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Love And Your Brain: The Surprising Health Benefits Of Falling In Love

Love can be a powerful and wonderful experience when you dive in and let go of your fears. However, as emotional as it can be, specific brain processes get involved when you think you have met the one. Read on to discover the link between love and your brain and the health benefits of falling in love.

What Happens to Your Brain When You Fall in Love?

Did you know that your brain releases various chemicals when you’re feeling love-struck? The midbrain, responsible for most basic processes such as eating, drinking, and other reflexes, is activated when you fall in love. While you may think that love is a complex emotion, research suggests that your brain sees it as a basic need that should be fulfilled.

When you fall in love, your brain regulates essential hormones, including adrenaline, dopamine, and oxytocin, which are vital in reducing health concerns such as anxiety and stress. Love can also influence the impact of negative emotions by deactivating the neural pathway responsible for these feelings. This leads to heightened positive emotions that can enhance the quality of your mental health.

Which Parts of the Brain are Involved in Love?

Love isn’t a singular emotion, and the advances in imaging technology have played a critical role in showing what happens to different parts of your brain when you experience love. Different brain processes control elements such as attraction and attachment. Here’s how each brain region gets involved when you think you have met your soul mate:

Hypothalamus: Your hypothalamus is connected to your needs for desire and passion. Moreover, it regulates the release of hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, which play a crucial role in fertility.

Nucleus Accumbens and Ventral Tegmental Area: This region contains high dopamine levels, which motivates your need to reward yourself. It is also responsible for decreasing or elevating stress-causing hormones such as serotonin.

Amygdala: This part controls how you experience love. Most importantly, it can help you develop solid associations with the person you love.

Neurotransmitters: Research suggests that specific neurotransmitters, such as oxytocin and vasopressin, are essential for forming long-lasting partnerships. Specific chemical triggers provide building blocks for the different stages of a love affair.

5 Health Benefits of Falling in Love

 

Increases Life Expectancy

Did you know that being involved in positive relationships can keep you healthier for longer? Factors such as reduced stress can help improve your quality of life and increase your life expectancy when you are in love. A supportive and wholesome relationship can also encourage you to focus on creating and maintaining healthier habits.

 

Enhanced Heart Health

Falling in love can provide essential benefits since it makes you feel good and promotes favourable emotions that can make you feel at peace. On the other hand, when your heart starts to race whenever you lock eyes with your crush or partner, it releases hormones like adrenaline, which encourage it to beat faster and stronger. Your blood flow is also enhanced, providing similar benefits to aerobic exercise.

 

It Reduces Anxiety and Depression

Not having enough dopamine or serotonin can affect significant communication processes in your brain. This can lead to an increased risk of developing mental and physical health conditions. For instance, low levels of dopamine production have been associated with symptoms of depression.

 

Boosts Your Immune System

A healthy immune system can help defend against potentially life-threatening illnesses. Your white blood cells are at the forefront of protecting you against diseases and infections and improving your recovery from injuries. The more oxytocin you produce when you are in love, the less you become vulnerable to stress-causing conditions that can impact your immune system.

 

It Lowers Blood Pressure

Research suggests that a happy relationship is excellent for your blood pressure. When you are lonely, your brain releases higher doses of cortisol and epinephrine, leading to increased inflammation responses. This can lead to higher blood pressure levels that can be responsible for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes.

Most people get excited about falling in love, while others fear the whirlwind of emotions they expect to experience. However, with the brain in charge and the potential health advantages you might benefit from, you should take a leap of faith and enjoy the journey with someone you hold dear. If things don’t go as planned, Affinity Health is here for you with our Telehealth Consulting Benefit, which allows you to speak to a Nurse, Doctor or Mental Health Professional 24/7.

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