A simple embrace acts as free medicine, even against viruses.
In a carefully controlled laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University, researchers exposed more than 400 healthy volunteers to the common cold virus. However, before the viral exposure, researchers spent two weeks meticulously tracking something most scientists might overlook: whether the participants had been hugged each day.
The focus was not sentimental, but rather, to see whether a simple embrace could serve as a miniature vaccine against disease. The research, along with other studies, shows that the right frequency and duration of hugs can prime your immune system, lead to better heart health, and even help heal emotional wounds.
Can a Hug Defeat a Virus?
Carnegie Mellon’s study lead researcher, Sheldon Cohen, had a hunch that physical touch might be one of the key ways that social support protects us from stress-induced illness.
