There’s nothing more heartwarming than seeing couples walking hand in hand. Holding hands is not only a gesture of affection, but it also has physiological value as well. Research has shown that this simple act helps lower blood pressure, reduce pain and buffer stressful experiences, says The Washington Post.

When people feel they are under attack, holding hands calms parts of the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, that help control our instinct and see reason. Researcher James Coan, a clinical psychologist and director of the Virginia Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Virginia, conducted several experiments on the effect of holding hands.

In one experiment, he had 16 married women placed in an MRI brain scan and then confronted them with the threat of an electric shock. The brains scans revealed that when the women held hands with a stranger, it reduced the stress of being shocked. But when they held hands with their spouses, that reduction of stress was even more pronounced, revealing that the quality of the relationship is important to the benefits of holding hands.

Coan’s research concluded that human brains are wired to access relationships to help solve problems. He found that being alone is itself a problem. He calls this the social baseline theory. Without access to relationships, the brain finds problems overwhelming and expends more physiological and psychological effort to solve them. But when we know we are not alone, as conveyed by holding hands, our problem-solving skills are more accessible and relaxed.

The pressure of touch on the highly sensitive skin of the hand stimulates the pressure-sensitive Pacinian corpuscles, which sends signals to vagus nerve, according to the British Columbia Medical Journal. The vagus nerve transfers these signals to the hypothalamus, which in turn lowers the heart rate and blood pressure and contributes to the neurological management of stress responses.

“Handholding can also start oxytocin production, which helps people feel closer and more connected to each other and reduces cortisol response to stress,” says Dr. George Szasz, an intimate relationship expert. So, on Valentine’s Day and beyond, give the gift of good health by holding a loved one’s hand.