People who hug others daily are less depressed and anxious
A large-scale hugging study with data of more than 3,200 volunteers from 2025 investigated the links between hugging and depression and anxiety (Hajek and co-workers, 2025). The results clearly showed that people who hugged daily felt better than those who did not, as they experienced lower depression and anxiety scores than those who did not hug daily. This suggests that hugging may have positive effects on mental health.
Read my detailed blog post about this study here.
You do not need another person to have the positive effects of hugging: Self-hugs can reduce anxiety
Over the past years, several studies have shown that hugging by another person can reduce stress and negative feelings. A study published in 2025 has investigated whether self-hugs can also have positive effects on mental well-being (Susanti and co-workers, 2025). In the study, volunteers filled out a stress, anxiety, and depression questionnaire before and after a self-hugging intervention. The results of the study indicate that self-hugging can reduce feelings of anxiety. This shows that you do not need another person to experience the positive effects of hugging for mental well-being.
Read my detailed blog post about this study here.
People who love hugs are less narcissistic
People differ widely in how much they hug. A hugging study published in 2025 investigated whether people who really love hugging and offer free hugs to others at fandom conventions show special personality traits compared to other people (Stefanek and co-workers, 2025). The results of the study showed that people who offered free hugs were less narcissistic, more agreeable, and had greater faith in humanity than non-huggers.
Read my detailed blog post about this study here.
Romantic hugs are different from platonic hugs
You would expect romantic partners and platonic friends to hug differently, but surprisingly, before 2025, no psychological study has investigated how relationship status affects hugging. In 2025, a study used advanced AI video analysis technology to investigate hugs between lovers and friends (Ocklenburg and coworkers, 2025; Disclaimer: I was one of the authors of this study). The results of the study showed that platonic friends hugged for less than three seconds, but couples for more than seven seconds. Moreover, personality factors strongly affected movements during hugging. People with high neuroticism (a personality trait characterized by issues with dealing well with negative emotions) preferred a larger distance during hugging and, thus, less-tight hugs. In contrast, people with conscientiousness (a personality trait characterized by responsibility and carefulness) preferred shorter distances to their hugging partners and, thus, tighter hugs.
Read my detailed blog post about this study here.
Hugging can increase social interest
Hugs are a powerful way to let someone know that they are special to us. A field study published in 2025 investigated whether a hug increased social interest (von Kleist, Henschel, and Dobkins, 2025). In the study, volunteers who received a hug from an experimenter were more likely to look at a set of fake vacation pictures by the experimenter. Thus, getting a hug increased to social interest of the volunteers in the person who hugged them!
Read my detailed blog post about this study here.