Social bonding increases oxytocin levels in rats – and possibly men as well. Photograph: Jamie Garbutt/Getty Images
BONDING with other guys may relieve stress in men, according to media reports of research published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology last week. Men who are close with each other have higher levels of oxytocin, popularly known as the “cuddle hormone” which makes them better at handling stress.
The research, however, comes from a rat study, and – while rodents are often used as stand-ins for humans, because they similar biological and genetic characteristics – you’d have to assume there are differences. The researchers put pairs of rats in cages together for a week and then put each one in a small confined space for three hours. When they were reunited, the rats were even friendlier than before they had been stressed.