Everyday gestures like hugging may matter more for mental health than they appear. A new study finds that adults who hug a small number of people each day report lower levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
The research treats physical touch as a measurable part of emotional well-being rather than a background detail of social life.
Across a large sample in Germany, mental health patterns closely tracked how often people reported hugging others.
Led by Andre Hajek at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), the study found the strongest links among people who hugged one to three individuals daily.
Beyond that range, the benefits narrowed, suggesting that more contact does not always mean more protection.
Hugs linked to mental health
In a survey of 3,270 adults in Germany, researchers compared daily hugging patterns with mental health screening results.
People who hugged one person daily showed lower odds of depression, with an odds ratio of 0.65, meaning their risk was lower than that of people who hugged no one.
The same pattern appeared for anxiety and suicidal thoughts, with odds ratios of 0.73 and 0.66 for daily one-person hugging.
Hugging two or three people daily showed the strongest links across all outcomes, while hugging four or more people only tracked with depression.
Tracking hugs and symptoms
Participants ranged from 18 to 74 years old and reported how many people they hugged each day. About a quarter said they hugged no one daily, while roughly 38 percent hugged one person and 31 percent hugged two or three people.
Only six percent reported hugging four or more people, a small group that may reflect certain jobs or social settings where frequent touch is common.
That imbalance matters, because rare behaviors at the high end can appear influential even when few people fall into that category.
To assess mental health, researchers used standard screening tools rather than clinical diagnoses. Depression symptoms were measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, while anxiety was assessed using the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale.
A single question from the depression checklist captured recent suicidal thoughts over the previous two weeks, anchoring results to current distress.
Together, these tools allowed the team to compare symptom levels consistently across thousands of participants.
How hugs influence stress
Physical touch can signal safety to the brain through pressure and warmth, helping steady stress systems within minutes.
In one laboratory trial, women who received an embrace from a partner after a stress task showed lower levels of cortisol, a hormone tied to the body’s stress response and measured in blood and saliva.
Lower cortisol often reflects a calmer internal state, with less strain moving through the heart and immune system at the same time. While that biology does not show that hugs prevent illness, it helps explain why contact can bring a sense of relief.
In the new study, the strongest mental health links appeared in the middle range, among people who hugged a small number of close contacts each day.
That pattern may point to stable relationships, since regular hugs often come from people who share daily pressures and offer ongoing support.
Even brief moments of warmth can reduce social withdrawal, keeping people connected when sadness or worry starts to narrow their world.
Still, Hajek cautioned against overreach, writing that this remains “only an initial, speculative explanation.”
When hugs stop helping
Very frequent hugging can mean different things, from a job expectation to a social style that favors quick greetings.
“However, it is also possible that frequent hugs are not necessarily an expression of deep friendships and connections.” said Hajek.
In those settings, a hug may carry less emotional weight, because it signals politeness more than support.
Large numbers also raise the odds that touch feels forced, and unwanted contact can heighten tension instead of easing it.
What the study can’t prove
Because the research relied on cross-sectional data, meaning information collected at a single point in time, it could not show cause and effect.
Depression and anxiety can reduce social reach, so people might hug less because they feel unwell, not the other way around.
The team at UKE also could not capture who started the hug, since the survey only counted people and not context.
Hidden factors, such as living arrangements or health conditions, can influence both touch and mood, even when researchers adjust for them.
The role of everyday touch
Mental health treatment still matters, and a hug cannot replace therapy, medication, or crisis support when symptoms become severe.
What this study adds is a reminder that everyday connection plays a role in mental health, because physical contact often carries social support and reassurance.
Consent remains central. A forced hug can feel threatening, and many people avoid touch for valid personal, cultural, or medical reasons.
Programs that encourage social connection therefore need flexibility, offering options beyond hugs so no one is pushed into a form of contact that causes discomfort.
Seen this way, hugging becomes less of a cure and more of a signal. The findings suggest it may serve as one small marker of social connection that tends to travel alongside lower distress.
Future studies that follow people over time can test whether changes in touch track changes in mental health, without promising more than the evidence can support.
The study is published in the Journal of Public Health (Berl.).
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