Cuddle Away the Cold!

It's cold.

The winter is bearing down upon us in the Northern Hemisphere. We can think of no better reminder of this fact than that it’s snowing today in New York… and it’s not even Halloween yet.

It’s only going to get colder, but there’s no sense in lying down and taking it. Lie down and fight it! Cuddling’s a great (, free!, fun!) way to keep warm while the mercury falls, which makes this the perfect time to start brushing up on your snuggling skills. If you’re staying inside today (Halloween weekend be damned), find somebody to stay in with you—even if it means you have to coax them into going outside first. You’ll benefit from increased warmth as well as increased oxytocin levels.

“Cuddle more” is the most important suggestion that we give vis-à-vis cuddling, and that message is certainly at the core of this post. But, if you need some extra help (maybe some advice on technique) check out our most important posts so far! You’ll be on the way to a cuddling black belt in no time.

And either way, stay warm, and stay cuddle-hungry.

We hope this image inspires you to achieve cuddling excellence.

Cuddle Puddles—Emergency, Last-Minute Post Change for Occupy Portland!

Today’s post was scheduled to discuss the physiological benefits of the “cuddle hormone,” oxytocin—our raison d’être. But when a friend linked us the call for Occupy Portland’s “MARCH to Occupy Pearl District,” scheduled for tomorrow, we realized that transmitting another idea of ours might be more useful.

100% of people should cuddle, but we'd settle for 99%.

You see, he quoted one part of the post specifically:

Camp Meeting starts at 4:00 PM, with a Potluck at 7:00 PM, and a CUDDLE PARTY at 10:00 PM. We plan on staying the entire night. {Caps ours.}

Including a cuddle party in this event is a great idea precisely because of oxytocin. Released by social touch, the hormone will help to bond the protesters together, as well as increase their contentment and reduce any anxiety associated with their actions. Considering that the protesters are already convinced of this, however, we felt that it would be more useful to discuss the physical act of cuddling en masse—and the pitfalls and benefits associated with it.

Do Guys Like Cuddling?

Only girls like to cuddle, right?

It’s generally accepted in Western culture that cuddling is an activity that women like, and that men agree to because we like sex. This belief has confused me a great deal, as someone with a Y chromosome and a “why wouldn’t you cuddle” attitude… After all, I’m pretty sure I could convert any theoretical male cuddling skeptic in one move, with the question: “you do realize that boobs are often involved in cuddling, don’t you?”

Male koalas, in particular, have reaped the rewards of this principle.

As is always the case when we are presented with a belief that contradicts our personal experience, or vice-versa, we should investigate using scientific principles. Borrowing from the field of psychology, the easiest (but least rigorous) method of inquiry we can employ is the case study. And by far the easiest and least rigorous case study I can drum up is… me.

Physical social contact relaxes me, makes me happy, and makes me feel more comfortable around those I’m interacting with—and I like that it makes them feel the same way. My very existence logically disproves the maxim that “guys don’t like to cuddle”.

If you came here from Yahoo! Answers, that should about solve your problem, but feel free to stick around. For everyone else, this is a laboratory, and I don’t expect you to believe me “because I say so.” In order to evaluate the more plausible claim that “most guys don’t like to cuddle,” we’ll need to start talking quantitative analysis.