![]() Furthermore, this study found that the effect was stronger when women held hands with their partner, as opposed to a stranger, and that the effect was strongest when relationship quality was higher. In other words, women holding hands with their husbands during a stressful event were better able to control their feelings and physical responses to feeling threatened. Women who held hands with their partners during this experience subsequently showed improved emotional regulation in the face of the threat, as detected by reduced reactivity within the brain. A third study placed women inside of an MRI machine and threatened them with electric shocks. In another study, women in mixed-sex relationships reported lower blood pressure levels when they experienced more frequent hugs from their partners. Women who received neck and shoulder massages from their male partners responded to stressful experiences with lower levels of cortisol excretion (a hormone that we excrete when we are stressed), and lower heart rates, both of which have positive health implications. Could avoiding PDAs have potential health implications?īeyond the physical comfort of holding a partner’s hand or the potential benefit of added warmth in the winter, are there other potential benefits that couples who avoid holding hands could be missing out on? A number of research studies have found positive health outcomes associated with hand holding and physical affection shared between partners. Such may be the case for marginalized couples, for whom PDAs may bring unwanted attention, stigma or even violence. But if you fall on the other side of the spectrum, where you love to walk hand in hand with your partner, you’re probably a bit confused and baffled as to why this simple and personal decision could be taken away from you. Perhaps, if you hate to hold hands anyway, your response to such a scenario would be a sense of relief. Wherever you fall on this spectrum of loving to hold hands or avoiding it like the plague, imagine for a moment that it wasn’t up to you whether or not you could hold hands with your partner. When you’re in a relationship, are you a hand-holder, or do you prefer to keep your hands to yourself? Perhaps you find your hand gets too sweaty when in the embrace of another, or maybe you only hold hands seasonally when doing so will provide you with an extra bit of needed warmth in the deep freeze of January. ![]()
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