The Psychology of Comfort:
Why We Love Wearing Hoodies
If you’ve ever put on your favorite hoodie when you’re stressed and suddenly feel better, have you ever wondered what’s going on? It’s not magic. But we think it’s pretty close. That’s your mind and body working hard to bring you comfort and to make you feel better, even if the dog ate your homework and you got a parking ticket, and your life just feels like a country song right now.
We think that’s a pretty remarkable thing for the humble hoodie to do. What’s even more amazing is that sweatshirts and hoodies have been keeping humanity warm and comfortable for longer than you might think.
So let’s dive in. Let’s look at where the hoodie came from, how it impacts your brain and health, and how you can get your own custom hoodies from TeamShirts!
The History of the Hoodie: A Primer
No one’s found prehistoric cave paintings of Paleolithic cave people vibing in hoodies (Yet! We’re sure archaeologists are working on it), but hoodies can be traced back to Medieval Europe. Back then, monks lived and prayed in big, drafty monasteries and cathedrals. To keep themselves warm, they wore something known as a cowl, which was a hood with a blanket-type cloak in the back for added warmth.
You can’t keep progress (or coziness) back for long, and soon, hooded garments became popular across Europe, especially among peasants and those who worked outside. For the lower classes, these hooded clothes were an affordable way to stay protected from the elements.
The first clothing that looks like our idea of a hoodie didn’t emerge until the 1930s. That’s when the brand Champion first developed what it called a “Double Thickness Hooded Sweat Shirt” and sold it for $2.98. Ah, the past... They marketed it as something athletes could wear in practice or during pauses in games. The idea caught on fast, and soon, hooded sweatshirts with pockets and drawstring hoods were also being sold to laborers and warehouse workers who needed to stay warm. Kind of going full circle to the monks, really.
By the 1970s, hoodies were associated with counterculture. Want to rebel and make a statement? Slip on a hoodie and head out to skateboard in California or to breakdance in the Bronx. Then, in 1976, the release of the movie Rocky became the biggest thing to happen to hoodies since the 1930s. Suddenly, everyone who was pursuing their dreams, jogging or boxing, wanted an iconic gray sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies had made it to the silver screen and the big time, baby!
The rise of hip-hop and rap in the 1980s and 1990s made hoodies a fashion staple everywhere. You couldn’t walk into a convenience store, department store, gift shop, or stadium without seeing plain hoodies or ones with logos, images, or tie-die (hey, it was the 1980s). They were a uniform for students, rappers, and anyone with a demo tape. People started to notice how cool they looked and embraced the warmth and coziness, meaning more and more companies were creating hoodies.
Hoodie history took another big step in the 2000s in Silicon Valley, where tech workers and tech company leaders adopted the hoodie as part of their uniform. But this wasn’t the old counterculture hoodie. This is when hoodies hit the fashion big-time. They were being created by top designers and appearing on fashion runways. Hoodies became high-end, with luxury details and careful styling, with a price tag to match. The good old-fashioned affordable hoodie is still here to stay, though. No worries.
Why We Love Wearing Hoodies
Today, hoodies are one of the most versatile garments out there. You can buy one for less than a pizza and hang out wearing it at home. Or, you can spend thousands of dollars on a designer one from one of the big fashion houses. We’re still not sure what Coco Chanel would have thought. If you’re a billionaire, you can even have bespoke hoodies custom-designed for your body.
No matter who you are and where you are, there’s a lot to love about custom sweatshirts and hoodies. As for us, there’s a lot of reasons why we love wearing hoodies:
- Hoodies are comfy. Need we say more?
- They’re one piece of clothing you can wear on the couch, at a party, and even at work.
- They keep you warm on chilly nights, on the beach, and wherever the weather finds you.
- Pulling your hood up helps you look like an international man or woman of mystery. Also useful for avoiding contact with the too-friendly person on the train on a Monday morning.
- A lot of hoodies have sentimental value. It’s why we’re holding onto our homecoming hoodie.
- You can style them any way you want.
- They’re great for exercise and for a cool-down after you workout.
- Kangaroo pockets are the perfect place to stash your phone, keys, wallet, stuffed toy, snacks, random potato, or whatever else you want.
- There’s a huge range of hoodies out there for every body type and every style.
- We’ve figured out that they’re so easy to pop on and off that you can remove them while crawling to your couch at 3:00 after a three-day flu.
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The Psychological Desire for Comfort
Have you ever wondered what goes on between your ears when you slip into a warm, comfy hoodie?
Well, we went there. All of us crave togetherness, warmth, and touch. Even the introverts among us. Even the biggest, baddest, tough guy. In fact, touch and warmth are so important that children fail to thrive without them. Have you ever checked out baby clothes? They’re not made from pleather and silk. They’re made from fleecy, soft fabrics because we know babies need coziness, comfort, and warmth.
The thing is, we still need that when we’re all grown up. After a hard day at work, we may need it more than the baby. What’s that infant been doing? Sleeping all day? Puh-leeze. Who really needs cozy here?
We don’t all have someone to hug when we come home, but cuddling in a comfy, worn-in sweatshirt and doing something nice for yourself, like making dinner or watching a movie, gives us some of that same feeling. We self-soothe and feel comfortable, relaxed, and safer.
When we feel calm, comfortable, and secure by slipping into a favorite hoodie, we experience physical reactions, too. Being comfortable and feeling safe can lower your blood pressure and create a sense of calm. It can soothe your racing heart after a stressful day and make you feel better. Long story short — wearing your hoodie can be good for you.
