A new study suggests talking to mom on the phone is as good as a hug when it comes to relieving stress.

According to HealthDay, researchers at the University of Wisconsin studied a group of girls who were put in stressful situations. The tasks prompted an increase in their levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Afterwards, the participants were separated into three groups – one received in-person comfort from their mothers, one talked with their mothers over the phone, and one watched a video created to prompt an emotional response.

They found that both in-person and over-the-phone maternal contact produced an equally substantial and enduring reprieve from stress and anxiety among the girls by decreasing cortisol levels and increasing levels of the so-called "love hormone" oxytocin.

"The children who got to interact with their mothers had virtually the same hormonal response, whether they interacted in person or over the phone," said study author and University of Wisconsin-Madison biological anthropologist Leslie Seltzer.

Researchers did not include boys in the study. They say stress regulation may differ by gender.