hug to be happy

The hug is one of the most powerful tools that we have within our reach, not only to show affection and strengthen ties, but to feel happy.

Why does it feel good to hug each other?

Today we know that with hugs we generate more oxytocina small molecule capable of acting as a hormone and as a neurotransmitter.

At the same time, thanks to oxytocin we can achieve a generous and affectionate behavior. In fact, this hormone plays a decisive role in falling in love, orgasm, childbirth, and love for children, among others. And it has been shown that the experience of love and compassion makes us more likely to release oxytocin.

Empathic human relationship, governed by oxytocin, is the key to trust, love and prosperity.

On the opposite side is testosterone, which is related to aggression or punishment. Men with high testosterone get divorced more often, spend less time with their children, enter competitions of all kinds, and lose their jobs more often.

How can we get more oxytocin?

According to the American professor of neurology and economics Paul J. Zak: hugging each other.

A few years ago, Zak –who follows in the footsteps of the work of neuroscientist Antonio Damasio– He began to warn everyone who visited his laboratory that before leaving, he would give them a hug. Over time, he has found that this “slightly eccentric” ad changes the intensity of the conversation, making it more intimate and valuable.

“I suspect that by announcing a hug I am indicating how much I trust that person, inducing the secretion of oxytocin in their brain.”

Zak’s recipe for happiness is simple: eight hugs a day.: “We have shown that giving eight hugs a day makes you happier and that the world will be a better place because you will be causing other brains to secrete oxytocin.”

Free hugs: the power of contagion

Those who receive a hug will relate better to otherscausing the secretion of more oxytocin. It’s a virtuous circle that starts with a hug

A circle that the volunteers of the Free Hugs movementstarted by a young Australian who calls himself Juan Mann.

In 2004, devastated by family problems, he received a hug from a stranger at a party: “I felt like a king, it was the best thing that has ever happened to me”. That decided him to spread hugs in the middle of Sydney. One was recorded on video and circulated massively on the Internet.

An unexpected hug can be intimidating, but in a few seconds it produces well-being, elevates the spirit and the feeling of belonging to a group.

We don’t hug just anyone, of course. in certain circles (political, business) hugs replace handshakes, but they are usually hugs devoid of emotion. with little oxytocin and a lot of testosterone.

According to Paul J. Zak, testosterone causes people to “do strange things”: verbal battles, bar fights and domestic violence. lucky that nature offsets testosterone with the empathy and cooperation of oxytocin.

To know more: the molecule of happiness (Indications). In this book, Paul J. Zak discusses the influence of oxytocin levels on individuals, on intimate relationships, and ultimately on society as a whole.