Even if you missed National Hugging Day (January 21), it’s not too late to, uh, embrace the celebration! Hugging might seem a trivial pursuit, but research shows that the simple act of putting your arms around a fellow human being can…

• Reduce stress.

Lower blood pressure.

• Boost immunity—and make you less likely to catch a cold.

• Raise levels of the body’s mood-boosting chemicals oxytocin and norepinephrine.

• Help you and the person you are hugging communicate better.

So well-recognized is our human need to be hugged, touched and comforted that the Japanese have even created a device to provide virtual hugs—Sense Roid. Fortunately, most of us have someone nearby—or can call up a friend—so that we don’t need to slip into a Sense Roid jacket equipped with sensors and air compressors that responds when we hug a mannequin!

Look around. Who can you hug now?

 

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