--- title: 4 Reasons Why Hugs Are Good for Your Health description: Research suggests that hugs can deliver some real health benefits, from easing stress to lowering blood pressure. canonical: https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-28T17:57:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:23.149Z article:section: Health og:title: 4 Reasons Why Hugs Are Good for Your Health og:description: They ease stress and can lower blood pressure og:url: https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc22571296691b393/6988cac7fb4eac3b3c891b5c/hugs-health-benefits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5009 og:image:height: 2818 og:image:alt: Girls hugging in front of Christmas trees og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 4 Reasons Why Hugs Are Good for Your Health twitter:description: They ease stress and can lower blood pressure twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc22571296691b393/6988cac7fb4eac3b3c891b5c/hugs-health-benefits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Reasons Why Hugs Are Good for Your Health > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Obama Gives Plenty of Hugs Following His Farewell Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Obama Gives Plenty of Hugs Following His Farewell Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DweZRtrR.m3u8) (0:29)  _Published 2017-01-11. President Obama’s Tuesday evening remarks were billed as a requiem for his time in office, the last time he would address the nation while holding the title as commander-in-chief._ by [Anthea Levi / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Anthea Levi / Health.com Contributor Apr 28, 2017 5:57 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Anthea Levi / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Anthea Levi / Health.com Contributor Apr 28, 2017 5:57 PM UTC Nothing is cozier than a hug. Whether it’s a mama-daughter embrace or a sweet squeeze with your significant other, hugs make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. But they do more than make us feel good: Research suggests that hugs can deliver some real health benefits, from easing [stress](http://www.health.com/stress/beat-stress) to lowering blood pressure. Here, four ways a warm embrace can be good for both your mind and body. ### **They help us feel supported** Hugs don’t just bring us closer to others in a literal sense: they also trigger the release of [oxytocin](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20568672,00.html#-o-is-for-oxytocin-0), a chemical associated with bonding behaviors. “Studies show that people feel better and more connected to their partner when they hug or touch frequently,” Terri Orbuch, PhD, a relationship expert and author of [_5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great_](https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Steps-Take-Marriage-Great/dp/1632990563/?tag=timecom-20)_,_ told _Health_ in an email_._ “When we physically connect through a hug, it makes us feel emotionally and psychologically connected to the other person, it calms us, and it shows support.” No harm in that. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_20 Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally_](http://www.health.com/heart-disease/lower-blood-pressure-naturally/?xid=time) ### **They may lower blood pressure** In addition to promoting intimacy, oxytocin may also influence a key health stat. A small study of 59 premenopausal women published in the journal [_Biological Psychology_](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051104001632)found thatfrequent hugs between the women and their partners were linked to both higher levels of oxytocin and lower blood pressure. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_The Scientific Reason Why You Should Spend More Time Cuddling_](http://www.health.com/mind-body/the-scientific-reason-you-should-spend-more-time-cuddling/?xid=time) ### **They ease stress** Here’s science-backed proof that a hug from mom is basically unbeatable. When researchers from the [University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine](http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/uw-madison-research-finds-moms-comfort-lowers-stress-levels/27300) put a group of girls ages 7 to 12 in stressful situations—asking them to give impromptu speeches or solve math problems in front of strangers—the ones who received a hug or phone call from their mothers after the anxiety-provoking experience had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. ### **They may lower your risk of infections** Who knew cuddling could help keep you sniffle-free?In a 2014 study from[Carnegie Mellon University](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4323947/), researchers found that stressed-out people (who are [more likely to get sick](http://www.health.com/stress/stressed-sick)) had a reduced risk of infection after being exposed to a common cold virus if they felt like they had adequate social support in their lives and received more frequent hugs. _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/relationships/health-benefits-hugs/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/"},"headline":"4 Reasons Why Hugs Are Good for Your Health","datePublished":"2017-04-28T17:57:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:23.149Z","description":"Research suggests that hugs can deliver some real health benefits, from easing stress to lowering blood pressure.","url":"https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/","keywords":["Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc22571296691b393/6988cac7fb4eac3b3c891b5c/hugs-health-benefits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anthea Levi / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc22571296691b393/6988cac7fb4eac3b3c891b5c/hugs-health-benefits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Girls hugging in front of Christmas trees","caption":"Girls hugging in front of Christmas trees","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/","name":"4 Reasons Why Hugs Are Good for Your Health"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Obama Gives Plenty of Hugs Following His Farewell Speech","description":"President Obama’s Tuesday evening remarks were billed as a requiem for his time in office, the last time he would address the nation while holding the title as commander-in-chief.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/DweZRtrR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-11T05:16:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DweZRtrR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/","duration":"PT29S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4756290/hugs-health-benefits/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```