You’ve worked a long day, and you’re exhausted. You can’t wait to get home because you know the arms of your partner are waiting for you, and their loving embrace is what keeps you going. There’s something about snuggling and that physical touch that seems to make everything better.
Why do people have such a hard time making space for physical contact? Folks in this country will make considerable sacrifices in their relationships to get more time to work. However, your intimacy with your partner, even on a different level with your children, matters more than you imagine.
Did you know that having an intimate relationship can make you a happier person? Cuddling up next to someone you love is one of the easiest and best ways to experience intimacy, and the other party also feels the benefits. Now, here’s something that might shock you, men enjoy snuggling and closeness just as much as women, according to a study by The Kinsey Institute and a report on International Business Times.
Why Snuggling with Your Loved One Makes You Happier?
While you know hugging feels good, did you also know that it’s good for both your body and soul? Ironically, cuddlers have become a hot topic recently, as people who long for that physical contact without intimacy are in high demand.
Specialty agencies charge premium fees to snuggle with a lonely person in such demand. There are no intimate acts, just feeling the warmth of another human close. There are many benefits to snuggling up next to the one you love, and here are just a few of them.
1. Snuggling Relieves Pain
Physical contact with another human being gets your feel-good hormones pumping, specifically oxytocin. Oxytocin is the hormone responsible for helping with things like your social bonding. After an intimate moment, oxytocin rushes through the body, giving you that euphoric feeling, but you don’t need arousal to make these hormones surge.
It’s been proven that even a simple touch like a hug or a kiss on the cheek can stimulate the hypothalamus gland, which is the area that makes this hormone. So, the next time you have a headache or your back is in knots, try hugging someone for at least 3-5 minutes before you reach for an over-the-counter remedy. There are no side effects to this natural medication, and the benefits are undeniable.
2. Enhances Your Relationships
Where would you be in life without quality relationships? You know that it’s essential for you to communicate within these relationships, but don’t forget how important physical contact is. Your job and all the other responsibilities you have can take a toll on your interactions.
Rather than coming home and starting to cook dinner and getting laundry going, why don’t you try cuddling with your partner for about ten minutes? It could be just the surge of feel-good hormones you need to make it through the night. Plus, it sends a loud and clear message to your partner that you’re putting them first above all else that evening.
Putting this kind of attention in a relationship can do nothing but good things. Plus, it gives you time to rest before starting the next phase of your day.
3. Snuggling Increases the Bond Between Parent and Child
When you think of feel-good hormones, you wouldn’t guess that they also exist in other forms of contact. However, when a mother and child are breastfeeding, the same hormones are released.
The purpose here is different, though, as the hormones help mamma relax and feed her child with ease, and it’s passed through the milk to the child to calm them. Have you ever noticed how a baby calms right down when they’re feeding? Sure, they’re enjoying the milk, but it’s also those hormones that are settling them.
It’s just another of the incredible benefits of breastfeeding that many people don’t realize.
4. Snuggling Reduces Social Anxiety
You might benefit from a snuggle session if you constantly tend to have negative thoughts. That same hormone that makes you feel good can also inspire you to think more positively. Wouldn’t it be so much better to have an optimistic outlook rather than a pessimistic one?
Social anxiety is a horrible condition that can make you feel like a prisoner in your home when you can’t leave. However, if you take a person with you to the grocery store or a party, try hugging them or holding their hand. The surge of hormones your body experiences can help you counter those worried thoughts and make you feel less anxious.
5. Your Sleep Will Improve
Who couldn’t use better sleep? What if snuggling with your partner for about 10-20 minutes before you go to sleep could change the way you rest? Well, a study conducted in 2020 from Frontiers in Psychiatry found that the boost of oxytocin released in cuddling can affect how long and how deep your sleep.
Why not try spooning for a portion of the night to keep those hormones flowing? Plus, it helps you bond with the one you love. When your anxiety levels are reduced and you enter a state of relaxation, you sleep better and have a better-quality rest.
6. Reduces Your Chance of Heart Disease
When you manage your stress levels, you lower your chances of developing severe conditions like heart disease. When you have surging oxytocin levels, it also creates a chemical reaction that reduces your blood pressure and calms your central nervous system.
Elevated blood pressure that’s left untreated can cause your heart to wear out before its time, especially if you’re under a significant amount of stress in your life. Thankfully, hugs and snuggling can make you live longer and healthier too.
7. Snuggling Can Reduce Stress
This is such a vast topic it deserves another mention. Stress can kill you, and you’ve heard the experts say this time and again. However, when you can calm yourself through hugs or some other physical contact, the feel-good hormones tend to melt the cares of life away. This positive effect is going to make you feel fulfilled and less angst.
8. Boosts Your Immunity
Have you heard that there’s power in positive thinking? Well, it truly works, which is why so many psychologists are touting this phrase. If you’re negative and downtrodden all the time, it’s going to wear on you.
However, there are tremendous benefits to your immunity from oxytocin. See, the feel-good hormone counters things like cortisol caused by stress. A system with an overabundance of stress hormones like adrenaline will take a toll on your immune system.
So, the next time someone throws their arms around you in an embrace, don’t be so eager to pull away. They’re helping you boost your immunity and keeping you from getting sick.
9. Snuggling Makes Intimacy Better
Another hormone that hasn’t been discussed yet, but can also release during moments of contact, is dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter much like serotonin and norepinephrine. According to Psychology Today, it helps restore proper cell function, making the messages between the body and the brain work better.
You might not realize that dopamine can also help you increase your desire for your partner. So that simple hug after a long day might lead to more intimate moments in your life, which is never a bad thing.
10. Conveys Emotions Without Saying a Word
Sometimes the spoken word is hard for folks, especially when they can’t put their thought into a proper way to articulate. However, when you’re wrapped in an embrace, your bodies communicate in a way that speaks volumes. Holding someone can make you forget about the horrible day you had and let them know how much they mean to you.
Final Thoughts on Snuggling with Your Loved One
When people consider the benefits of snuggling, they only think of their partner. However, to have that surge of hormones from your body can happen when you embrace your child or anyone for that matter. If you’re desperate and feeling stressed out, even rubbing your shoulders can cause this chemical response.
Why do you think pet owners are less stressed than other folks? It’s because of the constant embrace and the release of these hormones. Those warm feelings of being connected and having some touch is what many people are missing in their life. So, even if you don’t have a partner or an animal, you can find ways to stimulate your feel-good system to help your overall wellbeing.
The old saying that an apple a day will keep the doctor away might be accurate, but what if you found something that works even better than fruit? Snuggling up to your partner or someone you love can undoubtedly have an enormous number of benefits that one cannot ignore.
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