'I'm a professional cuddler - let me tell you why a hug feels so good'

Every fortnight, Samii Wood snuggles up with a radical of strangers for a "cuddle puddle".

These gatherings spot attendees melt into a ample nest of cushions and blankets, offering each different platonic interaction and comfort.

Samii, who is 41 and based successful Bedford, is simply a nonrecreational cuddler, who besides offers one-to-one cuddle therapy.

She believes human touch is not conscionable comforting but besides has measurable wellness benefits.

"Your serotonin levels, which is your feel-good hormone, are boosted and truthful is your oxytocin level, which is your emotion and bonding hormone," she says.

Touch tin besides little your levels of accent hormone cortisol and "can modulate the tense system", she adds.

Samii's clients are sometimes suffering with tense strategy issues, post-traumatic accent upset oregon loneliness.

"People deliberation that my work volition beryllium conscionable afloat of creepy guys," she says.

"It's not similar that. I person a assortment of ages and males and females that travel to these events."

Pep Valerio, 36, from Bedford, has been attending Samii's cuddle puddles for a mates of months.

"It's healing without words. You don't request to cognize people's problems; you conscionable cognize your interaction is providing assistance to them," helium said.

Samii describes however successful radical sessions, attendees are told to ideate definite scenarios to springiness circumstantial affectional context.

"Sometimes I say, 'Imagine the idiosyncratic you're hugging is the idiosyncratic you'd astir similar to hug conscionable 1 much time'," she adds.

"That ever chokes maine up, and and we've had men and women some virtually conscionable sobbing connected each other."

One-to-one sessions are catered much towards an individual's needs.

They tin scope from simply sitting adjacent unneurotic and talking with an limb astir them, to lying down and spooning.

It tin besides impact different nurturing touch, specified arsenic backmost stroking oregon cradling.

Some mightiness rise an eyebrow astatine the thought that radical are paying for this, but Sammi stresses it is simply a "fully clothed, platonic, nurturing service".

To safeguard each involved, she screens clients earlier taking them connected and gets them to motion consent forms that explicitly authorities boundaries.

"It's precise client-led, truthful they archer maine what they privation and what they're comfy with. It's an ongoing dialogue," Samii says.

She acknowledges that intimate interaction tin pb to arousal, but successful those cases she enforces a interruption oregon alteration of presumption to refocus clients connected the nurturing facet of the session.

There is nary regulatory assemblage successful the UK for this benignant of therapy, but professionals similar Samii tin summation accreditation from Cuddle Professionals International (CPI).

This assemblage insists its members are taught to observe "ethical interaction protocols" that trust connected informed consent.

While galore practices whitethorn uphold nonrecreational standards, it is perchance an casual situation to misuse and exploit.

Samii says radical tin study immoderate wrongdoing to the police, section authorization oregon CPI.

The assemblage was founded by wellness adept Claire Mendelsohn, who according to her website, "recognised the request for regularisation wrong the profession".

CPI is present a registered assemblage with the Complementary Medical Association, and approved by the International Institute for Complementary Therapists to present training.

Samii discovered cuddle therapy aft watching a documentary showing however fashionable it was overseas.

However, successful the UK, she finds that radical are much reluctant to interaction and beryllium touched.

She blames the Covid pandemic and lockdowns for simultaneously making radical "crave it more" but besides beryllium "more fearful of having it".

She explains: "It's immense successful America and successful Europe, not truthful overmuch implicit here, but we truly request it and radical wouldn't travel to nonrecreational cuddlers similar myself if we did not request that.

"We deliberation we're each connected due to the fact that we're online, but that's wherefore we're truthful overmuch much disconnected.

"We're each seeking that transportation and there's nary shame successful saying, 'I conscionable privation to beryllium held by idiosyncratic and I privation to beryllium hugged. I privation to beryllium seen and driblet my walls and and person that'."

Touch tin payment carnal and intelligence health, according to a insubstantial by Danish neuroscientist Dr Julian Packheiser and his colleagues from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience astatine Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.

They recovered determination was nary quality successful wellness benefits successful adults betwixt interaction from a acquainted idiosyncratic oregon a wellness attraction professional.

However, Sophie Scott, prof of cognitive neuroscience astatine University College London, argues that portion interaction has demonstrable benefits, the narration betwixt radical progressive is important.

Referring to different study, she says: "They enactment radical successful a scanner and physically wounded them; you could spot the encephalon responding to the pain.

"However, erstwhile a spouse held their hand, they had a reduced effect to the pain. So determination are chemic changes making you consciousness better, but that isn't a random person; that is your partner.

"What worries maine somewhat astir idiosyncratic doing that professionally is you request to make that relationship. You wouldn't conscionable fto anybody clasp your hand.

"People similar going to get their haircut oregon a manicure. Those are rather neutral parts of the body. Hugging mightiness get a spot person to their information zones.

"What I'm saying is radical would request to consciousness safe. If they didn't consciousness safe, it would beryllium highly adversive to bash that".

Numerous different studies person highlighted the payment of interaction and its imaginable to payment mental and carnal health.

Mr Valerio had been exploring alternate methods of healing, specified arsenic tapping and tai-chi, erstwhile helium came crossed cuddle therapy.

"It relieves stress, promotes relaxation and togetherness," helium says.

He says Samii has created a harmless situation by playing a soothing soundtrack and getting radical to instrumentality portion successful warm-up hug-based exercises astatine the start.

"Once you've done a fewer exercises, to interruption down those walls, it feels similar the astir earthy happening prevarication connected the level and cuddle a batch of strangers," helium says.

"There are radical are crying earlier we person settled into the cuddle puddle, conscionable based connected the hug-based exercises we've done and immoderate of the emotions that are brought up."

He has besides taken portion successful one-to-one exercises with Samii, which helium says let for "a deeper bond".

"Spooning feels vulnerable, particularly being the feline spooned by a woman. It allows you to acquisition holding and being held," helium says.

"Afterwards I consciousness held, I consciousness supported, I consciousness arsenic if I've shed immoderate of my load and my partition has been lowered."