People, whose love language is physical touch, often revel in the idea of cuddling with their partner. In addition to feeling warm and fuzzy, cuddling has some great health benefits including reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, and boosting your immune system. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, now is the best time to binge-watch a sappy rom-com, munch on your favourite snacks, and cuddle away.
Now, the way you cuddle with your partner says a lot about the bond you two share. So let’s wrap our heads around some of the common positions before we wrap or get wrapped.
Spooning
This is the best cuddling position and rightly so. For starters, it’s not only intimate but it can also be extremely sexual. When you’re the big spoon, you wrap your arms around your partner while lying down on your side, and when you’re the little spoon, your partner wraps their arms around you with your back resting against their stomach.
If you and your partner aren’t game to fully spoon, you two can half-spoon. Here, one person lies on their back and the other on their side. The latter places their head on their partner’s upper chest and wraps their arm around their body. The partner lying on their back wraps their arm around their partner as well. It’s the best way to make the little spoon feel safe, nurtured, and protected.
This position also gives the little spoon the chance to listen to their partner’s heartbeat. Such forms of non-verbal communication can increase feelings of intimacy and make them feel a high sense of gratitude as they hear the organ that’s keeping the love of their life alive.
What you could do here: With variety being the spice of life, ensure that the two of you take turns. Big spoons love being the little spoon too!
The honeymoon hug
When your relationship has just started, there’s a chance that you and your partner just can’t keep your hands off each other—including when you sleep. And so, the honeymoon hug is perfect for couples in the honeymoon phase. In this position, the two of you face each other and entangle your limbs, sleeping very close to each other.
Butt to butt
Do you want to stay connected but also want to have your freedom at the same time? Then this one is for you. In the butt-to-butt position, you and your partner are facing the opposite direction with your lower backs and butts touching each other. If not the butt, then you can try the ‘leg hug’ cuddle position, where you place your leg over theirs, while facing opposite directions.
Lap and sit snuggles
Why have hugs when you can get lap hugs instead? In this position, you sit in your partner’s lap while they’re seated—they can face forward (can watch a movie or read a book together this way) or face them directly and plant cute kisses all over their face before you start making out.
The head cradle
If sitting on your partner’s lap or vice versa, feels too sexual, then try putting your head on their lap (or the other way around) to foster feelings of closeness and intimacy. It’s a good alternative to spooning when you’re sitting on the couch, reading a book, talking about your day, or watching TV, as it allows you to do what you’re doing while playing with your partner's hair and ears.
Why you should cuddle more
Cuddling doesn’t just feel good but is also good for your health. Here’s how:
Makes you feel loved and less stressed
When you cuddle, the body releases happy hormones like oxytocin, also called the ‘cuddle hormone’ or ‘love hormone’. It is the main neurochemical that enables us to bond and connect with other people, especially our partners—the more you cuddle, the stronger your bond. Oxytocin also helps reduce stress and anxiety as the brain perceives physical touch as comforting and safe, thus reducing cortisol levels (stress hormone). The reduction in stress and anxiety, along with the release of certain hormones, can bolster the body’s ability to fight off infections and maintain overall health.
Lowers blood pressure
Research shows that holding hands and hugging lowers both, diastolic and systolic blood pressure. With high blood pressure being linked to heart disease and stroke, integrate cuddling into your high blood pressure treatment plan, to reduce the risks of these diseases.
Better sleep and intimacy
Cuddling with a loved one releases oxytocin and serotonin, which promotes relaxation and helps you fall asleep faster. While the act in itself is very intimate, having pillow talk with your boo while cuddling with them also enhances emotional intimacy.
A win-win for the relationship
Cuddling with your boo gives you both the chance to be emotionally vulnerable—letting your guard down and learning to trust them which strengthens the connection between you two. Moreover, you’ll have found yourself a new love language, where you can communicate your feelings through touch.
Cute things to do when cuddling
Switch things up
It’s not etched in stone that guys have to be the bigger spoon. Men want to feel loved and protected with someone to spoon them too. This is where their partner becomes the bigger spoon and shows them what it’s like when they’re not in charge.
Take things up a notch
There are a lot of ways to turn your cuddling sessions into something hot and sexy. You could turn the heat up with some passionate kissing or caressing their body. It's time to show what those fingers and mouths can do!
Talk: People are most comfortable when cuddling with their loved one. So use this time to say something sweet or sexy, or simply talk about your day or how you feel about having them in your life. It’s sure to make things more intimate.
What you should not do while cuddling
Don’t squeeze them tightly
Cuddling is all about loosening up. While wrapping your arms around them feels blissful, don’t hold them so that they’re breathless. Do communicate the same if your partner is holding you extremely tight.
The dead arm
This one goes out to all the little spoons out there, never ever sleep on the other person’s arm. It may sound extremely cute and comfortable to you, but you don’t know what the other person is going through (probably the least comfortable thing about cuddling).
Also read: How sleeping next to your partner is improving your relationship and mental health
Also read: Why you should be with a person you can be comfortably quiet with
