Hi, I’m Amy, and just like Olaf in the Disney movie Frozen, I like warm hugs.
I’m a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger. I hug people I know…I hug new people I meet…I pretty much hug everyone… I just love hugs! And apparently all that hugging has been far more beneficial than I ever knew. I found that out when I came across an article on Healthline that cites multiple research studies that have shown that hugs have all of these amazing benefits:
*Hugs reduce stress
*Hugs reduce your chance of getting sick
*Hugs lower your heart rate and blood pressure
*Hugs make you happier
*Hugs help reduce your fears and anxiety level
*Hugs help you reduce pain
*Hugs help you communicate
Here all this time I’ve thought hugs were just a good way for me to show love and caring toward other people, but clearly those hugs have been benefiting me most of all! That’s AWESOME!
So how many hugs should we give in a day? Well, according to family therapist Virginia Satir, “We need four hugs a day to survive, eight hugs to keep us as we are and 12 hugs to grow”. Given that I have no desire to simply survive or stay the same, 12 hugs a day it is!! And it just so happens that August 23rd is actually Hug Your Sweetheart Day, and who better to hit that daily hug count with than your sweetheart.
Wanna know the very best part about a hug? You can’t give one without getting one. So get out there and start giving!
~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )
