A simple hug from a stranger is enough to sooth the pain of loneliness, a new study has shown for the first time.
University College London researchers warn cuddles are in threat of being forgotten about, as humans become engrossed in their phones and interact digitally.
But it’s so powerful it can comfort someone who is suffering one of the most hurtful emotional experiences – social exclusion and rejection, the study showed.
The finding has implications for tackling the growing scourge of loneliness across Britain – which has been described as a ‘silent epidemic.’
It has been worryingly linked with heart disease, cancer, obesity in recent years, and has been dubbed as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
A hug is so powerful it can comfort someone who is suffering one of the most hurtful emotional experiences – social exclusion and rejection
Lead author Mariana von Mohr said: ‘As our social world is becoming increasingly visual and digital it’s easy to forget the power of touch in human relations.
‘Yet we’ve shown for the first time mere slow, gentle stroking by a stranger can reduce feelings of social exclusion after social rejection.’
The research compared the impact of a slow, affectionate touch and a fast, neutral one following rejection.
How was the study carried out?
In the study, 84 women were led to believe they were playing a ball-tossing game with two other participants to measure their mental visualisation skills.
They then answered a questionnaire about their feelings of belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence and control.
The participants thought they were playing games with real people when in fact the other players were computer-generated.
When the women resumed the game after a 10-minute break, the other players unexpectedly stopped throwing balls at them – causing them to feel excluded.
The participants were then blindfolded and their left forearms touched with a soft-bristled brush with either slow or fast speed.
They then completed the same questionnaire to allow researchers to compare their feelings from before and after the study.
What did they find?
Those touched at a slow speed had reduced feelings of the negativity and social exclusion compared to those who received a fast, ‘neutral’ touch.
This was despite general mood remaining the same between both conditions, the research published in Scientific Reports found.
However neither type of touch was sufficient to totally eliminate the negative effects of being ostracised.
Senior author Dr Katerina Fotopoulou said: ‘Mammals have a well-recognised need for closeness and attachment.
‘So it wasn’t a big surprise that social support reduced the emotional pain of being excluded in social interactions.
‘What is interesting however is that social support was optimally conveyed only by a simple, yet specific, instance of touch.’
Similar findings
The study follows recent findings that social touch – and particularly gentle stroking – may be coded by a special physiological system linking the skin to the brain.
Only three other studies have directly examined the buffering effects of social support on ostracism through the presence of friends, teddy bears and supportive text messages.
This is the first to investigate social touch. The team say further research is needed to specify the neurophysiological mechanisms involved.
Future studies might consider the effect of skin-on-skin contact, social context and how results vary with temperature.