Hugs have a positive effect on health and well-being: blood pressure drops, mood improves and the immune system is stimulated. But how do you create the strongest feel-good effect? There is now even a scientific guide for this, because British psychologists have examined it. Accordingly, the close physical contact should last at least five seconds, the researchers write under the title “The influence of duration, arm crossing style, gender, and emotional closeness on hugging behavior” in the trade journal Acta Psychologica. The position of the arms is less important. Men usually hug each other by placing one arm behind the shoulder and the other behind the other’s hip. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to hold their shoulders or hips with both arms. Apparently, this is how the psychologists working with Michael Banissy from the University of London interpret it, because men place more value on neither demonstrating superiority.
Hugs: How Men and Women Show Proximity – Knowledge
