Scholary Scoop

According to a study, older individuals who receive more hugs tend to have better self-rated health. 20,258 Canadians aged 65 and older were surveyed and asked how often they receive hugs. The results showed that those who received more hugs had higher self-rated health. Hugs also have other benefits such as reducing daily struggles, blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels, and strengthening coping behaviors. Good health is important for a longer and healthier life, especially for older individuals. Welcome to the Scholarly Scoop, Serving You Science on 98.7 WVMO, The Voice of Monona. I'm Lita from Oak Court. Today's scoop is presented by a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student. Hi, I'm Payton from Kenosha, Wisconsin. The question today is, does an availability of hugs relate to self-rated health among those 65 and older? 20,258 Canadians aged 65 years or older completed a cross-sectional survey. This was a nationally representative data set. They were asked, how often do you have someone who hugs you if you need it? The possible responses were in five categories consisting of all of the time, most of the time, some of the time, a little of the time, or none of the time. The health of the participants was measured with the question. In general, would you say your health is poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent? The researchers then put the answers into two categories and compared the poor and fair responses to the good, very good, and excellent responses. Results revealed that individuals who experienced more hugs had significantly greater odds of a higher self-rated health compared to those who received less hugs. The research also showed on other measures that receiving hugs reduces the impact of one's daily struggles, decreases blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels, as well as strengthens positive coping behaviors. I think it's important to understand this because good health leads to a longer and healthier life. If hugs can help an individual's health, then it is important to know about, especially when it comes to older individuals. And that's your scholarly scoop on 98.7 FM, WVMO, the voice of Monona.