A new study investigates how hugging relates to mood and life satisfaction.

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“My co-authors and I used a research method called “Ecological Momentary Assessment” (or in short: EMA) on 94 adult volunteers. EMA means that volunteers were not invited to a lab and tested there, like in many traditional psychological studies. Instead, they received an online link to a short questionnaire about hugging, mood, and life satisfaction every day for a period of one week. This method is thought to more realistically capture everyday behavior compared to laboratory testing, which puts people in very artificial situations. Our research team found several new insights into hugging, including:

1. Saturday is hugging day.

On average, participants in the study hugged about six times per day, but there were huge differences between people. While some people never hugged, the participant with the most hugs hugged 150 times.

2. Four is the magic number.

The research team also investigated how many people each person hugged per day. A high number of hugs could be achieved by hugging one person very often, or by hugging many people a few times.

On average, people hugged about four other persons per day. Again, the differences between people were tremendous. Some people did not hug anyone during the seven-day period of the study while one participant hugged as many as 110 people.

3. More hugs = better mood.

The research group also investigated the association between hugging, mood, personality, and feelings of loneliness. We found that people who hugged generally had a more positive mood. They also felt less lonely than people who embraced less.

4. Singles benefit more from hugs than couples.

One of the most intriguing results of the study came from an analysis that included relationship status. My co-authors and I investigated the association between hugging and general life satisfaction but did not find any significant effects for the direct association. However, this association was strongly affected by relationship status. While there was only a weak association for people in a relationship, there was a strong and positive relationship between hugging and life satisfaction for singles. Thus, in terms of life satisfaction, singles benefit more from hugging than people that have a partner.”

Read the full available article on Psychology Today

Reflection: Do you agree with this list, or would you add another benefit of hugs?

#Hugging #Happiness #Mood #LifeSatisfaction