It Does a Body Good.

A brief hug and 10 minutes of handholding with a romantic partner greatly reduces the harmful physical effects of stress, according to a study conducted by the American Psychosomatic Society.

In an experiment by psychologist Karen Grewen of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, 185 adults with partners were split into two groups -- one group held hands while watching a video and then hugged for 20 seconds before being asked to discuss something difficult; and a second group who watched the video and was asked to discuss something difficult, but who had no physical contact.

According to the results, huggers' rise in blood pressure and heart rate was half that of the no-contact people. Touching lowers the output of the stress hormone cortisol, which creates a surge in serotonin and dopamine, two brain chemicals that promote feelings of well-being.

This is the latest of many studies suggesting humans are "hard-wired" to thrive as social animals, says Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School. Field's research shows that touch lowers the output of cortisol, a stress hormone. When cortisol dips, there's a surge of two "feel good" brain chemicals, serotonin and dopamine.