A hug in Spanish

Sometimes I come across a word in Spanish that just delights me, makes me want to say it over and over, and find excuses for using it. One of my all-time favorites is albondigas, which means "meatball." It's just a fun thing to roll around in my mouth, even if I am a vegetarian these days.

By the way, the name of the boat piloted by the Pirates of the Caribbean in the sailors' cult movie "Captain Ron" was "Albondigas."


And now I have a new palabra, compliments of my blogging colleague Mexico Bob: apapachar, which according to WordRef means something like a cross between a hug (abrazar) and a caress (acariciar), an enhanced hug if you like. I do. A good mnemonic to help remember apapachar is that "papa" is embedded in it. As in "Come to papa."

(A good mnemonic to remember "mnemonic" is that it rhymes with "demonic," an apt description of whoever coined this word.)

How timely that I should learn apapachar, since the Capt and I have been practicing six-second hugs ever since I saw a report that hugs of six-second duration increase the huggers' serotonin and oxytocin levels. At first we were muttering "one, one-thousand...two, one-thousand..." and so on to make sure we put in enough time, but now, if anything, we tend to slide into the 30-second range. It must be working.

Most of us have a rough idea of what serotonin is, but I didn't have a clue about oxytocin until I Googled it. One women's website called filly.ca called it "The Cuddle Hormone...the Body's Own Love Potion." Here it is, right from the horse's mouth (sorry, couldn't resist):

Oxytocin is a hormone produced naturally in the hypothalamus in the brain. Studies have shown that oxytocin is associated with our ability to mediate emotional experiences in close relationships and maintain healthy psychological boundaries.

In studies with non-human mammals, oxytocin has been shown to promote nest building and pup retrieval, acceptance of adopted offspring, and the formation of adult pair-bonds.

There's even an oxytocin spray you can spritz on yourself to make people trust you. The salesman's dream. There's no evidence that it actually works, which is probably just as well…

I also read recently that 20 minutes of Vitamin D direct from sunlight relieves depression. There were a number of unanswered questions I still have to research on this subject. The article said you won't get your Vitamin D if you're wearing sunblock, but what if you only put sunblock on your face and neck, as I do? Can the 20 minutes be cumulative, ten now and ten later? (It's HOT out there!)

And can you get even better results by hugging out in the sunshine?