How often do you and your partner cuddle?  Or, if like me, and you’re Welsh, how often do you and your partner cwtch?

There’s nothing quite like a good cwtch or cuddle.  It releases the feel-good hormones, serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine, and instantly makes you feel better.

How often, after having a bad day, do you say to your partner ‘just put your arms around me’?

I recall on one of the worst days of my life, New Year’s Eve 2008, when I discovered my business was insolvent and I was about to call my team to make them redundant with immediate effect and no pay; I asked my then husband to “just put your arms around me and tell me everything’s going to be OK”.  His response was “I can’t, because I don’t know that it will.” In that moment my day got worse, as I realised my second marriage was over and I was well and truly on my own.  All I wanted was to feel a little better before facing the enormity of what was before me.

Thankfully, I’ve moved on significantly since then and I have a partner who understands that sometimes all you want is a huge hug to make things better.

We even set our alarm 10 minutes earlier every morning so we can just cuddle, snuggle up, cwtch, before starting our day.  And we fall asleep cuddling – until the moment that almost every couple experiences; when one pulls away from the other, kicks their leg out of the bed and almost gasps for cool air because the heat generated by two bodies cuddling under a duvet is just too much!

Sometimes, we’ll have an impromptu cwtch in the kitchen when recounting something that’s happened during our day that may have caused us to feel a bit down, sad or upset, we’ll just stand and cuddle.

I can always tell when my son needs a cuddle – although at 15, it’s not cool to admit to wanting one so we have to refer to it as a hug.  He’s 6’ tall and towers over me but there are days when all he needs is a cuddle from his mum.  As I like to remind him, ‘you’re never too old, and you’re never too big for a healing cuddle’.

As human beings we crave physical touch, we need that dose from the feel-good triumvirate and research has shown that we only need to cuddle up for 6 seconds to reap the benefits.

So what are you waiting for, grab your partner, children or friends and cuddle up to instantly improve your mood and reduce sadness, anxiety and stress.  It’s good for your health.

And don’t just reserve your hugs, cuddles or cwtches for National Cuddle-up Day (6^th January) or National Hug Day (21^st January).  Make every day a Hug, Cuddle or Cwtch Day.  Your relationship will benefit from it too.

Who are you going to cuddle up with today?