Call your mom … It’s healthy!

My mom is in a care facility in Arizona right now, and I’m facing the painful but inevitable time when she’ll no longer be with us. Through the years, our relationship has been extremely good, which is rare in this age of dysfunctional and disjointed families. A decade ago, I moved to California but my mom has never been more than a phone call away.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m so healthy! According to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a simple phone conversation with a loved one actually causes the release of the powerful stress-quelling hormone oxytocin.

The study focused on young girls, but I’m living proof that it works just as well for adults. Talking with someone you love — your mom, dad, spouse, kids, sweetheart — can counteract the effects of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress.

In the study, the girls were given the assignment to present an impromptu speech and solve a series of math problems in front of a panel of strangers (talk about stress!).

“Facing a challenge like that, being evaluated, raises stress levels for a lot of people,” said Seth Pollak, psychology professor and director of UW-Madison’s Child Emotion Lab.

Once their hearts started racing, one-third of the girls were comforted in person by their mothers — specifically with hugs, an arm around the shoulders and the like. One-third watched an emotion-neutral 75-minute video. The rest were handed a telephone. It was mom on the line, and the effect was dramatic.

“The children who got to interact with their mothers had virtually the same hormonal response, whether they interacted in person or over the phone,” Seltzer says.

The girls’ levels of oxytocin, often called the “love hormone” and strongly associated with emotional bonding, rose significantly and the stress-marking cortisol washed away.

“It was understood that oxytocin release in the context of social bonding usually required physical contact,” Seltzer said. “But it’s clear from these results that a mother’s voice can have the same effect as a hug, even if they’re not standing there.”

And, according to the study, the effect is a lasting one. “It stays well beyond that stressful task,” Pollak noted. “By the time the children go home, they’re still enjoying the benefits of this relief and their cortisol levels are still low.”

The researchers, whose report was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, spent a lot of time trying to show that the effects were different for males than females. They explained that when confronted with a threat or stressful situation, males may be more likely to choose between fight and flight. A female creates or uses a social bond to deal with a stressor, either through touch or soothing vocal communication.

But any guy who has felt more relaxed after listening to the soothing voice of his parents, wife, sweetheart or even kids, knows this is not one of those “she’s from Venus, he’s from Mars” experiences. It’s a human thing.

Actually, that’s not altogether true. The effect isn’t restricted to humans alone!

“Lots of very social species vocalize,” Seltzer admitted. “We’re hoping researchers who study vocal communication will consider looking at oxytocin release in other animals and applying it to broader questions of social behavior and evolutionary biology.”

So, next time you’re feeling stressed out, pick up the phone and call a loved one. It may just be the best tranquilizer you can take.