Hugs reduce fear, stress, depression, loneliness, sickness and, in addition, provide self confidence, love and protection. Students at C​arnegie Mellon University conducted a study in which they took healthy adults and gave half of them hugs while the other half continued to live day by day without hugs. They wanted to see the true effects of a hug.

The results spoke for themselves. The subjects that received hugs every day showed signs of low stress, no depression, low chances of sickness and greater self-confidence. The students then observed the subjects that received no hugs. This half of the test group showed signs of depression, anxiety, extreme stress and sickness.

Additional studies concluded that depression, stress, anxiety and fear shorten a person’s life span. Proven facts show that every living thing needs hugs to survive. Scientists observed not only humans, but also animals and plants. Their study proved that hugs and loving words helped plants and animals thrive. During their experiment, the plants not subjected to loving words grew slower and animals that received little to no hugs fell into a deep depression where they refused to eat.

People need more hugs because life is worth more than any price. In one example, The university suggests about six minutes worth of hugs everyday. They also suggest expressing loving, kind words towards all. When all of these things come together, everyone thrives.