5 Reasons Cuddling With Your Partner Makes You Healthier, According To Research
So go on ... cuddle away!
VGstockstudio / Shutterstock Physical affection may be the most powerful of all love languages and since spooning during cuddling provides full-body contact between you and your partner, it's the perfect way to boost your connection ... and your health. So call over your lovebug and get all nice and cozy under the sheets.
We should all cuddle a lot more often but according to studies, nearly a quarter of Americans continue to sleep apart! So if you have one goal this week, make it to spend a lot more time in bed cuddling! Put on Netflix, order that pizza, and get as humanly close to your lover as possible.
5 reasons spooning and cuddling with your partner makes you healthier:
1. Hugs are good for your heart.
Not all of us cuddle after being intimate — but we should.
"Hugs have been proven to lower your blood pressure and spooning is a horizontal hug that can last hours!" says Julian Wolf, sexuality educator. Some of the best things about sex are the foreplay, and the cuddles that happen after.
2. Higher oxytocin levels = less stress.
Oxytocin is known as "the feel-good hormone," says Dr. Laurie Bennett-Cook, clinical sexologist. "Oxytocin has the ability to increase our immune systems and decrease pain. Additionally, it reduces stress, social anxiety, and depression.
Sounds good right? And all you have to do is hold another person. Or at least something as warm as a human, and preferably around the same shape too.
"Nearly all of us could use more oxytocin release. While spooning with a partner is a fantastic way to achieve this, not everyone has that outlet.
If that is the case for you, there are substitute outlets that can assist in achieving the same benefits, such as cuddling with a child or pet, or surrounding yourself with a soft pillow and blankets to create a comfy nest of sorts to allow yourself to feel surrounded," says Bennett-Cook.
You don't even need another person after all! Grab your cat or your nephew's teddy bear. and curl up on that couch and enjoy the oxytocin.
3. Breathing together makes for a healthier heart.
Spooning is great for "feel-good feelings" and thus can ultimately be good for heart health. Try breathing in synch with your partner while you spoon, says Astroglide's resident sexologist, Dr. Jess. Go a step further and just face each other and feel each other's heartbeats.
4. Relaxation soothes the soul.
Spooning allows couples to feel each other's vibration which, in that state, are calm and peaceful, says sexpert Sheyda Irani. Plus, it's an awesome transfer of energies that promote relaxation and love. It's like they're purring for you.
5. You'll sleep sounder.
Research shows women in long-term relationships sleep better than those who don't have a partner. Remember, you don't have to be cuddling a person, you can poon your pillow and get the same effect.
Aly Walasnky is a NY-based lifestyle writer. Her work appears in dozens of digital and print publications regularly. Visit her on Twitter.