Ladies, if your stress level is anything like mine, you’re always looking for a quick fix. I was happy to learn one tension buster is an arm’s length away.
My “Working Mother” Magazine (which by the way, I’m just getting to after three weeks on my desk) suggests holding hands with our significant other! A new study found simply holding our husband’s hand can help reduce tension, for both of us.
Researchers at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville found that happily married women showed “greatly reduced activity in stress-responsive regions of their brain when they were holding their husband’s hand,” says study author James Coan.
I can relate to this study. Just yesterday my husband and I shared a rare hour together, running errands without our children. I usually can’t get him close to a mall. But there we were, with two free hands each. (We’re usually holding the girls’ hands) and it was nice when we automatically reached for each other. It was a small gesture that left me feeling more connected to him.
You might want to try it in the car, too. It’s a good example of affection that your children will remember long after they’re grown.