Heartwarming memories

New research for the winter days - pleasant memories raise the body temperature

Who among us does not sometimes embrace the past, and warms his heart with longing for distant days when everything was better, simpler, more pleasant? British research reveals that this natural tendency also has a physiological explanation - the pleasant memories of the past warm us in the present. The researchers, from the University of Southampton, examined the issue from several different angles.

In one of the experiments, they asked groups of subjects in the Netherlands and China to record their mood in a diary for a month. A comparison with the weather data revealed an interesting finding - the subjects tended to be in a nostalgic mood, especially on the cooler days during the experiment.

In another experiment, volunteers were put into a rather cool room, and asked to bring up some memory from their past - a pleasant nostalgic memory or a normal memory. The experiment participants were then asked to try to estimate the temperature in the room. But those who brought up nostalgic memories consistently estimated that the room was warmer than the volunteers who brought up neutral memories, without emotional value. Another experiment tested the matter with a different method. Here, too, the participants were asked to recall a nostalgic or neutral event, and to hold their hands to a glass full of ice water, for as long as they could. Here, too, it turned out that those with nostalgic memories had a higher tolerance for the cold - that is, they could touch the frozen glass for a longer time.

"The study shows that nostalgia helps to mentally visualize situations in which we experienced pleasure, and this includes a feeling of physical comfort," said the head of the research team, Prof. Tim Wildschut. "In this case, physical comfort means a feeling of warmth, and increasing our tolerance to the cold. More research is needed to see if nostalgia may help us deal with other aspects of physical discomfort, besides the cold."

The nostalgia advantage
Personal nostalgia is defined as a mental state of longing or warm feelings for certain events in our past. Previous studies in psychology have shown that nostalgia has several benefits. It helps people better understand their identity, preserve it and also deal with difficulties and traumatic experiences in the present. It is known that holiday periods usually evoke waves of nostalgia in certain people, probably due to the existence of religious and family traditions and regular events that remind us of the past and childhood. It is interesting to note that most of the research in the field is done in the USA and Western Europe, where the holiday season also has climatic significance - Christmas and New Year's Eve fall at the height of winter, and according to the new findings, the cold during this period may be another reason for nostalgic longing for distant days.

Related links:
Link to the original article
Nostalgia and holidays, an interview with Prof. Christine Batcho, New York