Poets and songwriters can put romantic thoughts and feelings into eloquent words. But romantic love remains a complicated mystery. What is true love exactly? Is it passionate love or is it lust? Or is it a crush on someone? Today, we will try to solve some of the mysteries surrounding love. How can we do that? By looking at some psychological facts about love.
Psychology plays a big role in why people fall in love. What is the science behind love? Study after study tries to answer that question. And we have gathered some interesting psychology facts about love.
Three In One
Do you know those 3-in-1 coffees? Well, love is similar. One of the many reasons why love is complicated is because it is three feelings wrapped in one.
Scientists have managed to break down romantic love and romantic relationships into three sensations. Those are lust, attraction, and attachment. Each one has its own set of hormones.
And each one has its own set of subcategories. Understanding which is which can help you understand whether you are in a true love relationship or in something else.
Hug Your Partner To Relieve Stress
Hugging your partner is an instant stress reliever. Whenever you feel stressed, simply hug your partner. When couples embrace in a romantic hug, they increase the level of oxytocin.
And this hormone helps lower stress and manage mood swings. They call it the happy hormone for a reason.
You Decide On People Within Four Minutes
If you think you can make someone love you, think again. We decide whether we like someone or not within four minutes.
That is all the time you have to leave a good impression. Sounds hard? Well, that is because it is. But it is all about your body language, tone, and speed of your voice. It doesn’t matter that much what you say. Instead, how you say it.
Do Not Mistake Lust With Love
We said before that lust is one of the three different areas of passionate love. A lot of people mistake them for one another. And that is why they are unhappy in their relationship.
Lust comes from the need to reproduce. Our sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, drive lust. But the difference between lust and love is that the latter has two other sections: attachment and attraction.
One-night stands and quickie hookups are great for satisfying sexual desire. But they rarely translate to a long-term relationship.
Attraction Is Obsession
We said before that testosterone and estrogen drive lust. As for physical attraction, our body releases dopamine and norepinephrine when we feel it.
Humans manifest sexual attraction in the area of the brain that controls reward behavior. That is why we base our attraction part of love on feelings of obsession as well. And that is also the explanation why the early days are exhilarating.
Love Can Be Addicted As Cocaine
When you fall in love, you experience neurological effects similar to consuming cocaine. We often say love is a drug, but it really is.
Taking cocaine and falling in love trigger a similar sensation of euphoria. When you fall in love, you produce several chemicals that stimulate 12 areas of your brain at the same time.
Why Do People Get Married?
Some might say we live in the era of non-loving marriages. But that is not true, at least according to psychology.
According to the latest surveys, being in love is the number one reason why people wed. Nine out of ten people cite love as the reason to get married.
Do You Have A Picture Of Your Loved One?
Some studies show that simply looking at a picture of loved ones will help you relieve pain. Looking at pictures of your loved one makes you feel better in every way. And luckily, with the evolution of smartphones, we have hundreds of pictures of our loved ones at arm’s reach.
Love Is My Food
Here is another one in the bunch of psychological facts about love. Being in love can reduce your appetite. When you are in love, especially during the attraction phase, your body releases high doses of dopamine and norepinephrine.
These chemicals can make you feel euphoric, a reaction that can decrease appetite. Even more, this euphoric reaction can cause insomnia. You are so in love that you cannot eat or sleep.
Attachment Is Not Always Romantic
Let’s talk about the third category of love, attachment. This one is associated with feelings of comfort and nurture, not infatuation and desire.
Fun psychology fact: oxytocin and vasopressin are the hormones fueling attachment in long term relationships.
And while we feel lust and attraction only in romantic love relationships, you can feel attachment in friendships as well.
Cuddling Is The Best
Every aspect of love has a positive effect on our bodies. Speaking of cuddling, it is something most women love it. But cuddling is good for you. When you cuddle with your partner, your body releases oxytocin, the happiness hormone. This improves your mood and wellbeing.
Love Changes You
We say that people change when they enter a romantic relationship. But there is scientific proof of that. You suddenly start loving Italian food, and you didn’t before. Or you change your preference for music and videos. Human behavior is truly amazing.
People in love have different interests and personality traits than before entering the romantic relationship.
Honesty Is The Key
If you want to have a lasting long-term relationship, just stick to honesty. It is that simple. Honesty is the best policy. Studies show that honest couples have higher chances of making it long term.
Lovesickness
Some people say they are lovesick. And sometimes, we make fun of them. But this is a real condition. If you hear someone saying he is lovesick, believe him.
Love doesn’t make you experience real physical pain. But it does raise the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that can sometimes suppress immune function.
Love Is Blind
Let’s finish our list of interesting psychology facts about love with the best one of them all. We have all heard it, love is blind.
But is there proof to the theory? Harvard University study explained that the feeling of love deactivates the neural pathway responsible for negative emotions, including social judgment. So, when you fall in love, you shut down your ability to make critical assessments.
