The neuroeconomist and Professor of Neuroeconomics, Paul Zak, recommends that you get 4 hugs a day for survival. He argues that you need at least 8 hugs a day for maintenance, and if you get 12 hugs a day, it will improve your growth, mood, and relationships.

   Hugs immediately build oxytocin levels, which help with feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger. Nowadays, there are many people that are lonely. If everyone got more hugs than usual,  everyone would most likely be healthier than before, and be able to grow in emotional health and possibly inspire other people to grow as well. A recent survey from the University Of California, that contained a scale of loneliness, states that nearly 20,000 people in the US, almost half of the adults are in isolation or in fear of being lonely.

  Anna Andersone, the founder of be-with company, a company that focuses on the impact of emotions and the human touch, says, “Hugs are good for you because they strengthen the immune system from the pressure of the sternum from the hug.” She added, “This pressure stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates the production of your white blood cells to keep you healthy and more disease-free.”

   When you get a hug, it boosts your self-esteem, elevating your mood, and increasing your happiness. Getting a hug also builds trust and a sense of safety between you and the other person. Also, it helps build open and honest relationships between one another.

   When you think of getting a hug from someone who is special or important to you a hug from that person, you most likely feel cheerful or excited because of the stimulus from getting a hug from them. More than often, you are going to want to hug them more often and feel that adrenaline of hugging them again.

   Overall, hugs are mostly good for you to get and give. There is just no reason not to give someone a hug!