When you are down and out, nervous or tense, anxious or stressed, whom do you turn to first?
If you answered good ol’ mom, then you’re in good company.
Mom may be the obvious answer to the aforementioned question, but researchers wanted to prove how powerful a little TLC from M-O-M really is, so they set out to test the time-honored theory.
According to researchers from the University of Wisconsin — Madison (my alma mater), a mother’s voice has the power to calm frazzled nerves. They proved it during a study that involved 61 girls, ages 7 to 12, and their moms. As part of the experiment the girls were assigned different tasks. First, they had to give an oral presentation, and then solve some math problems in front of a panel of judges. Researchers figured the tasks would cause the girls’ blood pressures to rise, or at the very least give them butterflies and sweaty palms.
Prior to meeting with the panel of judges, researchers measured the girls’ oxytocin and cortisol levels. According to experts, cortisol is a hormone that “spikes during times of stress” while oxytocin is classified as a “love” hormone.
When the girls completed their public presentations, they were sent to one of three rooms. In room one, moms were waiting to greet their daughters with hugs, kisses and reassuring words. In room two, girls received phone calls from their mothers with verbal reassurances. In room three the girls didn’t have any communication with their mothers. Rather, they were told to watch the heart-warming movie “March of the Penguins.”
At the end of the experiment researchers measured the girls’ hormone levels again and found that oxytocin rose and cortisol fell in girls who had physical contact with their mothers. However, researchers say what shocked them the most was that the hormone levels were almost identical in girls who had only spoken to their mothers on the phone.
“It’s generally been assumed that there has to be physical contact for oxytocin to released,” said study co-author Seth Pollak, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin. “We were curious what would happen if the contact was only by phone.”
As it turns out the mere sound of mom’s voice is enough to soothe frayed nerves and make a child feel better.
By the way, the girls who watched the penguin movie saw no increase in oxytocin. What’s more, the girls’ cortisol levels continued to be elevated an hour after the high-stress tasks.
So, mom 1, sappy penguin movie, 0. Go mom!!
Of course, if you are a mom of teens, then you might not be surprised by the caveat researchers threw in at the conclusion of their study. According to psychologists, the study’s results may not apply to every mother-child pair. The lead researcher noted that younger children still find comfort in their parents, but as they get older the mother-daughter relationship can get “more complicated and strained.” Therefore, if you and your child have a tension-filled relationship, then your voice might not be so soothing.
Like you needed a scientist to tell you that.
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