Fall in Love with Science

Valentine's Day is just right around the corner, and whether that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside or feel like swearing off of all major holidays, you can't help but notice that love has some strange affects on people. Loss of appetite, a racing heart, blushing, sweaty palms, lack of sleep, giddiness, bursts of energy, and the complete inability to think about anything else except the object of your affection are all the typical symptoms of falling hard for someone. Did you know that these symptoms aren't just cliche ways of describing someone in love, but are actually real reactions to chemicals in your body that are released in response to finding a possible mate?


From biology class, you know that the survival of a species depends on successful pairing between individuals of that species. And your body ensures that you're interested in the survival of your species by pumping out hormones that make you feel good about carrying the species on. Don't believe me?


That intense interest in that significant other person initially comes from the hormones estrogen and testosterone (both hormones are released in both sexes). Then when the giddiness at the very sight of that person, flushed skin and sweaty hands - that's hormones like dopamine and norepinephrine at work. Do those names sound familiar? If they do, it's because we talked about both of them during Drug Free week this past Fall. Dopamine is the hormone that your body sends out every time you do something that needs to be encouraged, like eating, getting exercise, and promoting survival of the species in general. It's also the hormone that switches pathways in the brain when addictive drugs enter a person's body.


When both dopamine and norepinephrine (the hormone that makes your heart race) work together, then you get all of those other lovely side effects, such as sleeplessness and that loss of appetite that your friends make fun of you for. The two hormones' combined efforts, along with altered levels of serotonin, also lead you to focus on that person above all other things around you. These hormones even affect the pathways in your brain that you use when you judge what kind of a person someone is. If those pathways get suppressed, you have a hard time seeing that person's faults (anyone ever heard that "love is blind?")





By the way, eating chocolate actually stimulates a similar hormonal response in your brain, which might explain the Valentine's Day tradition of buying, giving and eating chocolate.


For folks who are going the distance in their relationship, some of these intense and exhausting symptoms we've just discussed might feel like they're fading. Science backs that up too. People who are in long term relationships have shown higher levels of hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin. These two hormones are associated with building bonds between people, and are also known for interfering with hormones like dopamine and norepinephrine, so now all of that skipping of meals, being oblivious to a person's faults, and sweaty palms fade away. But don't worry - even though the rush that comes with crushing on someone might fade, a hormones called endorphins pick up where dopamine lets off. Endorphins are feel-good hormones too, and they also make a person feel peaceful, happy and secure.


Like it or not, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, but now you know the science behind the celebration. Whether you've got a valentine or not, if you think about it, your body is pretty smart when it comes to making sure your species lives to see another generation. Pretty cool, huh?

(By the way, the information and diagram in this post came from an article at How Stuff Works, by Lee Ann Obringer. )