Research tells us that physical touch is absolutely crucial for human beings. Being socially and physically connected is built into our DNA, and without it, we feel lonely, sad or depressed, and we start to shut down emotionally. This is tough during a pandemic, when we are supposed to physically distance from others, but I have some great news for you on that front. First, let's talk about human touch and hugs, and why they are important.
Premature babies or newborns with compromised immune systems typically spend a few days or weeks in isolation, or incubators that protect them from germs. It turns out that these babies can experience delays in physical growth as well as cognitive and emotional growth if they go too long without skin to skin contact with human beings. So, you see, if you have been feeling really down, or a host of other symptoms during COVID-19, it could be that you are missing out on your daily dose of hugs or skin to skin contact.
For humans, when we hug or get hugs from others, or have human touch experiences, our body produces 'feel good' hormones like dopamine and oxytocin. Oxytocin is a very dynamic and multi-faceted hormone, it turns out. Typically, oxytocin is thought of as the hormone that pregnant women produce that initiates labor, and milk production for breastfeeding. And that would be true, but pregnant women are not the only ones that produce and need oxytocin. It has a host of other very interesting roles. Oxytocin is also a stress hormone: we produce more of it when we are stressed out. But, that is not a bad thing! Why, you ask? Because what oxytocin does when we are stressed is so incredibly amazing (if you want to know more about it, here is an interesting TED talk to watch: https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en)!!!
In short, what oxytocin does when we are stressed out is first, it helps repair damage to the heart that is caused by the stress itself, but also, and this is the cool part, it encourages us to reach out other people. People we know, not strangers. That is creepy. It encourages us to reach out to our trusted people to provide us with support (emotional, instrumental, advice, etc.). This is great! Right?
So, oxytocin is important. And we can increase our levels of oxytocin without stressing ourselves out even more. Turns out, we can increase out oxytocin by hugging someone. And when we do that, we also raise the oxytocin levels of the person we hug. If it is someone we know, again, not a stranger, that is creepy!!!
By the way, we can also raise our own oxytocin levels by petting our dog, according to research. Research suggests this isn't true with cats, which I think is funny, since I am really allergic to cats.
So we have established that hugs are important, and the biology behind those hugs. Oh, yes, by the way, if you are not a big hugger, you can get a similar effect, albeit not quite as strong of an oxytocin boost, by touching someone's shoulder, like a friend or loved one.
Given that we are still in the throngs of a pandemic, many of us, myself included, may not have access to people we can hug. If you live alone, like I do, or you live with roommates that are either not socially distancing, making them unsafe for hugs, or you just don't have that kind of relationship with them, well, where do you go for your safe dose of human touch? Tough question! There is always the dog option, of course. I recently adopted a puppy from a local animal shelter (with lots of planning for a safe pandemic transition), and she has provided me with lots of oxytocin boosts (and potty training accidents, but that is another story...). But, if a dog is also not an option, a developing concept during the pandemic has been the idea of 'quaranteaming' or 'pandemic pods'. These terms are interchangeable, and represent a group of people with whom you either live or interact with during the pandemic, with specific guidelines to maintain pandemic safety. A pandemic pod is a small group of people, no more than 10-12, but 4-6 is best, that originate from no more than 3 different households. This group of people all agree to practice serious physical distancing from everyone except members of the pod, and everyone is confident that they are COVID-19 negative. This can be confirmed through testing, or by process of elimination: you avoid everyone and all places for 2 weeks, and are symptom free throughout. So, this pod is your safe group from the virus, and these are people you can spend time with, and hug. It is suggested that you continue to wear masks while hugging people in your pod, but you can feel safe spending time with them without masks, as long as you are confident everyone in the pod is abiding by the safety protocols outside of the pod gatherings.
To learn more about safety protocols or guidelines for a pandemic pod, check out this great article: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_form_a_pandemic_pod.
I learned a lot about pandemic pods from the article noted above, and I highly recommend you give it a read if you are considering developing your own pod. The website this article is from, Greater Good, is a fabulous resource for the science of well-being, so you might want to spend some time reviewing the site.
That is it for today! I hope you are all staying healthy and safe, and that you are putting some of my blog tips to good use in your life, making it better as a result.
I know the chaos of 2020 is lasting a lot longer than we all probably anticipated, but stay resolved to do your part to reduce the number of cases of the COVID-19 virus. Also, stay resolved to do your part for equal rights for all. We are learning so much about the inequities for people of color and other minorities in the US and in the world, and the current energy to initiate change needs to be a moving force for all of us. Sure, all lives matter, no doubt. But we need to focus right now on raising awareness for those lives that have not been given equal rights, equal opportunity, equal education, equal healthcare, equal respect, equal changes to live, love, and pursue their own happiness. To that, I say: Black Lives Matter!
Be resolved, each one of you. Be resilient. Be aware. Be kind.
My best to each of you!
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