National Hug Day
January 21
National Hug Day was created by Reverend Kevin Zaborney in Caro, Michigan in 1986 to promote the positive feeling people get from a sincere hug. The good reverend chose January 21st because there tends to be a let-down of affectionate gestures during the cold days of winter between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. A quick hug has a near-immediate impact on health, lowering your heart rate and inducing a calming effect while also leading to a more upbeat mood! More hugs equal lower blood pressure. The hormones that are released in the body after a hug aren’t just good for happy feelings — they can also help your physical health. When someone touches you, the sensation on your skin activates pressure receptors called Pacinian corpuscles, which then send signals to the vagus nerve, an area of the brain that is responsible for (among many things) lowering blood pressure.
International Sweatpants Day
January 21
From the pages of Wikipedia we learn the first pair of sweatpants was introduced in the 1920s by Émile Camuset, the founder of Le Coq Sportif. These were simple knitted gray jersey pants that allowed athletes to stretch and run comfortably. In the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa they are known as joggers and in Australia, they are also commonly known as tracky daks. Even though today sweats are primarily seen being worn by sports participants there still isn’t many other things better to lounge about in than PJs or sweatpants.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Jack Nicholas – Golfer – born in Upper Arlington, Ohio
Stonewall Jackson – General – born in Clarksburg, Virginia
