The Benefits of Cuddling

Who doesn’t love a good cuddle sesh? 

Whether it’s with your partner, a fling, a friend, or your dog – cuddling makes us feel pretty darn good. 

Some cuddle fanatics out there have even made events out of their love for cuddling. These “cuddle parties” are consensual, non-sexual, places where people can go and get their cuddle on, oftentimes with total strangers!

So why does cuddling feel so nice? Are there other benefits to it besides that?

Let’s find out!

It Makes You Feel Good

First and foremost, cuddling feels good.

You may know our good old friend oxytocin. Often called “the love hormone” or “the cuddle hormone”, oxytocin is essential to many processes like birth, pain management, and overall well-being. 

Oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus and is released during things like cuddling.  

While oxytocin has many roles in the human body, the one it’s most well known for is the rush of love or positive emotions that it brings.

Cuddling elicits this response, but you don’t need science to tell you that cuddling is good for you. 

It Gives You a Sense of Belonging

In a society where it’s often hard to find your place or feel like you belong, we need every opportunity we can get to help us increase that sense of belonging.

Cuddling helps us to feel safe and secure, and like we not only have a place in the world but a place in a community with people that care about us. 

When everything is so fast-paced, sometimes we forget just how powerful it can be to slow down and remember what’s important to you. Cuddling allows us to do just that. 

It Increases Bonding

Oxytocin plays a huge role in reproduction. It helps facilitate labor, lactation, and bonding with the baby.

You don’t have to have a baby to reap the bonding benefits of the love hormone. 

Cuddling with your romantic partner or friends helps increase the bond you feel between you, this in large part thanks to hormones. Oxytocin produced by cuddling helps to build a foundation of trust and love with whoever has the privilege of cuddling with you.

Part of bonding is communication, and so much of communication is non-verbal. Cuddling helps you pick up the subtle cues and rhythms of the person you’re with so that you can better communicate with them. 

You’d be surprised what you can pick up about your human by just cuddling.

It May Boost The Immune System

After being told to keep our distance from other people for the sake of our health, it may seem shocking to learn that cuddling can help boost your immune system. 

There are scientific studies that have shown that hugging and cuddling can help improve the immune system as well as fight viruses like the common cold. 

Cuddling and a human touch can also boost the immune system by decreasing inflammatory cytokines and increasing disease-fighting white blood cells, or lymphocytes.

While you might not want to cuddle with someone outside of your home if you’re actively sick, it’s great preventative medicine!

It Can Help Relieve Pain

Up until recently, researchers believed that oxytocin was only emitted into the bloodstream. Now they’ve found that it can also be released via the spinal cord.

These findings are pushing scientists to explore new pain management tools that work with this connection in the body.

You can try it for yourself by cuddling up to a loved one.

Got a headache? Cuddle. Stomach hurting? Cuddle. Feeling a bit achy? Cuddle.

Better Sex

If your cuddle partner is also your sexual partner, cuddling may improve your sex life.

One study found that partners who cuddled after sex had more sexual and relational satisfaction. 

Cuddling can also be an essential aftercare tool!

It Relieves Stress

Another incredible benefit of oxytocin is its ability to relieve stress.

After a long, hard at work, maybe you reach for a drink or some reality T.V., or maybe you reach for your loved one for a cuddle! Or all of the above. 

We can all use extra tools when it comes to managing our stress levels. This one is free, it’s reciprocal, and it comes with a whole bunch of other benefits.

Not to mention, lowering stress levels is one of the best things you can do for your health. The release of oxytocin helps to lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, aka the stress hormone.

Go Get Your Cuddle On

Not that you needed convincing, but now you have a little better understanding of just how awesome cuddling is for your mental, physical, and emotional health.

There’s no right or wrong way to cuddle. You can spoon, intertwine legs, hold each other, or some other variation.

If you don’t have someone around you, and you’re craving a cuddle, there are other ways you can get some of the benefits like cuddling with a pet, getting a massage, and even massaging yourself. While they don’t replace the feeling of cuddling with another person, they can certainly help!

Now go get your cuddle on!