HAPPY NATIONAL CUDDLE UP DAY!
Got high blood pressure? Try hugging more on this National Cuddle Up Day! This morning, I was thinking about my high blood pressure as I downed my amlodipine pill with my coffee. My little dog, Gracie, greeted me with her stub of a tail wagging; it made me smile as I leaned down to pat her little head and scratch her silky ears.
Every morning, the first thing my dog does is show me love and affection. I don’t do anything to deserve it; it is a picture of unconditional doggy love. It reminded me of my parents’ three dachshunds they got after we siblings left the nest. Those doxies would stand at the foot of the stairs with their little dachshund tails wagging, waiting for their master to come down for breakfast. My father was met every morning with the same unconditional love and affection. Guess what that did for him? It lowered his cholesterol and blood pressure.
We are wired for affection, in fact, the benefit of physical touch is the first sense to start working in an unborn child in the womb, even as early as 14 weeks. The gentle stroke of the mother or father’s touch to a newborn, lowers the baby’s heart rate and promotes brain cell connection.
Educators who give high fives, fist bumps, or a pat on the shoulder, are increasing a student’s likelihood to participate in activities and speak up in class according to a study by a French physiologist. Another study shows that when a librarian pats the hand of a student during check out, the student was more likely to return to the library for more books.
Recently, a certain candidate for vice president made a comparison of certain democrats to “childless cat ladies.” Besides being immature name-calling, it’s a dismissal of the importance of pet ownership. If you live alone, and the US Census reports that 30% of Americans do live alone, you better have a cat to hug. The benefit of having a pet to cuddle is decreasing your stress within minutes. During the time you are petting your dog, your cortisol, a stress hormone, will lower and your serotonin, the feel-good chemical in your body, will rise. Studies prove that pet owners actually have lower cholesterol and blood pressure that non pet owners. So, go ahead and be a cat lady or dog lover, especially if you are alone with no one else to hug.
You need to get in about four hugs a day just to maintain survival says the British Journal of Nursing. Eight hugs are needed for good mental health. We are creatures made for connectivity, whether it is with your cat, your dog, your parakeet, or your spouse, give and get a hug today for National Cuddle Up Day!
*Pictured is my dear friend, Melodie Steinert, dog whisperer and hugger extraordinaire.
