Physical and emotional closeness not only feels beautiful, it can also be healing. The cuddle hormone oxytocin plays a key role in this. A study of 80 couples shows that the combination of loving care and additional oxytocin helps superficial skin injuries heal faster. In addition, the stress level of the treated couples decreased. However, oxytocin does not work as a stand-alone remedy: if there is no tender exchange with the partner, the “cuddle hormone” also remains ineffective.
When we interact lovingly with other people, our bodies release the cuddle hormone oxytocin. It helps us feel relaxed and build social bonds and trust more easily. It can also reduce levels of stress hormones and have a pain-relieving effect. Some animal experiments have also suggested a positive effect on wound healing. However, the extent to which this effect is also evident in humans has so far been unclear.
Cuddling for health
To clarify this question, a team led by Ekaterina Schneider from the University of Heidelberg examined 80 couples who received either oxytocin or a placebo via nasal spray over the course of a week. In addition, half of the couples were instructed to have daily appreciative conversations and share closeness. At the beginning of the study, the researchers inflicted small, superficial skin injuries on all volunteers and recorded how well these had healed after 24 hours and after seven days. Neither the test subjects themselves nor those who assessed wound healing knew whether the person in question was in the oxytocin or placebo group.
It turned out that the wounds healed best in people who had received oxytocin and who had lovingly interacted with their partner every day. Saliva analyzes also showed that these people had particularly low levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The effect was particularly pronounced in couples who also regularly shared intimate affection and were sexually active. However, oxytocin alone or appreciative conversations without additional oxytocin had no measurable effects.
Connection between behavior and hormones
“Our results show that care in everyday life has measurable effects on the body. In combination with oxytocin, it even accelerates the healing of small wounds,” says Schneider’s colleague Beate Ditzen. “This illustrates how closely behavior and the hormonal system work together and how strongly this interaction can influence physical health in close, loving relationships.”
However, according to the researchers, oxytocin is not suitable as a stand-alone remedy: “Our data support the view that oxytocin works more as a social amplifier than as an independent therapeutic agent,” they explain. The team also points out that all volunteers were young, healthy people in heterosexual relationships. Larger studies are needed to gain further insight into the extent to which proximity and oxytocin can promote health in clinical contexts.
Source: Ekaterina Schneider (Heidelberg University) et al., JAMA Psychiatry, doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3705