Why Hugging Makes People Feel Better

Touch and hug is known to be able to reduce stress and relieve pain. So how actually hugs can make someone feel better?
Researchers showed that holding hand of someone that you love can reduce pain and also stress or pressure. Researchers from the University of California revealed that for women, touching or seeing someone that she loves could be her own anesthetic. Even only seeing a photo can been quite influential.
In this study, researchers involved 25 volunteers, mostly students and have a good relationship with their partner for at least 6 months.
According to the Telegraph, the study shows that women who are given little sense of burning would reduce discomfort by viewing photos of their boyfriends. Anesthetic effects have been found if a person holding hands with their partner when there is stimulation of  burning which is quite painful.
Besides that, it is known that the pain would be felt less when a person holds hands or hug people they love or trust, compared with other people’s hand or a ball.
This result also explains why a mother could give a good comfort to her children by giving a hug or kiss.
Some treatments of physical illness include hugging as an aid, because a touch can stimulate nerve endings that help reduce the pain and makes the patient feel better.
Therapeutic touch is recognized to be able to help the healing process because it can lead to comfort and can release oxytocin hormone. The touch is used to help relieve pain, depression, anxiety and help premature babies to continue to grow and develop.
Hugging can give a positive emotion that makes people feel better because it has a calming effect and also reduce stress levels. This also applies if someone hugs their favorite animal.