PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — If you forgot the flowers and candy or maybe you’re short on cash, we’ve got you covered this Valentine’s Day.
How about a hug for your honey? It might even help them live longer.
Hugs make people happy. They hold power that can bring comfort in hard times or butterflies on a date. The benefits aren’t just for our emotional heart: science shows hugs help our physical heart, too.
“There’s a hormone called oxytocin and oxytocin is a hormone that’s mostly thought about in women but men also have it,” said Dr. Charles Vaughn, a cardiologist with Riverside Regional Medical Center.
Oxytocin, also called the cuddle hormone, is released when you hug, kiss, or touch someone you love. It’s the same hormone released during childbirth and when mothers nurse their babies. It helps them bond.
“It has multiple health benefits that has been shown to lower blood pressure, it lowers heart rate, it facilitates better sleep it enhances a sense of well-being,” Vaughn said.
It also reduces inflammation in the blood vessels, he told WAVY, something that contributes to cardiovascular disease and increases your risk for heart attack and stroke.
So just how long should you hug or how often? We asked Vaughn’s opinion.
“There’s no clear prescription on that. I’m sure it a dose-related phenomenon — more is better, so you can take that and run with it,” he said.
If you’re just not a hugger, or maybe you’re single this Valentine’s Day, Vaughn says you can get the same oxytocin release by doing yoga or getting a massage.