Want to Feel Better? Just Call Your Mom

Published November 20, 2014

A phone call from your mother can help calm you down after a stressful event and regulate your hormone levels, according to a study on human relationships, Agence-France Presse reported.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison measured levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and oxytocin, a comfort hormone, in a trial of 61 girls who had to make an oral presentation in front of a crowd.

After the presentations, the girl’s saliva was tested, showing a significant rise in cortisol levels. Following the test, a third of the girls had direct physical contact with their mothers. Another third of the volunteers had only a comforting phone call from their mothers. The remaining girls received no support.

Within 30 minutes of the test, cortisol levels returned to normal for girls who had contact with their mothers. Those who had only voice contact also returned to a normal cortisol level, taking just slightly longer. The last group who had no contact with their mothers still had a high level of cortisol after one hour.

The comfort hormone, oxytocin, was highest among the volunteers who had either physical contact or voice contact from their mom. The findings are published in the British Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Click here to read more from AFP.

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