London: Forget spa and exercises. The most convenient way to get rid of all that anxiety and tension is to simply hug and kiss your spouse, results of a recent study suggest.

According to a week long study conducted on 51 German couples, pairs that engage in physical intimacy, indulging in everything from holding hands to having sex, have lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in their saliva.

The study observed that even those couples who were experiencing work related problems, when bonded through physical intimacy, showed lower cortisol levels in their blood streams.

Cortisol is an important hormone in the body, secreted by the adrenal glands. Small increases in cortisol have positive effects on the body like helping in proper glucose metabolism and regulation of blood pressure. Normally, it is present in the body at higher levels in the morning and is at its lowest at night.

It has been termed “the stress hormone” because high levels of it are secreted during the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response. It is also responsible for several stress-related changes in the body.

This is not the first time a study has shown that physical intimacy helps relax the body. At Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, a somewhat similar study was conducted on 2,000 couples. It showed that those pairs who kiss only during lovemaking are eight times more likely to report suffering from stress and depression than those who frequently kiss on the spur of the moment.

The research at Zurich University was conducted by Beate Ditzen. In her opinion, intimacy amplifies pleasant moods that enhance hormone levels. She advises couples to form close relationships to ensure a healthier lifestyle.

The research findings appeared in Psychosomatic Medicine.