The way we live intimacy and affectivity with other people can make a difference. Something as simple as cuddling in bed, cuddling and spooning stretched out on the mattress makes the day change colour. And, in the long run, if we make it a habit, it’s a routine that gives us several advantages that we shouldn’t miss.

Now, it may seem that being something so simple, hugs and caresses in bed change little, that they are simply as banal a diversion as playing cards might be. Not so, for several reasons.

The physical and psychological benefits of cuddling in bed

Below you can see several of the reasons why spooning and cuddling on the bed makes our lives a little bit better .

1. Increase oxytocin levels

Oxytocin is a hormone that our body secretes in contexts where we experience the sensation of living something intimate with someone else. For example, it exerts more influence on our brain when we look someone in the eye for several seconds in a row… even if that someone is a dog.

It is a loop: the more oxytocin we secrete, the more we behave according to an intimate relationship , which in turn makes us secrete a greater amount of this substance. he result is that we get used to relating the presence of the other person to these situations, so that in other contexts, even far from the bedroom, the relationship becomes more intimate.

2. Helps you endure pain

Oxytocin, besides participating in our emotional relationships and helping us experience a pleasant sensation, makes us endure pain better. In a manner of speaking, by making us feel “like a cloud”, our attention is no longer so focused on unpleasant stimuli .

3. It gives us more freedom to move

We can hug almost anywhere, but the bed, even though it is not always close at hand, is the ideal place to do so.

The reason is that while the verticality of standing hugs limits the type of physical contact we can make, making the arms always more or less supported in the same area of the other person’s body, when lying on the mattress it is possible to adopt all kinds of postures for hugging, kissing or cuddling.

4. Enriches life in marriage

There are many people who associate the bed with the act of sleeping, or having sex. This means that when you lie down on the mattress, your body automatically becomes physiologically active in one of two ways: either your libido increases or you feel sleepy and tired. This is a phenomenon known as simple conditioning.

Using the bed for other things on a regular basis makes our life richer, since, among other things, it gives us the option to consider using that piece of furniture to its full potential. And it may seem silly, but the caresses and hugs given in bed are a unique experience, very different from other ways of creating intimacy and strengthening emotional ties.

5. Helps combat stress

There are many studies that show that physical contact with someone you love causes stress and anxiety levels to drop significantly. Furthermore, the greater the emotional bond that unites two people, the greater the therapeutic effects that hugs and cuddles have on our organism.Cortisol, which is the hormone associated with stress, is secreted in lesser quantities when we hug and when these hugs include direct contact between one skin and the other.

Also, remember that the root of many psychological and physical problems is stress. The hormones secreted during this state, and the wear and tear that their effects produce, cause greater weakness against certain bacteria and viruses, which can proliferate until they reach a critical mass sufficient to produce more or less serious illnesses.

6. Improves the development of babies

Hugs and cuddling in bed are not exclusive to lover’s relationships, of course. In fact, they play a fundamental role in motherhood . It has been seen, for example, that premature babies who spend time lying on the mother’s breast develop fewer health problems and experience better cognitive development than those who spend all their time in the incubator. Moreover, these effects are felt over the long term, as this is an advantage that is still present at least 10 years after birth.