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

    Black tea, citrus fruits lower ovarian cancer risk

    Black tea, citrus fruits lower ovarian cancer risk
    Having black tea and citrus fruits daily - and red wine occasionally - may lower the risk of developing ovarian cancer, research shows....

    Black tea, citrus fruits lower ovarian cancer risk

    Sleep disturbances linked to higher Alzheimer's risk in men

    Sleep disturbances linked to higher Alzheimer's risk in men
    Elderly men with self-reported sleep disturbances run a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than men without self-reported sleep disturbances, says a study....

    Sleep disturbances linked to higher Alzheimer's risk in men

    How body clock governs female fertility

    How body clock governs female fertility
    Treating infertility in women may soon have a new approach as researchers have now identified the biological clock that governs female fertility....

    How body clock governs female fertility

    Google scientists to find 'hidden' cancer via nanoparticles

    Google scientists to find 'hidden' cancer via nanoparticles
    In a pioneering research, a Google life sciences team - which has two senior Indian-origin researchers - is set to find signs of deadly diseases...

    Google scientists to find 'hidden' cancer via nanoparticles

    Vitamin D can curb asthma attacks

    Vitamin D can curb asthma attacks
    Boosting Vitamin D levels in deficient asthmatics could help manage asthma flare-ups, Israeli researchers have found....

    Vitamin D can curb asthma attacks

    Text messages can help fight malaria

    Text messages can help fight malaria
    Simple and short text message reminders to take malaria medication can help in the fight against the disease by boosting the rates at...

    Text messages can help fight malaria