Even a quick hug can help you relax in a stressful situation. However, this only applies to women, as a team led by Gesa Berretz from the University of Bochum has now discovered. As the psychologists report in the journal PLOS ONE, they selected 38 couples as test subjects. Some of the couples should hug before the stress test. The subjects were then asked to hold their hand in ice-cold water for as long as possible while constantly looking into a camera. The researchers checked the level of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood to determine how severe the associated stress was.
This level rose less in the women who hugged before than in the control group. The researchers found no difference in men. From the point of view of the working group, this indicates the following: The hug beforehand reduces the stress caused by the task – but only for women. Hugs from a partner are expected to relieve tension. However, it is unclear where the difference between the sexes comes from.
As the team reports, it is probably not due to a different assessment of the relationship. Both sexes were equally happy in the relationship, so satisfaction with the partner had no influence on the result. In 2020, experts from the University of La Sapienza in Rome also described in an overview that women generally find touch in a social context more beautiful than men.
Is it because of the different socialization of the sexes, why only women benefit from a hug? “I think it’s possible that this is a potential explanation,” says Julian Packheiser, who worked on the experiment. But the question cannot really be answered, since previous research on the subject is scarce. Other, possibly biological, factors could also be involved. In any case, in the cross-study analysis from 2020, the authors write: “It seems plausible that the differences are not entirely explained by social and cultural customs.”