Whether you’re head over heels, stuck on someone, or totally swept away, there’s no doubt that love has the power to mess with you.
To learn about the effects of love, all you have to do is pick up a book or turn on the TV or radio.
The translation of “The Love Song for Shu-Sin,” which dates to around 2000 B.C., reads, “You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you.” Even the oldest written love song found to date has something to add.
Examples from more recent media, such as sentimental stories of soul mates and love comedies, can occasionally be difficult to accept, particularly if Cupid’s arrows don’t hit you very hard.
However, if you’ve ever experienced love, you understand that sometimes exaggerations aren’t wholly inaccurate.
Examples from more recent media, such as sentimental stories of soul mates and love comedies, can occasionally be difficult to accept, particularly if Cupid’s arrows don’t hit you very hard.
However, if you’ve ever experienced love, you understand that sometimes exaggerations aren’t wholly inaccurate.
Many say that all you have to do is learn to recognize when love is present.
occurs. Here are fifteen telltale effects to watch out for if you need a little assistance in that area.
Your brain on love
Heart is the first organ that springs to mind when you think about love.
Although phrases like “heartbroken,” “you’re in my heart,” and “thinking with your heart” help to explain this, your brain is ultimately responsible for everything.
Love undoubtedly causes changes in your brain that impact your behavior and mood while it’s still fresh, but certain consequences last long after the initial blush of love and gradually deepen your commitment.
Here are a few of the most significant outcomes.
Euphoria
That ecstatic, exuberant feeling you get when you’re with your loved one, or when you see them across the room, or when you hear their name? You can link the neurotransmitter dopamine to this perfectly normal sensation of falling in love.
This crucial molecule is used by your brain’s reward system to promote rewarding activities, such as:
Eating
Listening to music
Having sex
seeing people you love
Dopamine is released just by thinking about the person you are in love with, which excites you and makes you want to go to any lengths to see them.
Your brain then “rewards” you with more dopamine when you do see them, which gives you a strong sense of pleasure.
Researchers Trusted Source believe this cycle plays an important part in mating behavior. Spending time with the person you love makes you feel good, which increases the likelihood that you’ll continue doing it.
From a purely biological standpoint, this is a crucial initial step toward selecting the perfect partner with whom to procreate.
Attachment and security
This explains why, once your love passes the initial surge, you most likely feel at ease and at ease in the company of a lover.
These feelings might seem even stronger after touching, kissing, or sex. That’s oxytocin at work. There’s a reason it’s referred to as “the love hormone.”
Dopamine is not the only chemical at play when it comes to love. Additionally, oxytocin levels riseTrusted Source, increasing emotions of safety, attachment, and trust.
Your bond may get stronger as a result of this oxytocin production, which may also make you less interested in other possible partners.
In short, the better your partner makes you feel, the closer you’ll likely want to become.
Willingness to sacrifice
Most individuals would agree that love necessitates some level of sacrifice and flexibility.
Little sacrifices, like painting the kitchen a dandelion yellow color instead of robin’s egg blue, can go a long way toward changing someone’s life. For example, in order to support your partner, you might relocate across the nation or even abroad.
You might discover that when love blossoms, you’re more inclined to make these concessions. This is thought to occur because partners tend to become more in sync, partly because of the vagus nerve, which originates in the brain and regulates everything from heart rate to facial expressions.
This alignment will assist you in identifying their moments of sadness or discomfort. You may decide to make a sacrifice for someone you love since it’s only human to desire to prevent them from suffering.
Constant thoughts
Is the one you love in the forefront of your mind? Perhaps you’ve been thinking about them so much that they’re beginning to show up in your dreams.
This partially relates to the dopamine cycle that rewards these positive thoughts, but 2005 research suggests you can also thank another part of your brain: the anterior cingulate cortex.
This area of the brain has been associated by experts with obsessive-compulsive behaviors, which may help explain why your thoughts may start to resemble an obsession in terms of frequency and severity.
Still, when you first fall in love with someone, it’s normal for them to be the main thing on your mind. This can reinforce your desire to spend time with them, potentially increasing your chances of successfully building a relationship.
Less stress
There is a constant correlation between lasting love and reduced stress.
One benefit of oxytocin and dopamine production is that they provide feel-good sentiments. Additionally, research from 2010 indicates that compared to those in committed relationships, single persons may have greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
If a partner isn’t someone you can confide in and who supports you, then what good is it? It’s understandable, then, that the support and companionship of someone you love can help you manage challenging life events more easily trusted Source.
Jealousy
While people tend to think of jealousy as something bad, it’s a natural emotion that can help you pay more attention to your needs and feelings.
Put another way, love-induced jealousy may indicate that you value your relationship with your partner and don’t want to lose them.
If you utilize jealousy constructively, it may strengthen your bond and foster attachment in your partnership.
Remind yourself that feelings of jealousy are normal as soon as you recognize them. Afterwards, discuss them with your spouse rather than spying on them or criticizing their actions in a passive-aggressive manner.
Love’s effects on your body
Love will manifest in your body whether it is felt in your fingers, toes, or throughout.
Boosted passion
Being in love can give you a very lusty feeling.
Why do you feel the need to turn it on constantly? Here, hormones from another set of cells are involved. The hormones known as androgens, which include testosterone, make you want to have sex with the person you love more.
Additionally, having sex increases the synthesis of these hormones, which can start a loop that is further fueled by the release of dopamine and oxytocin.
Sex with your partner feels great and increases closeness, so it’s perfectly normal to want more. There is no harm in that—having sex has many health advantages.
Improved physical health
A committed relationship, especially when it starts out as love, can be beneficial to one’s general health.
A few of these benefits include:
Decreased risk of heart disease
Lower blood pressure
Improved immune health
Faster recovery from illness
Longer life span
A loving relationship could help you have a longer life.
Research from 2011 reviewed 95 articles that compared the death rate for single people to the death rate for people who were married or lived with partners.
According to some of the research the review authors looked at, there was evidence indicating single persons had a substantially higher chance of dying young—24 percent.
According to data from a 2012 study involving 225 adults who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, love may prolong life. After 15 years, the likelihood of survival was 2.5 times higher for those who were married at the time of surgery.
This rate was further elevated by high marital happiness: individuals who expressed a 3.2-fold gain in life expectancy over those who expressed a lower level of satisfaction were married for 3.2 times longer.
Pain relief
You may be familiar with how thinking about your loved one may lift your spirits and even give you a little solace or courage when you’re feeling down.
A little 2010 studyTrusted Source claims that this effect is real and not just something you imagine.
In this study, fifteen adults who had started dating during the last nine months were examined. Three different activities caused the subjects to feel mild to severe heat pain:
Answering a word-association exercise that has been demonstrated in earlier studies to lessen discomfort
Gazing at a picture of a lovely acquaintance
Gazing at a picture of their love interest
They reported less pain both when completing the distraction task and when looking at a photo of their partner.
The reward system in the brain was triggered by gazing at a partner’s photo, according to the study’s authors, and this activation may lessen your sense of pain.
The bottom line
Most people concur that love is more than just a mental state; it’s a whole-body sensation.
Love, though, has the power to make you happy, especially if your feelings are not reciprocated.
A therapist can always offer support when love distresses you more than it uplifts you.