More than Words: The Surprising Benefits of Physical Affection

Lisa Franchi September 30, 2013

When it comes to love and affection, showing it matters more than just saying it. Kissing your spouse before heading to work, hugging and cuddling your baby, embracing your son or daughter for their accomplishments, or rubbing a weeping friend’s back – all these are physical forms of affection that can promote your health and well-being.

Here are the reasons why you should be more physically affectionate in your close relationships:

Physical affection lowers blood pressure. If you think being affectionate promotes only your mental health, you’re wrong. It benefits your health at a physical level too! In a 2005 study published in the journal Biological Psychology, researchers found that women who received more hugs from their romantic partners tend to have lower resting blood pressures.

Physical affection improves mood.

According to a study published in 2007 in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, women who engaged in physical affection with a loved one experienced a positive mood the following day. Well, this isn’t surprising. When we are being physically affectionate, the levels of oxytocin (also called the ‘love’ hormone) in our body also increases, resulting to a significant improvement in mood and well-being.

Physical affection lowers stress. Chronic stress is one of the leading causes of diseases. But there are easy and proven techniques that can help you manage your stress levels. One of which is being physically affectionate. A study by the University of Zurich revealed that positive couple interactions, particularly intimacy, can reduce cortisol levels (stress hormone). Here, researchers found a 7% reduction in the amount of work-related cortisol among couples who were physically affectionate with one another.

Physical affection makes you resilient. Thank your mum and dad for the hugs and kisses they gave you when you were still a toddler. A long-term research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Health in 2010 found that babies who received more maternal affection at 8 months old were more emotionally resilient as adults. In particular, these adults had much lower levels of anxiety than their peers who received less maternal affection.

It boosts physical development. Research held in 1990 on Romanian orphans suggests that children who received little affection from their caregivers experience problems with physical growth and emotional development. The researchers found that the study participants who were denied with love and physical attention were, on average, much shorter and weighed much less than their peers. Another study, published in 1999 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, revealed that girls who received higher levels of mother-daughter or father-daughter affection started puberty later than girls who were deprived of affection.

Physical affection predicts marital love. The physical affection shown to each other by a married couple predicts how much they love each other. That’s according to a 1994 study which appeared in the journal Communication Reports. Physical affection can also tell how satisfied individuals are when it comes to their romantic relationships, suggests a study published in The American Journal of Family Therapy. In this study, researchers examined 7 types of physical affection (backrubs, caressing, cuddling or holding, hugging, kissing on the lips, and kissing on the face) and found that the more forms of physical affection a partner shows, the higher his or relationship satisfaction level is. Furthermore, participants who reported experiencing more physical affection displayed greater abilities in solving relationship conflicts.

It makes a person appear ‘trustworthy’. Another surprising benefit of physical affection is that it can even improve how other people perceive you. According to a study which appeared in the Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour, people who engaged more in affectionate touching appeared more ‘trustworthy’ than their less touchy colleagues.

All these tell us that being physically affectionate is important to achieving healthy and satisfying relationships. So when you get home today or the moment you see your child, mum/dad, or special someone, give them a tight hug or a kiss. You won’t just experience the benefits mentioned above, but you can also improve how your loved ones feel and help them get over a ‘bad day’.