Oxytocin Promotes Wound Healing

Combination of Closeness and Cuddle Hormone Can Be Healing

Healing through love? Superficial skin injuries heal faster when the cuddle hormone oxytocin is circulating in our bodies. However, this only works if the elevated hormone level is accompanied by physical and emotional closeness, as a study shows. According to the study, loving attention and oxytocin together can promote wound healing, but they do not act as independent remedies.

In the test subjects, superficial skin injuries healed faster when they lovingly engaged with their partner.

When we interact lovingly with other people, our brain produces the cuddle hormone oxytocin and releases it into the bloodstream. It helps us feel relaxed and makes it easier to build social bonds and trust. Oxytocin can also lower levels of stress hormones and have a pain-relieving effect. Animal studies also suggest that the cuddle hormone accelerates wound healing. But does this also apply to humans?

Cuddling for Health

Researchers led by Ekaterina Schneider from the University of Heidelberg investigated this question. They studied 80 couples who received either oxytocin or a placebo via nasal spray for one week. In addition, half of the couples were instructed to engage in daily, appreciative conversations and share physical affection.

At the beginning of the study, the researchers inflicted small, superficial skin injuries on all volunteers. After 24 hours and again after seven days, they assessed how well these injuries had healed. Neither the participants nor those assessing the wound healing knew whether a particular person was in the oxytocin or placebo group.

A, Interaction effect between oxytocin and PAT in predicting wound healing scores across time points 1 to 3. B, Same model after excluding 2 influential cases. Time T1 is 1 hour after wounding; T2, 24 hours after wounding; and T3, 7 days after wounding. nPAT indicates the group who received no instructions; revPWAT, revised Photographic Wound Assessment Tool. Souce: Intranasal Oxytocin and Physical Intimacy for Dermatological Wound Healing and Neuroendocrine Stress A Randomized Clinical Trial / JAMA Psychiatry Published Online: November 12, 2025 doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3705)

Oxytocin accelerates wound healing.

The results showed that the wounds healed best in the participants who received oxytocin and engaged in daily, affectionate interaction with their partner. The effect of the "cuddle hormone" was particularly pronounced in couples who also regularly shared intimate affection and were sexually active. Saliva analyses also revealed that these individuals had particularly low levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

"This illustrates how closely behavior and the hormonal system work together and how strongly this interplay can influence physical health in close, loving relationships," says co-author Beate Ditzen from Heidelberg University. According to the study, oxytocin, in combination with affection, can accelerate the healing of minor wounds.

A, Interaction effect between oxytocin and affectionate touch. B, Interaction effect between oxytocin and sexual activity (−1 SD in red and +1 SD in blue). Both panels represent models predicting wound healing between T2 (24 hours after wounding) and T3 (7 days after wounding). Souce: Intranasal Oxytocin and Physical Intimacy for Dermatological Wound Healing and Neuroendocrine Stress A Randomized Clinical Trial / JAMA Psychiatry Published Online: November 12, 2025 doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3705)

Cuddle hormone and love only effective in combination

However, neither oxytocin nor loving behavior is suitable as a standalone remedy: The hormone alone, or appreciative conversations without additional oxytocin, had no measurable effects on wound healing. "Our data support the view that oxytocin acts more as a social reinforcer than as an independent therapeutic agent," the researchers explain.

Larger studies with more participants are needed to gain further insights into the extent to which closeness and oxytocin can promote health in clinical contexts. (JAMA Psychiatry, 2025; doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3705)

Source: Heidelberg University Hospital