It is no secret that consensual physical touch has a variety of advantages, however are there variations between women and men in how contact impacts stress? That is what this examine sought to search out out.
The researchers analyzed 76 individuals who had been in romantic relationships to be able to have a look at how hugging affected stress levels. They had been instructed to maintain a hand submerged in an ice-water bathtub for 3 minutes, all whereas being noticed and looking out right into a digicam (a traumatic expertise, little question).
However earlier than that, half of the individuals hugged their romantic associate, and the opposite half didn’t. The concept was to see whether or not hugging earlier than the traumatic occasion would affect the individuals’ stress response, which researchers assessed based mostly on cortisol levels of their saliva, their blood stress, and their emotional state.
