Kindness ideas by Katie Ranney
While social distancing due to the pandemic has decreased casual, social touch, an increase in the number of vaccinations, decrease in COVID cases, and easing of restrictions could bring back hugs to our social interactions. Being prudent when choosing who to hug, such as people within your “bubble”, can also help you enact this kindness while staying safe.
According to the University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine, hugs have numerous benefits for hugger and huggee. Social touch, such as hugging, activates the c-tactile afferents, nerves that process the emotional meaning of touch. These nerves signal the rewarding aspects of social touch and trigger a wave of different hormonal reactions, which can benefit social bonding, slow heart rate, and reduce stress and anxiety. By hugging someone, you can provide them with the other benefits as well: improve their sleep, build their resilience to stress, strengthen their well-being through relationships, and assist their immune response in fighting off infections.(https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_ways_hugs_are_good_for_your_health)
