Hello, dear readers. This year is just a few hours away. It is inevitable not to think about all the things we lived in these past 365 days. 2018 leaves us with many mixed feelings. From joys to sorrows, through memories and nostalgia, everything comes at once: 2018 is gone.

This is the moment of the family meeting, of the reunion with loved ones, of the easy smile and the fraternal embrace. Because if there is a time when we embrace it is this. It is the perfect opportunity to give things, words, kisses and hugs. Without realizing it, with these details we are giving life to others. Because embracing is not only a sign of affection, but can also be very beneficial to our health.

Hugging is a simple thing, but very few of us do it and not as often as we should, and that is that hugging is beneficial for the one who gives it and for the one who receives it. When we embrace, according to some studies, we reduce the levels of distress, depression, loneliness, and prevent coronary heart disease. Not to mention that feeling affection, love and human warmth is essential for any human being to succeed. In that sense, we could say that being embraced is a basic need of any human being.

Some studies indicate that by embracing we not only secrete oxytocin (attachment hormone), but also release serotonin and dopamine, which generates a pleasant feeling of harmony, fullness and well-being at the time of hugging. In other words, hugging and being hugged can be as pleasant as eating ice cream and enjoying a delicious chocolate. Let's see 5 benefits that hugging and being embraced can bring.

Your confidence and security

Imagine a person who has to face a challenge and receives a hug from people close to him, obviously that person will take up the challenge in a safer way, because he feels the support and solidarity of his loved ones. In that sense, the embrace transmits strength, energy and the sense of greatness that needs to fight and get away with it. Much has been said about the importance of the embrace in children, in the elderly, in defenseless beings who may need security to move forward and face the new challenges that life gives them. The hug says to the receiver: go ahead, you can do it, I support you, count on me.

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Reduces stress and anxiety

A person who is under a lot of pressure is a person who can be tense. Hugging and being hugged can relax muscles and relieve stress. It is recommended that people hold each other tight, I call them octopus hugs, so that in that gesture they feel calm, peace. There are already many people who have known the immediate benefits of hugging a person. In fact, it is recommended that we hug at least 4 times a day and that the hug lasts a certain amount of time, not just a simple contact, but a squeeze of bones. So the next time you see someone stressed or fatigued, give them your arms as if they were a house, a shelter to stay in; they will surely thank you for it.

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Improves mood

Exercise with an angry person. In full anger, hug her and you will see the change of mood in the other. The hug has the particularity of making us feel loved and this feeling of affection makes us feel happy or at least not so angry. The same happens with people who may be depressed or who feel fear, loneliness. Being hugged can create a barrier against disease, give us peace of mind and can balance our nervous system. When we embrace, serotonin rises, and with it we gradually regain our good mood. Because hugging is like a handshake, but with the heart.

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It's good for your health

When we embrace, the hormone oxytocin is released and we activate mechanoreceptors of the skin called Pacini corpuscles, which are responsible for reducing blood pressure. Similarly, by receiving or hugging our immune system is activated and favors the creation of white blood cells and improve our defenses when we feel weak. Not to mention, giving and receiving hugs at an early age can help prevent dementia. Similarly, some studies say that hugging increases the life of our cells, preventing them from aging prematurely. So hug to stay healthy and young longer!

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Enhances emotional connection

The gestures of affection have the particularity of changing everything. An embrace is a physical contact that speaks of closeness, solidarity, complicity, respect, love, friendship. When others show that they love us we are capturing a wonderful message and that is that we deserve love. If one person is sad, he may feel that the other person shares his sadness, as well as joy, fear, worries. We embrace and in the embrace we give what the other person needs in the moment. Affective signs are never excessive and can even save us at any bad time. So don't leave the hugs you can give today for tomorrow.

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As we have seen, hugging can be energizing, satisfying, beneficial to your health. A hug can be the lifeline that keeps us safe even when we are drowning and afraid. A hug can make the difference between a bad day and a good one. We may not be able to wrap love in a box, but you can wrap a person in a hug. Tradition has it that every time we sincerely embrace, we earn one more day of life. So tonight try to accumulate many days of life and embrace strong, strong. An octopus hug for you and a happy new year.