Japanese scientists reveal the perfect secret to cuddling a baby

The secret to the perfect way to cuddle a baby

Researchers from Toho University, Japan discovered the secret to the perfect hug for babies. The simple matter is not to apply too much pressure.

"Like most parents, we love to hug our children. But what surprises us as scientists is how little we know about cuddling, "said Sachine Yoshida, one of the researchers on the study.

In an effort to study the perfect hug, researchers measured the calming effect that babies felt from the pressure of a given hug.

Researchers recruited pairs of mothers and fathers with their babies. They conducted three experiments, namely the father and baby, mother and baby, and a woman with a baby who was not a child.

Each adult would hug their baby for 20 seconds in three categories of pressure or tightness of the hug, namely just being held, hugged with moderate pressure, and tightly hugged.

While the adult hugged the baby, researchers observed the baby's heart rate response with a sensor placed in the cradle's hand. According to researchers, when the heart rate decreases it indicates the baby or someone is calm.

Researchers also used the intensity of the baby's head movement as a measure of calmness, less movement means the baby is calmer.

The study concluded that babies are calmer when hugged with moderate pressure rather than just being held. The calmness of the baby is reduced during a hug that falls into the category of a tight hug.

Hugs from parents have a calming effect on the baby

A calming hug for children is influenced by two factors, namely the closeness of the hug to be on a moderate scale and who is the person hugging it. For babies older than 125 days, the calming effect was greater when receiving a hug from a parent than from a stranger.

"Even though babies cannot speak, they recognize their parents through a variety of parenting methods, including cuddling, at the latest after four months," explains Sachine.

"We hope knowing how your baby feels when hugged helps ease the physical and psychological workload of caring for a speechless baby," she said.

Researchers also say this research can be used as a first step to create an autism early detection program. This is because research has focused on various sensory responses during a baby's hug.

"Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with sensory integration and social interaction problems," he said.

"Therefore, our simple trial can be used in the initial screening of sensory integration functions, and the development of social interactions in infants from families with high risk factors for ASD," conclude the investigators in their report.

Please note that families who have children with autism have the potential to have children with other autism. For this reason, early detection is very important to get more precise treatment.

The compassion hormone released during cuddling

Hugging a parent to a baby or child has several health benefits. It is known that the body is able to release the hormone oxytocin or commonly known as the "love hormone" during physical contact.

However, researchers in this study said the research period was too short to prevent them from researching further about the benefits of a hug in this area.