Colds and flu can be prevalent during the cold winter months, but here's a tip to get yourself protected from severe colds: get plenty of hugs.

Although flu shots are a more fool-proof way of avoiding the sick bed, findings of a new study suggest that hugs can also give you a line of defense particularly if you are stressed and experiencing interpersonal conflicts.

Sheldon Cohen from Carnegie Mellon University, together with colleagues, wanted to see whether hugs could act as a form of social support that can protect stressed people from getting sick. For 14 consecutive evenings, they asked more than 400 individuals about their conflicts with other people as well as the amount of hugs that they have received. They also assessed the perceived support the subjects received using a questionnaire.

Cohen and colleagues then exposed these individuals to cold or flu virus by giving them infection-causing nasal drops. The researchers then quarantined the participants in a hotel for a week and monitored their symptoms.

The researchers found that those who felt they were well supported by their loved ones and received more frequent hugs showed reduced susceptibility to stress-induced infections, resulting in them having less severe symptoms of illness.

"Perceived support protected against the rise in infection risk associated with increasing frequency of conflict," the researchers reported in their study, which was published in Psychological Science on Dec. 19. "Among infected participants, greater perceived support and more frequent hugs each predicted less severe illness signs."

Earlier studies have shown that strong social ties can provide protection against depression, anxiety and stress. The researchers wanted to know if it also provides protection against purely physiological diseases and the findings indicate that it does.

Cohen said that the findings indicate that being hugged by a person you trust sends a message of support, so hugging more often can be an effective way of reducing the harmful effects of stress, which is known to cause unwanted health effects.

"There's a lot of evidence out there suggesting that touch might be really effective at protecting people from stressors," Cohen said. "It's a communication to people that you care about them, and that you have a close intimate relationship with them."

Cohen said that the protective effects of hug can be attributed to the physical contact itself or the act being an indication of support and intimacy. As for the ideal number of hugs, the researchers said that one appears to be good enough.