Here’s what happens in your brain while all of this is going on: When you have certain positive experiences, your body releases specific hormones, sometimes known as “feel-good hormones.” These neurotransmitters carry messages between nerve cells, affecting your body and even how you feel.
The four hormones associated with positive feelings such as coziness are dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin.
Dopamine is released when we feel pleasure, whether it’s from eating an ice cream or slipping into cozy clothes after work. It encourages us to seek more of that experience by rewarding us for it. Dopamine may be one reason you reach for your favorite hoodie again and again — your brain is rewarding you for it and encouraging you to come back for more!
Serotonin can help you fight low moods and make you feel great. You’re most likely to improve your serotonin levels when you slip into your hoodie to work out. Exercise and sunlight have both been found to elevate serotonin levels.
Endorphins fight pain and promote a sense of well-being. You can release them through exercise, music, laughter, and meditation. So go ahead: cozy up in your favorite sweatshirt and relax, have a dance party, or watch your favorite comedians.
Oxytocin is known as the “love hormone” because it’s what causes that loved-up feeling when you start dating someone new. It’s also the hormone that helps babies bond with their parents. Given its name, it’s no surprise that this hormone is released when you snuggle or hug someone you love.
We think it’s a great excuse to get matching couples hoodies and cuddle right up.
Dopamine is most likely what’s causing you to feel that relaxing “ahh” when you get into your favorite sweatshirt. Self-care and creating a space for coziness can help you promote these positive feelings in your life.
So, how do hoodies do all of that? In a few ways:
- They make you feel comfortable and warm.
- Hoodies you reach for again and again trigger feel-good emotions from their familiarity.
- Wearing matching hoodies with a team, volunteer group, school, or workplace can make you feel included and part of a team, which also makes you feel great.
- Hoodies with messages or images you like or in your favorite colors trigger the same positive emotions you feel when you look at something beautiful.
- Funny sweatshirts make you laugh, releasing those endorphins!
Sure, hoodies alone can’t change your life. But they’re a step in the right direction. Add in some healthy habits and self-care, and you’re well on your way.
Let TeamShirts Be Your Custom Hoodie Supplier!
What’s better than a cozy, warm hoodie? Your own custom hoodie, of course! Here at TeamShirts, we’re big believers in the power of a comfortable hoodie, and we want to bring quality hoodies to more people. We help you create more cozy moments with customizable birthday hoodies, company hoodies, team sweatshirts, honeymoon shirts, and more.
We make it super-easy to order, too, so you can keep those good vibes. Just choose the hoodie you want, and head over to our free online design wizard. Upload your image or choose from tens of thousands of designs. Write a message or put team numbers and names on the back of your sweatshirt. Play around until you get the look you want. Our handy voting feature lets your whole team weigh in on which hoodie looks they love best.
And that’s it! Upload the finished design and checkout. Your hoodies are on their way.
TeamShirts makes sure that every hoodie you order is high quality. We do that by starting with quality shirts from top brands like Champion and Adidas. We also bring you sweatshirts with great details. For example, the Unisex Contrast Hoodie comes with double-needle cover-seamed armholes, cuffs, waistband, and hood, as well as a two-ply hood for added warmth.
We also make sure the printing or embroidery on your t-shirt is on point. We’ll choose the printing method that’ll make your design look its best. TeamShirts has our printing facility in Nevada, so we can ensure high-quality printing every time. It’s what allows us to offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee and 30-day returns.
Want more than hoodies, wonderful as they are? TeamShirts has your back. We have a huge range of products you can customize, including hats, aprons, bags, plush toys, water bottles, pants, socks, t-shirts, and more. Whether you need something for a team, a birthday party, a family vacation, a company department, or anything else, we have you covered. And we offer amazing advantages, including:
- Free standard shipping (or rush shipping for an extra charge)
- Free samples
- Volume discounts of up to 65%
- No order minimums
- Free professional design services from our design pros if you order five or more hoodies
- A huge selection of hoodie styles, sizes, and colors
- Guaranteed delivery dates
- A low price guarantee that ensures you won’t find a better price anywhere else
- A great customer service team, so you can always reach out to a live person if you have questions
With 6 million printed products and operations in 12 countries, TeamShirts is growing year over year because more teams are turning to us for their custom sweatshirts and other custom products. Since 2014, we’ve worked hard to bring you the best quality and craftsmanship, the most customization options, and tons of new features to make ordering even easier. And we’re still growing and adding new services, products, and features for you, all while keeping prices low.
At TeamShirts, we believe we’re better together. If the history of hoodies has taught us anything, it’s that there’s power in a movement and in a community. So go ahead and embrace the feel-good comfort of a great hoodie for yourself, your workplace, your school, or your team. Go ahead and start your order now!
Tight Turns and Terrific Customer Service
We needed some blue hoodies with our custom design for a class trip to Washington DC. It was a tight turn around and there was an issue when they didn’t have enough youth sizes in the color we needed, but they communicated to me right away and helped find a solution that didn’t slow down production. The hoodies arrived days before the trip and everyone was thrilled. I’m definitely coming back to TeamShirts for all our school project needs in the future.
Karl Archer
Terrific customer service
Terrific customer service, speedy delivery and exactly what I wanted!
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Really Cheap. Really good quality. Really fast delivery. Really simple to order. Everything was perfect!
Allison Coedden
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Excellent customer service, very knowledgable about the products, they are kind, accessable and very helpful. I would highly recomend this company for all your printing needs!
Moshe Levy
Shirts came out perfectly
Shirts came out perfectly! Shipping was awesome considering I needed them so last minute
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