Do You Need a Hug? The Science of Twelve Hugs a Day for Healthy Human Connection
“We need four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance, and twelve for growth”....
Written by: Pippa Thackeray
Written on: July 16, 2025
Pippa is a content writer and qualified Nutritional Therapist (DipNT) creating research-based content with a passion for many areas of wellbeing, including hormonal health, mental health and digestive health.
As a contributor to The Healf Source, she regularly attends seminars and programmes on a plethora of contemporary health issues and modern research insights with a drive to never stop learning. In addition, interviewing experts and specialists across The Four Pillars: EAT, MOVE, MIND, SLEEP.
In her spare time, she is an avid swimmer, mindfulness and yoga lover, occasionally bringing a raw, honest approach to the topics she faces. You may also discover some personal accounts of eye-opening wellbeing experiences amidst the reality of a disorientating, and often conflicting, modern wellbeing space.
- 1. “We need four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance, and twelve for growth”. — Virginia Satir
- 2. Why touch matters
- 3. Oxytocin explained
- 4. Hugs against the common cold
- 5. How touch impacts health conditions
- 6. The calming effect of hugging
- 7. Emotional resilience through touch
- 8. What is touch starvation?
- 9. The tellings of the pandemic
- 10. Reasons to squeeze in more daily hugs:
- 11. Hugs for the good of our relationships
- 12. What to remember
