A warm hug from a best friend or a loved one certainly has the power that uplifts your mood, when you are feeling down. In addition, hugging your closest ones on happy occasions can double the joy and instill a strong feeling of confidence to literally conquer the world. It is precisely that sign of demonstrating deep love and affection that not only provides a powerful emotional support but also tends to render quite a bunch of health benefits. Uabrides.com have compiled the list of top 7 reasons why you definitely need to clasp your loved ones more often.

       1. Combats cold and flu

According to the recent study carried out by Carnegie Mellon University, the process of hugging (especially when a person is stressed out) can aid in relieving ordinary cold and flu. It showcased that hugging was quite effective in protecting people involved in the experiment from stress-caused susceptibility to various infections, including viral ones. This is precisely why, even one hug a day shared with your loved ones is highly recommended in order to keep stress-induced infections and cold at bay.

2. Strengthens the immune system

When you are hugging someone, you exert pressure on the breastbone and thus an emotional charge is generated. This involves the solar plexus chakras which in their turn stimulate the thymus gland. And the gland itself is charged with the output of white blood cells in our system, keeping us totally healthy. 

3. Acts as a totally natural stress reliever

One of the researches published in the Psychological Science magazine affirms that hugging a loved and trusted person might be acting as an effective mean of conveying support. Beyond that, increasing the frequency of hugs both given and received can be a pretty effective way of reducing pernicious effects stress has on our organism. Thereby, next time you’re about to notice your loved one being stressed out, go hug them!

4. Lowers blood pressure

When you hug or kiss a person you love and care about, the levels of oxytocin go up. Oxytocin does play a vital role in the reduction of cortisol in the human organism, thereby, effectively lowering high blood pressure. Moreover, when you hug someone, Pacinian corpuscles, which are a special type of pressure receptor found on the skin, are activated. They send signals straight to the brain nerve which lower blood pressure.

5. Burns calories

You actually might not believe that hugging your dearest ones can burn around 12 calories! This fact means that every single time you go for a hug, you effectively burn calories, thereby maintaining entirely healthy weight.

6. Relieves muscle tension

A hug releases tension in human body by dealing with pain and accelerating blood flow. What’s more, it aids in improving blood circulation in the soft tissues, thus helping relax tensed muscles. All in all, apart from fighting mental stress, a decent hug can really work wonders on person’s physical activity.

7. Improves brain health

A hormone called oxytocin is released into the blood every time you hug a close person. This in turn improves memory capacity along with relieving excess tension. Apart from all that, it also induces the nervous system, helping you to establish a balance between staying active yet calm. 

(snw)