BWhether it’s a short squeeze or a bone-crushing bear hug, few can deny the comfort of a goodbye hug from a loved one. However, in a bid to keep traffic flowing at Dunedin International Airport on New Zealand’s South Island, bosses have decided to introduce a three-minute limit on hugs in the airport area.
Passengers wishing to indulge in longer and fond farewells are advised to use the car park.
In contrast, Heathrow has told passengers to take as much time as they need to say goodbye to loved ones on departure.
New signs in the airport’s departures area show two people hugging, with the words “Maximum hug time, unlimited. Farewell dear ones on departure, be encouraged”.
That’s fortunate, because cuddling provides a number of physical and psychological benefits, experts say.
Humans aren’t the only creature that indulges in hug-like behavior; many monkeys and apes brush each other’s fur, and it is likely that human hugging evolved as an extension of this. “Social bonding’s basic method of establishing relationships is through physical touch,” says Prof Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford University and author of The Social Brain.
“What’s happening beneath the surface is the triggering of a highly specialized nervous system in the skin that responds to a very specific stimulus – light, slow strokes at a speed of 3 cm per second, which is the speed of the sweeping hand movements through the fur , or all over the skin – and activates the endorphin system in the brain, which makes you feel calm and relaxed.”
While the release of endorphins helps build and maintain close relationships, the benefits of cuddling extend to other areas of health and well-being.
“Many of us know it’s good to get a hug, but we don’t often stop and think about the other positive effects of hugging,” says Prof Michael Banissy, a social neuroscientist at the University of Bristol and author of When We Touch.
For starters, hugs can affect our immune responses. In one study, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in the US found a correlation between how often people hugged and their ability to fight off colds. Those who received regular hugs in the 14 days before being exposed to a common cold virus were less likely to become infected and had less severe symptoms if they did, compared to those who did not hug.
Another study found that women who hugged their partner before going through a stressful experience had a lower biological response to stress, as measured by levels of the stress hormone cortisol, compared to those who did not receive a hug.
“In the context of going to an airport and flying, you can see how hugs can be helpful in terms of managing people’s anxiety or stress levels,” says Banissy. “The three-minute thing is interesting because technically, the hormones that play a role in modulating these effects can be released within a few minutes, so that might be enough to benefit.”
Banissy adds: “On the other hand, we know that touch and hugs are highly influenced by context; touch should be desired and feel appropriate, so you can imagine that if the hug feels unnatural for some reason, you won’t get the same level of benefit. There’s a bit of a risk with putting a time limit that people might feel a bit tense about it – although I’m told they won’t get a hug from the police.”
A guide to hugging
Quick squeeze
The most common type of hug is what psychologists call a “cross hug,” where the arms of the huggers cross over each other’s shoulders and waist. Timing matters. Although some people may prefer a slightly longer or shorter hug, when Banissy and his colleagues at the University of Bristol studied how pleasant and in control hugs felt lasting one, five or 10 seconds, they found that hugs for a second were consistently rated as less pleasant. “If it’s too short, people might not necessarily feel the benefits in terms of emotional closeness and things like that, but equally, if it’s too long, it can start to feel uncomfortable,” says Banissy. “Five to ten seconds seems to be optimal.”
Devouring embrace
When you are feeling down or have received some terrible news, a deep hug can provide comfort and emotional support. “It tends to be limited to emotional scenarios, as it can feel too intimate in other settings,” says Banissy. “It’s where someone literally wraps their arms around you and effectively swallows you, bringing you really close.”
Bear hug
While the swallow hug usually pulls the receiver from behind, the bear hug is more of a casual grab and tight squeeze. The purpose and emotion behind the hug also varies: “Bear hugs are often a celebratory thing, like a family reunion, or recognition of an accomplishment of some kind, while the hug is much more supportive and gentle,” says Banissy.
Sports shoulder press
Physical gestures are a common feature of team sports, including the half-side-hug, half-shoulder-bump. Although the cynic might read this as an attempt to avoid contamination with the other person’s sweat, research suggests that these positive physical gestures still matter. Says Banissy: “If you look at how often team members engage in positive touch, which includes hugs but also things like fist bumps and high fives, you’ll find that teams that do this more often early in the season , then continue to win. more games. It kind of has to do with that and their team cohesion.”
Embracing the global leader
Hugging in professional settings can feel awkward, perhaps even more so when the world is watching and scrutinizing your intent. So it’s no wonder politicians look so uncomfortable doing it. Although there is little research on how hugs affect professional transactions, “we know that other forms of touch in professional settings set the stage for things like collaboration and trust,” says Banissy. “For example, people who perform more handshakes before negotiating business deals are more likely to reach mutual agreements, or find outcomes that are mutually beneficial. Touch plays a really important role in that space.”
Dunbar says we should consider hugs as opening offers to establish the nature of the relationship and simply do what feels natural or instinctive. “There must be mistakes where we offer or underestimate the other person, but my advice is to turn off the brain and let the body take over.”
Self-hugging
Getting a hug before a stressful event can help soften its emotional impact, but what if you don’t have someone to hug? Fortunately, research suggests that placing your hands over your heart or stomach, or stroking the skin of your upper arms, seems to have a similar effect.
When scientists at Goethe University in Germany compared the impact of these self-soothing gestures to receiving a hug from someone else, they found that both groups released lower amounts of the stress hormone cortisol in response to a stressful situation, compared to a control group.