In a study (published in May 2010, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.) investigators have demonstrated that social interaction (over the telephone) after a stressful event significantly decreases amount of stress hormones (cortisol) produced. In this study, a group of 7-12 year-old girls were divided into 3 groups after being exposed to a stressful event (unanticipated speaking in front of a group of strangers and being asked to answer difficult math questions.) The first group was immediately reunited with their mothers, for 15-minutes, for comfort and support (in person.) Afterwards, they watched an emotion-neutral movie, for 60-minutes. The second group spoke to their mothers, for 15-minutes, over the telephone for support. Immediately afterwards, they watched the same emotion-neutral movie for 60-minutes. The third group (no contact with their mothers) watched the same emotion-neutral movie, for 75 minutes. Saliva and urine samples were obtained from each of the girls before the stressful event and at defined intervals throughout the experimental period to measure levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and oxytocin (a hormone produced in the brain in response to social contact & comfort.)
The researchers discovered that social contact with their mothers significantly decreased the amount of cortisol produced in both groups of girls who had contact with their mothers (either in person or over the phone.) After one-hour, cortisol production was back to the pre-stress baseline in both of these groups. In the no-contact group, cortisol production remained elevated beyond the one-hour experimental period. The investigators also found that oxytocin production significantly increased in both of the groups with maternal contact, but had no changes in the non-contact group.
Social contact is well-known to improve one’s quality of life and health. It has been previously demonstrated that those with more social contact and relationships experience less stress. Since the immune system can be supressed by the physiological response to stress, stress reduction counseling is one of the core principals of integrative oncology. Decreasing stress in one’s life may help to strengthen the cancer-fighting properties of the immune system.
This experiment is important as it provides strong evidence that during periods of stress, even indirect social contact (i.e. over the telephone) can be very helpful in reducing the physiological effects of stress.