“That’s what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you’re not so lovable.” – Deb Caletti
As someone that despised physical affection for the longest time, hugs were far from a source of joy for me. As I’ve grown up and has COVID took away all of our hugs, I’ve learned to love them.
According to Healthline, we need four hugs a day for survival, that’s the bare minimum number of hugs. You need eight hugs a day for maintenance, meaning less than the bare minimum. You aren’t thriving but you aren’t doing badly. But we need a grand total of twelve or more hugs a day for growth.
You may read this and think that twelve hugs a day is an insane amount of hugs a day, but better too many hugs than not enough.
Hugs are so good for you. They increase your immune system, lower stress, boost your heart health, and help release all the happy hormones.
COVID robbed us of a lot of our hugs, so now is the time to get as many hugs as possible. Of course, you don’t have to go around counting your hugs but it’s still important to make sure you’re getting more than the bare minimum.
Hug a sibling, hug a friend, hug a neighbor. make a sign that says free hugs and stand at a park or busy area. You’ve got options. Now that you know that you need twelve hugs a day for growth, and I’m assuming you want growth, go out and hug some people.