6 strange things love does to your brain and body


Ah, love. L-O-V-E. The four letters that can be enough to get your heart racing or conjure up images of your nearest and dearest. However, had you ever wondered about all the other wondrous effects that could be going on inside your body? There may be a reason for the butterflies in the tummy after all.

6 strange things love does to your brain and body

Happiness

It may be no surprise to hear that being in love has a major impact on your hormonal system. This creates more than just a feeling of desire. Your body also gets inundated with adrenaline and norepinephrine which can cause your heart rate to increase as well as get your palms sweating. As if that wasn’t enough, your brain releases a hormone called dopamine which can give a sense of euphoria. This is also why people sometimes refer to a “lovers’ high”.

Pain-free life

It looks as though being in love can cause your pain to go away! A group of researchers set about seeing just how true this was by getting together a select group of people. The people in charge then used a hot probe to test the participants’ pain levels. They were then shown pictures of their loved ones before being asked to do another distracting task. When looking at their beloved, people were able to take more pain than doing anything else.

Tell-tale blush

There is a reason that you may blush when you’re in the presence of someone you love. The emotions you feel means that adrenaline is released into the body. This hormone then makes the blood vessels in our body dilate so more blood can be pumped around the body. More blood means more oxygen. Although we may be getting a rush of blood, this also means we may be subject to blushing.

Happy, healthy heart

Being in love can make your heart feel as though it’s never felt as many emotions before. Amazingly, it may just be different. Studies have shown that being in love actually helps to protect your heart. The research shows that people in relationships are far less likely to have a heart attack than people that are single. This could also be to do with the fact that married people are less likely to partake in activities bad for their health. It’s a win-win situation!

6 strange things love does to your brain and body

Doe-eyed

There are plenty of connections that can be made between two people in love when they look into each other’s eyes. However, a reaction completely out of your control is what your eyes may be doing. A lot of the time when we look at something we like our eyes will naturally get bigger; this is no different when looking at someone we love. Research also shows that people are typically more attracted to people with bigger eyes which could offer another reason for the growing pupils.

Tingly feeling

While you may be busy feeling all the other emotions that come with love, there is one more to add to the list: tingles. In a study, people were asked to identify areas of their body where they felt activity when looking at pictures all to do with being in love. According to the research, many applicants colored in their whole body, focusing on the head, stomach, and chest.

While we may have once thought that being in love only affected our heart, there is now proof to show the drastic difference it can make in all parts of our body. It looks as though there are now even more reasons to enjoy our time spent with our loved ones. After all, it’s good for us!

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