National Cuddle Up Day

Winter has the coldest days of the year so there’s many ways to stay warm. One of the best ways to stay warm is a three-dog night, a night so cold it takes cuddling up to three dogs to stay warm. There are multiple benefits to cuddling with people, canines, and other pets. Let’s find out what those are in the history of National Cuddle Up Day!

The warm history of National Cuddle Up Day

Cuddling releases oxytocin. This hormone alone has huge health benefits. Besides giving us warm and fuzzy feelings, oxytocin reduces pain. So when the cold has made those muscles and joints ache, cuddling can help reduce those aches and pains. Oxytocin also helps reduce heart disease, reduces blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. If it weren’t free, cuddling would probably be covered by health insurance because it’s such a huge health benefit! Communication is more than just e-mails, texts, or conversations. Physical touch can communicate trust, commitment, safety, and reassurance. This goes for human to human contact as well has human to pet contact. Cuddling communicates all these things which are vital to a strong relationship. Cuddling can also boost sexual desire. Dopamine is released stimulating the brain to seek pleasure.

But dopamine also can improve memory and focus as well. Cuddling also helps a mother better bond with her infant or toddler children. As cuddling releases Oxytocin, it relaxes the mother so breastfeeding may come more easily. It also enables sleep, even when the mother might have difficulty sleeping with a newborn in the house. Cuddling can actually help with social anxiety which helps you have a positive outlook on the world. Cuddling doesn’t even have to be between you and your romantic partner. Don’t have someone to cuddle up with? Make an appointment for a massage. Studies show massage provides similar benefits. You can also go and hug your friends or play with your pets. If you don’t want to be so social or don’t have a furry friends, never fear friend! You can rub your own shoulders, take a warm bath or of course, get a massage.

How to celebrate National Cuddle Up Day

To celebrate, all we would have to do is go out, socialize with our friends, or hug our family. Play with our pets, cuddle up by the fire with our significant other, or listen to music. Perhaps you and your significant other can competitively okay against each other in a video game.