What happens in your body when you fall in love?
It's easy to talk about the emotional effects of falling in love. A state of drowsiness like dizziness, confusion in the mind where thousands of thoughts are circulating at the same time, and feeling as if there are only two people in the universe are probably one of the closest definitions of love.
What about the physical effects of love? What happens in your body when you fall in love? It has to be more than just your heart pounding when you see the person you're in love with or feeling like butterflies are flying in your stomach.
According to an article published in Brides magazine, love; heart health has many positive effects on your physical and mental health. What's more, love lowers stress levels, reduces feelings associated with pain, relieves headaches, lowers the risk of heart attack, and stabilizes blood pressure. It is possible to support all this with the results obtained from various studies conducted by Stanford University and New York State University. Research by Stanford University shows that many of these positive results are related to the release of oxytocin in the brain. Scientists liken falling in love to a form of substance abuse with healthy consequences. Here are some changes in our body when we fall in love:
1. Being addicted to love
Dopamine is a chemical the brain releases in response to things it enjoys. When you gamble, do drugs, and fall in love, the brain releases dopamine. Biological anthropologist Dr. “As the dopamine system is activated, a person becomes someone who is more meaningful to you and you focus on that person,” says Helen Fisher. Dopamine secretion can continue both in the early stages of love and over a long period of time.
2. The miracle of oxytocin
The thing that calms couples and binds them together in the most innocent way is oxytocin. Dr. “The desire to hug, kiss, touch is caused by oxytocin,” Fisher says. The level of oxytocin is also very high in women who have just given birth, so that the mother's body makes milk for her baby. So if you want to sit at home and watch a movie with your loved one, oxytocin in the brain is responsible for this.
3. Increased testosterone
Although testosterone is seen as a hormone associated with machismo, it is actually testosterone that fuels the fire in both sexes. Men naturally have more testosterone and salivation. One theory says that when couples' lips meet, this hormone is passed from one to the other and sexual desire increases.
4. Butterflies in your stomach
Another hormone released when you fall in love is norepinephrine, known as the stress hormone. This hormone, which increases your heart rate and raises your body temperature, is perhaps what makes you feel like butterflies are flying in your stomach.
5. Bond of love
Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is the name given to the genes that control the molecules on the cell surface. They're also a tool the body uses to express itself when it encounters a stranger. The MHC level in our body comes out with sweat, body odor and saliva. There are many types of MHCs and they match the person you're in love with. Studies show that the more variants a person has of MHCs, the more attractive they are.
6. Follow your nose
When talking about love at first sight, don't forget to give your nose justice. When you fall in love with someone, their scent can become too strong for you. Consider how many stories there are in history of heroes wrapping their loved one's scarf around their neck or sniffing the handkerchief left by their loved ones.
It has many positive effects on our lives as long as it is not a bad love and brings the complete opposite to our daily lives.