Snug as a Bug
(©iStockphoto.com:STEEX)
A woman from Rochester, New York named Jacqueline has made a business out of snuggling…no joke! She has created the Snuggery, a place where clients can come and snuggle with her or her associate, Colleen, for a price. There are strict rules for this non-sexual touch. A client and a “snuggler” wear loose comfy clothes or pajamas and hop into bed for 45 to 90 minutes. The client can be the spooner or the spoonee, and having both snugglers available for a session is an option.
How can a person make a business out of snuggling? According to the website, “(r)esearch provides us with ample evidence that physical contact with others has a positive effect on our physical and mental health…When we are engaged in touch, our brains produce more serotonin and oxytocin. Both of these chemicals make us calm and happy and contribute to an overall sense of well-being and relaxation that is pleasurable and healthy. Touch demonstrably stimulates regions of our brain that are known to produce pleasant, pleasurable feelings. Studies have also shown that touch reduces stress and anxiety for up to five days after it occurs. Stress and anxiety both aggravate numerous physical and mental health conditions.”
Touch is so crucial to our well-being that people will pay for it, non-sexually, from strangers. It’s that good! So, if you have a significant other already, you can forego the sixty dollar an hour fee and the commute to New York and get the same effects right at home in your own bed… with the person you have dedicated yourself to. Make time for the next week to touch your significant other more: hold hands, hug when you greet and depart, rub her shoulders, massage his neck, and when you go to bed, try Jacqueline’s techniques before you nod off to Dreamland: snuggle. Hold each other for a few minutes. If need be, switch off. According to the studies associated with The Snuggery’s website, you will reduce your blood pressure, the stress hormone, cortisol, will reduce, and you will find yourself much calmer, happier and more productive.
Give it a shot. Can’t hurt to try.
