Psychiatrist shares 3 hacks to manage cravings We’ve all been there: your heart is racing, your palms are sweaty, and suddenly you have to initiate an uncomfortable conversation or deliver a high-stakes presentation. what if you’re sitting alone in your car or waiting in a meeting room While the best fix for a high-stress situation may be a reassuring hug from someone you trust. Also read | Struggling with stress eating?
A study published on ResearchGate.net in 2021 revealed that a simple 20-second self-soothing touch can reduce your body’s physiological stress response.
You don’t really need another human to get that exact same calming relief — you can just give it to yourself, according to science.
The research team set out to test whether self-directed touch could mimic the stress-busting benefits of social connection. The results were surprisingly clear-cut. The scientists tracked participants’ cortisol levels — the body’s primary stress hormone — by taking saliva samples throughout the experiment. In short, touching your own chest signals your nervous system that you are safe, helping your brain release its grip on the fight-or-flight response. Most stress-management advice asks a lot from us. they aren’t always realistic when anxiety hits one minute before an important event or meeting While those are great.
To figure this out, researchers gathered 159 young adults and randomly assigned them to three different groups before subjecting them to a stressful ordeal: the ‘Trier Social Stress Test’ (which involves public speaking and mental arithmetic in front of neutral evaluators). Both participants who received a hug and those who performed the 20-second self-soothing gesture experienced significantly lower cortisol spikes than the control group. We’re told to meditate for 15 minutes daily, download an app, or head out for a long walk.
