The Science Behind Love

Everybody has either had the joy of falling in love or watching others fall into love. It can be surprising, even shocking sometimes. Love can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time.

We all know what love feels like, whether it’s love towards a significant other, or towards a family member, we’ve all felt it. The feelings that we feel surrounding love, is all part of nature. What exactly is love though?

First of all, love consists of dopamine, a chemical that can affect various organs within the body. Dopamine is responsible for your feeling of attraction towards your significant other.

Next, the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and PEA cause you to focus all of your attention on that one person. PEA is also responsible for the happiness and excitement you feel around your crush. As you spend more time with your significant other your central nervous system and bloodstream reward you with feelings of happiness and increased energy.

The love towards a significant other can consist of lust, a feeling caused by the hormones; testosterone and estrogen. Hormones can cause you to begin to sweat, and your heart to beat fast, simply when you run into your love.

Lots of couples sometimes seem attached at the hip, which is due to nature also, as in the wild, you would have to spend time with your significant other enough to the point where you have and raise children together. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps couple feel closer, with a larger feeling of attachment.

Scientists have noticed that some couples show signs of increased energy, less need for food or sleep, focused attention, and delight in even small moments of their relationship. The scientific way to fall in love? Find a complete stranger, reveal intimate secrets about your life for half an hour, and then silently stare deep into each other’s eyes for four minutes. It’s been proven to work.