Why We Fall In Love, According To Science
Think of the last time you ran into someone you find attractive. Chances are, your palms sweat and your heart was thudding in your chest. It is no surprise that, for centuries, people thought love arose from the heart. As it turns out, love is all about the brain which, in turn, makes the rest of your body go haywire.
Like any other human emotion, love has both a biological and physiological component. There is a chemical chain of reaction triggered in our bodies ultimately instigating the feeling of love to strike our minds. Falling in love is getting into a beautiful trap set up by nature, a natural occurrence we cannot fight. According to a science-based study, on average, the mind of a person takes between 90 seconds to 4 minutes to determine whether love strikes it or not.
A recent study based on the topic “science behind love” is conducted at Rutgers University in the United States, revealed there are three stages involved with falling in love; lust, attraction, and attachment. Each stage requires different types of chemical reactions within the body and specifically the brain.
Stage 1: Lust
Lust is the first stage of love and is driven by the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen – in both men and women. These hormones as Helen Fisher says "get you out looking for anything."
Stage 2: Attraction
This phase is said to be one of the most beautiful moments of life. This is the phase when a person starts to feel the love. His or her impatience for attracting somebody leads to excitement, and the individual is left with no other option but to only think about that specific person. Scientists believe that three primary neurotransmitters are involved in this stage which are adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.
Adrenaline
The initial stages of falling for someone activates your stress response, increasing your blood levels of adrenalin and cortisol. This has the charming effect that when you unexpectedly bump into your new love, you start to sweat, your heart beats like a drum, and your mouth goes so dry your tongue feels like sandpaper.
Dopamine
Helen Fisher asked newly ‘love struck’ couples to have their brains examined and discovered they have high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This chemical stimulates ‘desire and reward’ by triggering an intense rush of pleasure. It has the same effect on the brain as taking cocaine!
Fisher suggests “couples often show the signs of surging dopamine: increased energy, less need for sleep or food, focused attention and exquisite delight in smallest details of this novel relationship.”
Serotonin
Serotonin has been found as one of the essential chemicals involved in exciting the feeling of love. Serotonin diverts your mind and bounds you to think about your lover and nothing else. It becomes a path for the spirit.
Stage 3: Attachment
Attachment is a bond helping the couple to take their relationship to advanced levels. It is the bond that keeps couples together long enough for them to have and raise children. Scientists discovered that two major hormones involved in this feeling of attachment that named oxytocin and vasopressin.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin, also known as “the cuddle hormone,” is a potent hormone released by men and women during orgasm. It probably deepens the feelings of attachment and makes couples feel much closer to one another after they have had sex. The theory goes that the more sex a couple has, the more profound their bond becomes. Oxytocin plays a crucial role in affiliation and attachments in humans.
Oxytocin also helps build a strong bond between a mother and an infant during childbirth. Also, it is such a sensitive hormone that it automatically signals the breast to release the milk upon the baby’s sound or touch.
Vasopressin
Vasopressin, also known as anti-diuretic, is another important hormone in the long-term commitment stage. It performs its operation along with the kidney, therefore controlling thirst. This hormone is released in significant quantity quickly after sex.
The Bottom Line On The Science of Love
Love is one of the most delightful feelings of our lives. It is entirely right about the saying “love is blind” because you never know when your brain will encounter love. A significant number of chemical reactions are involved in instigating lust, attraction, attachment, and love between couples. Science has yet discovered the exact bodily responses behind the complexity of love. However, based on the above studies it is said that falling in love involves many mechanisms and chemicals within the brain. The partner does not need to be, sexy, beautiful or handsome; the feeling is more profound than a physical tactility. You only cannot avoid the emotional reaction of love.