A good chit chat with your mom over the phone after a stressful event can help your body and mind calm down and also level down your hormones based on a study of human relationships.
A study done by researchers at the University of Wisconsin measured the level of stress hormones of 61 girls prior to making them speak in front of a crowd.
After the oral presentation, the saliva of the subjects were tested and the specimens showed increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. One third of the subjects had physical contact with their mothers while another 33% of the subjects called their mom for some comforting words. The rest of the subjects did not get any support.
After 30 minutes, the levels of stress hormones for those who had physical contact or phoned their moms were back to normal. Those who had a telephone call just took a few minutes longer before lowering their cortisol levels. This is against those who did not receive any support who still showed high levels of stress hormones.
The levels of oxytocin or the comfort hormone were also measured. The subjects who had physical contact and those who talked to their moms over the phone showed the highest levels, according to The Stress Reduction Weblog.
The findings of this study are on the pages of British Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.