Small disclaimer: We’re about to get a little warm and fuzzy up in here. You’ve been warned.

See, told ya.

Ever feel like you just need a good squeeze from a friend to get you through a long, tough day? Ever wonder why that is? It turns out that hugging another living being has actually been proven to have positive effects on human attitude and overall health.

Don’t believe us? We’ve done some hard hitting research and stat compiling (this is important business after all) and have found numerous cases to support this theory. Studies have shown that physical touch has beneficial effects not just on general mood and emotion, but stress levels, heart health and even cancer-killing cells in the body.

If lowering your chance of heart disease isn’t enough to get you flinging* your arms around the closest breathing organism, here’s a few more reasons to jump on the hug train today:

1. Because you want candy

2. Because you want to smell someone’s hair

3. Because if someone is mean to you killing them with kindness with confuse them

4. Because you can’t give a hug without getting a hug in return

5. Because you will impress people with how strong your arms are

6. Because if you need a good cry, a hug is the perfect way to kick things off

7. Because they’re free

Here at Invisible Children, while we’re working to stop Joseph Kony and put an end to LRA violence, we’re also promoting positivity, love and support for each other, our supporters and for all human kind. And what better way is there to accomplish all those things than by spreading joy in the simplest and easiest way possible? We can’t think of one.

So the moral of this story is, give a hug, get a hug. It’s good for your health and it’s good for your soul. For a little inspiration, click here to see the power of the hug in action.

*If you’re a bit uncomfortable with the concept of “flinging,” try starting off with a hand hug. You can work up to it.

– Sammi

(Photo Credit: Buzzfeed)