Love continues to fascinate us, and nothing draws the crowds like a good love story. Beyoncé and Jay-Z perfectly summed up the ecstasy and desire of love with their seminal 2003 hit Crazy in Love. That’s a good place to start with today’s post which is all about how love makes us feel. Or, more specifically, what love does to our bodies, and how love can lead to some surprisingly healthy side effects.
Last week, we discussed the health benefits of Kefir, and with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we thought it’d be a smooth transition to the health benefits of love.
So don your cupid’s wings and sharpen your arrow for love’s unexpected yet healthy side hustles.
Love’s Most Obvious Side Effect - Euphoria
First, let’s take a look at the most obvious way love affects us: happiness. Most of us are acutely aware of the rush of adrenaline that assails us when we first embark upon a romantic relationship with the object of our affections. Our adrenaline levels rise at the beginning of a relationship, when we’re first getting to know the other person and are falling in love with them. But why?
The stress of love causes our body to produce norepinephrine and adrenaline. These are the same hormones the body releases when we are in danger or facing some major crisis. This is what causes the “butterflies” and that topsy-turvy feeling in your stomach, as well as the sweaty palms, racing heart, and flushed face.
These hormones are also responsible when you feel jittery and your trip up over your own words.
Isn’t it bizarre how the person we most want to be makes us uncomfortable and turns us into an anxiety-ridden wreck?
However, as we move into different phases of our committed relationship, the increased adrenaline levels off and actually dips as dopamine takes over to deliver good feelings of wellbeing and security.
Let’s stay here and float around in your brain chemicals because there are more hormones to come!
Love has the power to make us incredibly, giddily joyful. When we’re in love we experience a rise in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Since dopamine is the chemical in the brain linked to rewards, the potential it holds to boost your mood is immense.
The brain’s reward system depends upon dopamine to highlight pleasurable behaviors, such as eating and drinking, reading a fun blog post, sex, meeting loved ones. Just thinking of the person you love can trigger dopamine. Then seeing them releases more dopamine as a “reward” which results in intense pleasure.
It’s believed that dopamine is key to mating, as the pleasure one feels by seeing the same person makes it more likely that we’ll keep seeing them. This is one of the steps toward choosing a partner with whom to procreate.
Love’s Most Potent Side Hustles
Not only does love boost happiness, it can also reduce feelings of depression, or at least having a partner may help to cope better with the challenges life brings up. In any case, when it comes to love, dopamine isn’t the only game in town.
Love also boosts our oxytocin levels, bringing a heightened sense of belonging, safety, and trust.
Oxytocin, also known as “the love hormone”, helps us feel safe and secure with a partner once the early rush of adrenaline is over. As oxytocin helps strengthen our bond with a romantic partner, it also works to make us less interested in other potential partners. In other words, when we feel good with a partner, it makes us want more of that feeling, and makes us want to feel closer.
Lust, Actually
It’s totally normal to feel lust when falling in love and, yes, it’s another group of hormones responsible for making us want to get hot and heavy with the object of our affections. Androgens increase our desire for sex with the person we love, and when it does happen our body produces more androgens so we’re in a cycle that is reinforced by oxytocin and dopamine.
Sex with someone we love feels amazing and enhances a sense of closeness, so it’s totally normal to want more of that.
More Love, Less Stress
A committed, loving relationship is often linked to less stress. As mentioned above, oxytocin and dopamine help to boost our mood. However, a 2010 study suggests that levels of cortisol are higher in single people. What’s cortisol? It’s the stress hormone and, compared to single people, people in loving relationships had lower levels of it. Our partners help us to process the day’s positive and negative events, and support us as we navigate life’s more challenging incidents.
This study from 2003 helped to show that physical contact with a loved one helps us take potentially stressful situations in our stride. In the study, two groups were asked to speak in public. Prior to speaking in public, one group received physical contact from their partner in the form of hugs and handholding, while the other did not.
The findings suggested that physical contact with a partner may lead to a lower cardiovascular response to stressful situations.
Life brings all sorts of stressful events that we need to navigate. Having a partner to help with life decisions, such as care for a loved one, can be a big help. EJAI Loves Homecare can also help with options for affordable in-home care from reliable and medically qualified professional care givers who can visit your loved one regularly, as needed.
Who Says Love Hurts?
It’s common to think of our loved ones when we’re feeling out of sorts, and for those thoughts to help our mood. Perhaps when things aren’t going to plan, thinking of our loved ones helps to comfort us or give us strength. If this works for you but you always thought it was just a coincidence or that you’d imagined that you were feeling better, think again.
A 2010 study revealed the results of a nine-month experiment involving people in romantic relationships. They were exposed to moderate to high levels of thermal pain, but also exposed to stimuli to gauge the results. The study participants were given a word-association prompt, shown a photo of an attractive acquaintance, and a photo of their romantic partner.
The participants reported experiencing less pain when distracted by the word-association task and when gazing upon the photo of their romantic partner. Interestingly, the study authors also observed that the photo of a romantic partner activated the brain’s reward system, suggesting it lowered the perception of pain.
So, when in pain, a loved one can actually help to soothe the discomfort, according to studies.
Better Health
According to a 2007 study, the love from a stable relationship can have a significant effect on one’s health. The positive benefits include lowering your risk of heart disease, and lowering your blood pressure. If that isn’t good enough, take into account that love can also improve your immune health and help you to recover from illness quicker.
Setting aside the purely biological impact of a committed relationship, we’ve all had a loved one push us to go to the doctor, or at least seek medical guidance about something. Well, it turns out that conditions are often caught quicker because of that loving push and can help us discover we’re ill earlier, and treatment may be more effective.
Love Life!
Oh, and let’s not forget about the sustained emotional support we receive from a partner who probably also pushes us to live healthier because they love and care for us. Those things mean couples typically live longer according to research from 2011 and a 2012 study.
The 2011 report compared death rates for single people with those of married people, or those living together. The authors discovered that the evidence suggested that single people were 24 percent more likely to die earlier.
However, the 2012 study of death rates after coronary artery bypass grafting found that people who were married when they underwent the operation were more likely to still be alive fifteen years later.
The rate increased for happily married people - they were 3.2 times more likely to be alive fifteen years later.
We never tire of movies, TV shows, novels or music that reveal the inner workings of a mind consumed by the sheer joy of being in love. Perhaps Labi Siffre sang it best in his 1970s hit It Must Be Love: “Nothing more, nothing less, love is the best.” When we’re in love, everything just feels so much… better! As if the world is finally in focus, everything makes sense, and nothing can be sad ever again.
That might not actually be the case, but it’s nice to feel like it is, if only for a little while. So, this Valentine’s Day, make an effort to show your loved one how much they mean and let’s appreciate all the great things we all do for each other.
If you have a loved one who needs a little more help as they get older, contact EJAI Loves Homecare in Florida to discuss their in-home care service. The team is ready to take your call and go through the options to give your loved one the assistance they deserve to stay in their own home. Greater independence, lower cost.