3 New Scientific Insights on Hugs and Happiness

1. People hugged less during the COVID-19 pandemic than before.

Before the pandemic, people hugged an average of 6.29 times per day. During the pandemic, this number significantly decreased to 2.64 times per day.

2. Before the pandemic, people hugged more on weekends. But during the pandemic, there was no difference between the days of the week and hugging.

The next interesting finding was that before the pandemic, people hugged more on weekends than on weekdays. This probably reflects that people meet more other people that they would like to hug on the weekend, for example, If they go to parties. On weekdays, most people spend a lot of time at work, where hugs may be considered unprofessional in many companies.

3. Hugs make us feel better–even more so during social isolation.

Receiving more hugs in everyday life was associated with a better mood, but this result had an interesting twist. During the pandemic, when people hugged much less than before, there was a substantially stronger association between hugging and a good mood. Thus, when hugs were rare, their positive effect on mood was much stronger.