charmaine Griffiths, spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation. Indeed, a previous study, also led by Grewen, found that hugging and handholding reduces the effects of stress. What's more, Grewen suggests that warm contact such as hugs and hand-holding before the start of a rough day "could carry over and protect you throughout the day."

Benefits of Touch Start Early
A hearty hug in the morning may help your loved one ward off stress all day. Humans are clearly social animals, as evidenced by countless studies showing that those who have friends are healthier, as are people who are married.

We need social contact, and that includes touch, even beyond a couple's capacity. Take, for example, the fact that babies benefit from skin-to-skin contact with their mother with better physical development and positive bonding. A telling example was a study of Korean infants in an orphanage. Those who received an extra 15 minutes of a female voice, massage and eye-to-eye contact, five days a week for four weeks, gained more weight and had greater increases in body length and head circumferences after the four weeks and at 6 months of age than children without the extra stimulation.

Therapeutic touch has also been shown to reduce stress and pain among adults, and reduces symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, such as restlessness, pacing, vocalization, searching and tapping.

Time to Get, and Give, More Hugs

"U.S. couples aren't very touchy feely in public," says Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School. This is a shame as touch also releases two feel-good brain chemicals, serotonin and dopamine.

Yet, according to Field's studies of U.S. and Parisian cafes, French couples spend three times more time touching than American couples.
So what are we waiting for? Grab your partner, friend or family member and give them a hug today. And if you're really feeling bold, check out the first link below and treat your significant other to a special treat tonight.

How hugs can aid women's hearts
A woman may gain more from hugs than a man. Women's heart health may benefit more from hugs than men's, a study suggests. A team from the University of North Carolina studied the effects of hugging on both partners in 38 couples. The study showed hugs increased levels of oxytocin, a "bonding" hormone, and reduced blood pressure - which cuts the risk of heart disease. But, writing in the Psychosomatic Medicine, the researchers said women recorded greater reductions in blood pressure than men after their hugs. This growing body of research only goes to highlight how important social support is for everyone, not just those in a relationship

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, British Heart Foundation
Protection

Both men and women were seen to have higher levels of oxytocin after the hug. People in loving relationships were found to have higher levels of the hormone than others. But the study also found all women had reduced levels of cortisol following the hug, as well as reporting the blood pressure benefits.

The researchers, led by psychologist Dr Karen Grewen, wrote in Psychosomatic Medicine: "Greater partner support is linked to higher oxytocin levels for both men and women. "However, the importance of oxytocin and its potentially cardioprotective effects may be greater for women." Dr Charmaine Griffiths, spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation, said: "Scientists are increasingly interested in the possibility that positive emotions can be good for your health.

"This study has reinforced research findings that support from a partner, in this case a hug from a loved one, can have beneficial effects on heart health." She added: "British Heart Foundation researchers have already demonstrated links between a positive emotional state, such as happiness, and low levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. "This growing body of research only goes to highlight how important social support is for everyone, not just those in a relationship."


Study: Hugs warm the heart, and may protect it
By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY

A brief hug and 10 minutes of handholding with a romantic partner greatly reduce the harmful physical effects of stress, according to a study reported over the weekend at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting here Loving contact before a tough day at work "could carry over and protect you throughout the day," says psychologist Karen Grewen with the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Comforting physical contact is out of favor among friends and co-workers because of the legal climate, she says. "If you happen to touch someone at the fax machine, you run the risk of being sued." Some studies have indicated that touch among friends might be helpful but doesn't produce nearly as much physical stress relief as contact with a partner, says psychologist Kathleen Light, co-author of the UNC study.

The findings suggest one reason that isolated, lonely people tend to have poorer health, says Ohio State University psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser. Although ours is a youth-oriented culture, older adults may benefit most from touch, she says. "The older you are, the more fragile you are physically, so contact becomes increasingly important for good health." 
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