The 6 benefits of hugs and pampering in bed
The way in which we live intimacy and affectivity with other people can make a difference. Something as simple as hugging in bed, pampering and making the spoon stretched on the mattress makes the day change color. And, in the long term, if we transform it into a habit, it is a routine that gives us several advantages that we should not miss.
Now, it may seem that being something so simple, the hugs and caresses in the bed change little, which are just as banal entertainment as it could be playing cards. Not so, for several reasons.
The physical and psychological benefits of hugging in bed
Below you can see several of the reasons why making the spoon and hugging on the bed makes our lives a little better .
1. Increase oxytocin levels
Oxytocin is a hormone that our body segregates in contexts in which we experience the sensation of living something intimate with someone else. For example, it exerts more influence on our brain when we look someone in the eye for several seconds in a row ... even if that someone is a dog.
It is a loop: The more oxytocin we secrete, the closer we are to an intimate relationship , which in turn causes us to segregate a greater quantity of this substance. The result is that we get used to relating the presence of the other person to these situations, so that in other contexts, even far from the bedroom, the relationship becomes more intimate.
- Related article: "Oxytocin, the hormone of love and affective ties"
2. Help withstand the pain
Oxytocin, in addition to participating in our affective relationships and contributing to our experiencing a pleasant sensation, makes us better support pain. To put it in some way, by making us feel "like in a cloud", our attention stops focusing so much on unpleasant stimuli .
3. It gives us more freedom to move
We can embrace almost anywhere, but the bed, despite not being always at hand, is the ideal place to do so.
The reason is that while the verticality of the standing hugs limits the type of physical contact we can make, making the arms always more or less supported in the same area of the body of the other person, when lying on the mattress is Possible to adopt all kinds of postures to hug, kiss or pamper yourself.
4. Enrich life in marriage
There are many people who associate bed with the act of sleeping, or having sex. This means that when lying down on the mattress, your body automatically goes on to activate physiologically in one of these two modalities: either the libido goes up or the sensation of sleep and fatigue appears. It is a phenomenon known as simple conditioning.
Use the bed for other things as usual makes our life richer, since, among other things, it gives us the option to consider the possibility of using that piece of furniture to its full potential. And it may seem silly, but the caresses and hugs that are given in bed are a unique experience, very different from other ways to create intimacy and strengthen emotional ties.
- Maybe you're interested: "Classical conditioning and its most important experiments"
5. Help fight stress
There are many studies in which it is evident that physical contact with someone you love causes levels of stress and anxiety to fall significantly. Further, the greater the affective bond that unites two people, the greater the therapeutic effects that hugs and pampering have on our organism. Cortisol, which is the hormone associated with stress, is secreted less when we embrace each other and when these embraces include direct contact between one skin and the other.
In addition, we must remember that the root of many psychological and physical problems is stress. The hormones secreted during this state, and the wear and tear that produce their effects, cause a greater weakness against certain bacteria and viruses, which can proliferate until reaching the critical mass sufficient to produce more or less serious diseases.
6. Improves the development of babies
The hugs and pampering in bed are not exclusive of couple relationships between lovers, of course. In fact, they have a fundamental role in motherhood . It has been seen, for example, that premature babies who spend time lying on the mother's breast develop fewer health problems and experience better cognitive development than those who spend all their time in the incubator. In addition, these effects are noted in the long term, since it is an advantage that remains present at least 10 years after birth.
- Related article: "The Theory of Attachment and the bond between parents and children"
