203. Do You Need a Hug?

Do humans need touch to survive? Do any of us get enough touch throughout our lives? And why doesn’t Angela want to hug anyone for eight seconds?

• SOURCES:• Ophelia Deroy, chair of the department of philosophy of mind and cognitive neuroscience at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
• Kory Floyd, professor of communications at the University of Arizona.
• Harry Harlow, 20th-century American psychologist.
• Sirin Kale, associate editor at Vice.
• Christy Kane, clinical mental health counselor.
• Carmen Rasmusen Herbert, country music artist and columnist.
• Virginia Satir, 20th-century clinical social worker and family therapist.
• RESOURCES:• "A Systematic Review and Multivariate Meta-Analysis of the Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Touch Interventions," by Julian Packheiser, Helena Hartmann, Kelly Fredriksen, Valeria Gazzola, Christian Keysers, and Frédéric Michon (Nature Human Behaviour, 2024).
• "WHO Advises Immediate Skin to Skin Care for Survival of Small and Preterm Babies," by the World Health Organization (2022).
• "Affective Interpersonal Touch in Close Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Perspective," by Agnieszka Sorokowska, Supreet Saluja, Ilona Croy, et al. (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2021).
• "Results Revealed for The Touch Test: The World’s Largest Study of Touch," (BBC Media Centre, 2020).
• "How 8-Second Hugs Can Counteract the Negative Side Effects From Electronics," by Carmen Rasmusen Herbert (Deseret News, 2018).
• "Confidence is Higher in Touch Than in Vision in Cases of Perceptual Ambiguity," by Merle T. Fairhurst, Eoin Travers, Vincent Hayward, and Ophelia Deroy (Nature: Scientific Reports, 2018).
• "The Life of the Skin-Hungry: Can You Go Crazy from a Lack Of Touch?" by Sirin Kale (Vice, 2016).
• "Warm Partner Contact Is Related to Lower Cardiovascular Reactivity," by Karen M. Grewen, Bobbi J. Anderson, Susan S. Girdler, and Kathleen C. Light (Behavioral Medicine, 2010).
• "The Nature of Love," by Harry Harlow (American Psychologist, 1958).
• EXTRAS:• "Did Covid-19 Kill the Handshake?" by No Stupid Questions (2020).

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