Japan scientists unlock the secret to the perfect hug
- A team from Toho University measured the calming effect on infants of hugs of different pressures, and when given by strangers compared to from parents
- The researchers kept the length of the hug to 20 seconds as ‘it was almost impossible to avoid infant’s bad mood during a one-minute or longer hold’
A team from Tokyo’s Toho University measured the calming effect on infants of hugs of different pressures, and when given by strangers compared to from parents.
By monitoring heart rates for the infant and using pressure sensors on the adult’s hand, the researchers assessed the baby’s reaction to just being held, a hug with medium pressure, and what they called a “tight hug.”
According to the results, published in the journal Cell, babies were soothed more by a medium-pressure hug than just being held but the calming effect decreased during a “tight” hug.
The researchers kept the length of the hug to 20 seconds as “it was almost impossible to avoid infant’s bad mood during a one-minute or longer hold or hug,” they admitted in their paper.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, for infants older than 125 days, the calming effect was greater when receiving a hug from a parent than from a female stranger.