With flu season upon us, many of us are pouring on the hand sanitizer and diligently taking an extra vitamin C each to avoid being afflicted by the nasty common cold.  However, new research at Carnegie Mellon University has found that something much simpler that we already do on a daily basis may be the answer to staying healthy.

According to the team of researchers, frequent hugging may help reduce an individual’s susceptibility to common infections triggered by stress and also temper the severity of the symptoms experienced by those who are afflicted by a virus.  The study, which was published in the journal Psychological Science,  is based on the idea that hugging is associated with the existence of a healthy social support network.  Individuals who report having strong social connections are generally better protected from the psychological effects of stress, such as anxiety and depression.  Similarly, the study demonstrated that the existence of a social support network is somewhat effective in protecting against stress-induced illnesses.

To test this assumption, researchers deliberately exposed 404 healthy adults to a common cold virus and quarantined them.  Prior to their exposure, researchers obtained information through questionnaires and phone interviews to determine the participants’ levels of social support, conflicts they are engaged in, and hugs they received from others.  The researchers concluded that participants who claimed to have greater social support during periods of conflict or distress were in fact less likely to be infected by the cold virus.  The physical contact generated by hugs was determined to be responsible for around a third of this effect.  Moreover, of the participants who became infected with the virus in the study, those who initially reported having positive social relationships and more frequent hugs experienced milder symptoms than those who reported having less social support and fewer hugs, regardless of whether they claimed to have interpersonal conflicts during this time.

According to Sheldon Cohen, the author of the study, “this suggests that being hugged by a trusted person may act as an effective means of conveying support and that increasing the frequency of hugs might be an effective means of reducing the deleterious effects of stress.”  It is not clear whether it is the supportive relationship or the act of hugging that produces this effect.  In either case, with holiday season upon us, you have an extra incentive to give another hug to a loved one!