Love is a complex feeling and emotion, one that can be difficult to understand. It’s why people can forgive their partners for being late, commit to finishing a creative project, or feel devastated when their favorite sports team loses.
It’s also why we want to give our friends a big hug or take our kids on a trip to Disneyland. No matter what your definition of love is, it is an important and essential part of life.
While there are many different feelings and emotions associated with love, scientists have found a few key things to be true about it. These include that it activates the brain’s reward system, making us feel a range of feelings, including care, affection, trust, closeness, and intimacy.
When you’re in love, your heart is pumping and your senses are heightened. This can make you feel a strong bond with your partner, which helps you connect on a deeper level.
Research has also shown that when you’re in love, your hormones are more altruistic than normal. This can make you more likely to help someone who’s in need, says Dr Martin Hekster, director of the Love Lab at The University of Sheffield.
It can also cause you to make decisions that may uproot your life or drastically change the way you live. This is because you’re experiencing a surge of hormones that aren’t normally in your body during the early stages of falling in love.
The science behind love
There are a number of factors that can influence your feelings of love, from social influences to filling needs. If a person satisfies your needs for companionship, love, sex, or mating, you’re more likely to fall in love with them.
Researchers have found that these factors are influenced by both your personality and the environment you’re in. For example, if you’re a shy person, being around an arousing or unusual environment can spark passion.
These types of situations can trigger the release of the neurochemicals serotonin and endorphins, which are responsible for making you feel euphoric and happy. These chemicals can also increase your risk for depression and other mental health conditions, like anxiety.
If you’re in a relationship and your feelings of love aren’t getting better, it might be time to seek professional help. A licensed marriage and family therapist can work with you to figure out what’s going on, and can help you work through it together.
The science of love
Although a lot of debate and confusion has been thrown around the topic of love, researchers have made great strides in understanding the psychology behind it. It’s now understood that love is a complex emotion that can be experienced by people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.
It can also be a process that evolves over time and can change in response to the needs of the two parties involved. In order to understand what makes love happen, it’s essential to know the science behind it.