Today is Valentine's Day. It is a good day to test out the theory that hugging your loved ones can help you sleep faster, deeper and better.
Do you have a special someone whom you love that you can spend the night with? Cuddle that person and go to sleep. Sleeping next to a loved one can improve your sleep and your well-being. It could be your partner, parent, kid, or friend, all that matters is that you have positive loving feelings towards that person and the physical intimacy of a hug or touch does the work.
How does sleeping next to a loved one, improve your sleep and your well-being?
Sleeping alone can trigger overthinking or feelings of loneliness. This makes it more difficult to relax and fall asleep.
Sleeping next to someone you love helps you to feel more secure and cared for, thus helping you to relax and drift into sleep. Touching or hugging someone you love before sleeping, releases several beneficial hormones that do you a world of good, such as:
Oxytocin
Serotonin
Dopamine
Oxytocin, the love hormone, is typically linked to warm, fuzzy feelings and is known to lower stress and anxiety. It has the power to regulate our emotional responses including trust, empathy, gazing, positive memories, processing of bonding cues, and positive communication.
Serotonin is a hormone that helps to stabilize moods, regulate feelings of well-being and happiness, regulate anxiety, and control sleep. This hormone is known to contribute to our well-being and happiness.
Dopamine affects our mood, movement, memory, and focus. Healthy levels of dopamine drive us to seek and repeat pleasurable activities, while low levels can have an adverse physical and psychological impact. When the brain has a healthy level of dopamine, we feel good.
In addition to the release of those beneficial hormones, hugging and cuddling with your loved ones can regulate certain other hormones and chemicals in the body that regulate sleep, balance stress, improve the immune system and improve your feeling of well-being.
Skin contact helps reduce cortisol levels in your body thus reducing your stress and anxiety levels. preparing you to get your natural sleep easily.
Tonight hug someone you love and fall asleep together.