Free Hugs
Each Saturday, when I go to the grocery store, I get my blood pressure taken…
I Take my blood pressure on the machine that they have there at the grocery store…
It's a great way to keep track, it's always consistent and I always go in about the same time of day…
It's a good way for me to know that my home blood pressure unit is staying accurate…
So anyway, I've been checking my BP at this store for several years now…
Well, my oldest daughter is nine years old and she goes with to the grocery store…
The first thing we do when we go in, it's right there on the left, I get my cart, walk in, sit down, take my blood pressure…
For a long time she would just play around the cart, climb on the cart, do that kind of stuff…
But then she got interested because, you know, there's a screen, there's buttons, it’s electronic…
She’ll kind of stand behind me, and watch over my shoulder as I test my blood pressure…
She got in the habit of putting her hand on my back, touching my shoulder, or lightly hugging around my neck, and just kind of watching as this machine took my blood pressure…
Funny thing is, I felt calmer when she did that, and I noticed that my blood pressure seemed to be a little lower than I anticipated, maybe five points lower, when she was touching me that way…
“Huh, isn't that interesting?” I thought.. So I watched it over several weeks, weeks that she was with me, and weeks that she wasn’t…
and sure enough… It seemed to be five to ten points lower when she was kind leaning against me, and touching my back…
So, I did a little bit of research, and come to find out, there is a huge body of evidence that shows that human touch lowers blood pressure…
It's just absolutely amazing. Human touch, a hug, holding hands, that kind of intimacy really lowers blood pressure…
And so, today, I'm wearing my Free Hug shirt and I'm giving free hugs, and I'm feeling much better with every hug that I give.
So let me tell you a little bit about how this works. The first thing that happens when you have physical contact with another human being, positive physical contact, is that your body starts to reduce the level of cortisol in your blood…
Now, Cortisol is the stress hormone and it’s related to the fight or flight response…
High levels of cortisol can lead to weight gain, anxiety, high blood sugar and most importantly for our discussion, high blood pressure…
So anything that lowers the stress hormone back into the normal range, is good for you, right?
I mean, After all, as a country, we are all over stressed…
But another thing human touch does, holding hands, a hug, a pat on the back, that sort of thing…
is it causes the release of oxytocin into the blood system… Now oxytocin is another hormone, and oxytocin is often called the “snuggle hormone…”
When you snuggle with somebody, your body releases oxytocin, a hormone that makes you feel safe, and protected, and cozy, and less stressed…
So all those things are very positive for the cardiovascular system and, helpful in lowering blood pressure…
These two hormones, lowering your cortisol, and increasing your oxytocin, have been shown time and time again to lower blood pressure… It’s Amazing, isn’t it?
So what's the holdback? Give somebody a hug today…
Make an appointment to hold somebody's hand. If you've got a kid in your life, love on them, roll around with them, play with them…
If it's been too long since you've hugged your wife, make it a point every day to just give her a great hug, give your husband a great hug. Hold hands…
When you're sitting at dinner, when you're sitting in the car, sit close…
Let's give more free hugs. If you got a Saturday, got a couple of hours, go to the local rest home, or the assisted living facility…
Just give people some hugs. You'll be surprised what it will do for them, but what you're really doing is giving life changing medicine for yourself…
I highly encourage you to enjoy some free hugs today…