Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
Health

A Hug A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

IANS, 18 Dec, 2014 12:40 PM
    It may not be a far-fetched idea to replace apple a day with a hug as researchers have found that more frequent hugs protect stressed people from getting sick.
     
    The team from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with being stressed and resulted in less severe illness symptoms.
     
    "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,” said Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty University professor of psychology at CMU.
     
    Cohen and his team chose to study hugging as an example of social support because hugs are typically a marker of having a more intimate and close relationship with another person.
     
    They assessed the perceived social support and frequency of hugs in 404 healthy adults by a questionnaire.
     
    The participants were then intentionally exposed to a common cold virus and monitored in quarantine to assess infection and signs of illness.
     
    The results showed that perceived social support reduced the risk of infection associated with experiencing conflicts.
     
    Hugs were responsible for one-third of the protective effect of social support.
     
    “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,” said Cohen.
     
    The research appeared in the journal Psychological Science.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers
    TORONTO — A clinical trial of the made-in-Canada Ebola vaccine will be conducted in this country, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada announced Friday.

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year
    NEW YORK — A new government report says sloppy care of contact lenses is a main reason for hundreds of thousands of eye infections each year.

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer
    The longer someone talks over the phone - in terms of hours and years - the more likely is he/she to develop glioma, a deadly form of brain cancer, says a new study....

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer

    Artificial retina could help restore vision of elderly

    Artificial retina could help restore vision of elderly
    A team of researchers has created a wireless and light-sensitive, flexible film that could potentially substitute a damaged retina....

    Artificial retina could help restore vision of elderly

    Flawed gene may curb heart attack risk by half

    Flawed gene may curb heart attack risk by half
    Rare mutations that shut down a single gene called NPC1L1 are linked to lower cholesterol levels and a 50 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack, says an Indian-origin cardiologist....

    Flawed gene may curb heart attack risk by half

    Vitamin B doesn't stem memory loss

    Vitamin B doesn't stem memory loss
    A day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Brisbane for the G20 summit, Australia is waiting anxiously for the Indian Prime Minister's overdue visit to commence....

    Vitamin B doesn't stem memory loss