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Study finds hugging could be as good for you as it feels

Both women and men were more positive, less stressed when hugged after a conflict
Nancy Clanton
By

Maybe Freddie Freeman is on to something.

The Braves first baseman is a well-known hugger, and a new study concludes those hugs could have health benefits.

» For National Hug Day, here are photos of Freddie Freeman hugging people

In a paper published this week in PLOS One, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University concluded that a hug can have a positive effect on mood and help lower stress after a conflict.

The study talked to 404 people every night over a two-week period. Participants were asked if they experienced conflict, if they received a hug and what their mood was, among other things.

People who faced conflict and got a hug on the same day said they experienced an increase in positive feelings and a decrease in negative ones.

"A very simple, straightforward behavior — hugging — might be an effective way of supporting both men and women who are experiencing conflict in their relationships," explains co-author Michael Murphy, a post-doctoral researcher in Carnegie Mellon University's Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity and Disease.

Murphy conceded more research needs to be done, especially to look at the relationship between hugger and hug recipient.

"The lack of specificity regarding from whom individuals received hugs also restricted our ability to identify whether hugs from specific types of social partners were more effective than those from others," he wrote.

In 2015, a similar study at Carnegie Mellon concluded that "people who experience high levels of social support and frequent hugs were protected from a higher risk of getting sick when under stress."