A Hug A Day Keeps The Doctor Away!

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Hugging is not only a nice way to start the day, but it's also necessary for our positive physical and emotional well-being, according to recent research.

Various experiments have shown that hugging can make people feel better about themselves, positively affect children's language skills and IQ, and help improve the mental outlook of the person who is being hugged, as well as the hugger. According to author, nurse and hug expert Kathleen Keating in The Hug Therapy Book, hugging is a very special form of touch therapy that significantly contributes to the way a person heals, and his/her overall health.

Another true-life example is given by David Bresler, Ph.D, former director of UCLA's Pain Control Clinic, who instructed a female patient suffering from reoccurring pain to receive four hugs a day administered by her husband. Once her hugging therapy began, the patient's pain subsided. Touch therapy expert Helen Colton says that touch is a basic healing need sometimes even more vital than medication. Colton's observations indicate that when a person's need for hugging is satisfied, he becomes physically and emotionally stronger and better able to handle problems or traumas.

According to Dolores Krieger, R.N., Ph.D., professor of nursing at New York University and expert in the field of touch therapy, when one person hugs or touches another, it actually invigorates the body by stimulating the level of hemoglobin which carries oxygen to tissues. When these tissues receive oxygen, they have a new energy that continues to rejuvenate the body.

Other research in the hugging field has shown that hugging helps lessen the chances of senility in people age 70+, increases liveliness, curiosity, problem-solving abilities and overall physical well-being, and substantially improves a newborn's developmental progress.

For more information on how you can bring warmth into a loved one's heart by hugging, read The Hug Therapy Book by Kathleen Keating, The Gift of Touch by Helen Colton, and Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin by Ashley Montague

Reprinted from an article by Kathleen Keating entitled “Hug Therapy”.

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This was found an a site which sell something they call Teddy WarmHeart. Here is part of their ad. I don't usually put any kind of advertising on the site, but this is pretty interesting.

Warm bear hugs are so well known that a former NASA engineer decided to put his technical expertise to good use by developing a teddy bear that generates human-like warmth and, the manufacturer says, is perfect for hugging.

This bear, Teddy WarmHeart, is a plush teddy that has a non-toxic warming "heart" sewn inside its body that generates a huggable warmth. The bear's warm heart is activated by giving the toy a short two-minute "nap" inside a special sleeping bag that gets tucked away in the bear's "den" -- the microwave. Then, the bear becomes huggably warm for up to four hours. SGS Inspection and Laboratory Testing, a company specializing in toy testing before distribution to the public, has tested Teddy WarmHeart and found this bear to be safe for infants through adults.

The Teddy WarmHeart Corp., manufacturers of the bear, state that Teddy WarmHeart was originally created to help keep premature infants warm while napping.

In a world that has grown more complicated, more fierce in the demands made upon our hearts and pocket books, there is one easy, free gift left. The power of touch. Don’t turn away from the elderly, disabled, terminally ill or long term care residents because their needs seem beyond your ability to give. The one thing they need the most is the most simple, yet profound gift you have to give. Your kind hand holding theirs and a hug from your heart. The gift of touch is the most powerful healing you can offer another, and it is the most powerful healing you can give yourself. Give generously and watch yourself grow rich in what matters the most. Hug often, hug well. Embrace your spirit!