Everybody wants a hug!! Receiving a hug can make you really feel great. Hugs are a free way to make you really feel good, promote goodwill, and increase communication. When you hug someone, you generate a personal connection and you connect as only two human beings are capable of doing. Hugs make people happy and the common consensus is that individuals need at least 4 hugs a day to reside positive and focused.

The original free hugs campaign was begun in 2004 by Juan Mann, an Australian man whose sole purpose was to spread random acts of kindness and goodwill through hugs in Sydney. In 2006, a music video of Mr. Mann hugging strangers on the street surfaced on YouTube, creating an international phenomenon. He famously carries a sign that reads, “FREE HUGS“. Mr. Mann retired from free hugs in 2009 after an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. But his message of joy and love lives on. Free Hugs Day is now celebrated through the globe on the first Saturday of July.

“Hugs can do a heart good” reads the headline in the USA Today. “How hugs can aid women’s hearts” touts the BBC News. “A hug a day could save your life,” states Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News. Quite a few studies have shown that giving and getting hugs can measurably boost a man or woman’s complete health and well-being.

Scientists from the   North Carolina discovered that hugs triggered the release of increased levels of oxytocin which lowers blood pressure and shrinks the chance of heart disease. Psychologist Karen Grewen, of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, discovered that quick hugs can substantially lower the harmful, bodily effects of stress. Hugs have also been proven to improve overall moods, minimize emphasize, increase blood flow, reduce heart rates and increase nerve activity.

Once you offer a hug, you could be the start of a hug that travels around the globe. Your basic act of hugging another person can help create kindness and consideration among a great number of other individuals. Consider this: If you hug 10 people today, and they each hug 10 individuals tomorrow, and they each hug 10 individuals the next, and so on… In 10 days 10 BILLION hugs should be shared – it’s as simple as that! 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10= 10,000,000,000 (or 10 billion hugs shared!!!)

Now with the non-profit Hug It Forward you can Follow Your Hugs on a Google Map! Go to the Hug It Forward web site to register and take part. What’s more, for every hug you share, 25 cents will be donated to Bottle School projects in Guatemala.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this, and begin hugging!!!