How being in love affects stress

Being in love: your (secret) medicine against stress

How wonderful it feels to be in love! Throughout the year, we look for ways to reduce stress that we can apply to our daily lives. But one of the most efficient methods is one we haven’t yet been able to capture in an application for one of our wallpapers: being in love!

Being in love makes you feel good and lowers your cortisol levels remarkably fast!

Let's start at the beginning.

Cortisol, often referred to as the ‘stress hormone’, plays a major role in how your body responds to stress. One of the properties of cortisol is that it instructs your liver to ensure there is sufficient glucose in your blood. This glucose is necessary to provide your muscles with energy when you need to run or fight. In prehistoric times, danger primarily consisted of physical threats, such as an approaching tiger or a ravine you had to jump across. At such a moment, your body acutely requires extra energy and focus. All your muscles must be ready to deliver peak performance. A remarkable system of our body!

Negative side

Yet there is also a negative side to this system. Because the stress we mainly experience today consists primarily of emotional stress. Think of the constant pressure of work, social media overloading us with information, and the daily challenges of modern life.

Unfortunately, not everyone in this world is in love – if only it were that simple – so how do you apply this to your daily life without being in love?

Trick your brain

Fortunately, being in love is not the only way. Your brain doesn’t just produce oxytocin when you are in love, but also when your brain thinks you are in love! Your brain thinks that when you behave as if you are in love. You can do this, for example, by being kind to others and also to yourself. Say kind and positive words to yourself and others. Look each other deep in the eyes. Hug your pet, someone else’s pet, your children, or other people you love more often.

What is also cool: giving love turns out to be just as important as receiving love! By creating a loving and safe environment through giving and receiving love, you also experience less stress.

The power of love

In a world where emotional stress is constantly present for many people, the power of love and being in love should not be underestimated. By consciously choosing to respond lovingly, you can have a major impact on your own cortisol levels and those of others.

Power to being in love then! Our secret weapon against stress that we can apply relatively easily. And that without costs and always within reach, with a huge positive effect <3

What are you going to do today to cause yourself and others a little less stress?

Sources:

Serra, G., Scalabrini, A., Fumagalli, M., et al. (2022). The Physiology of Love: Role of Oxytocin in Human Relationships, Stress and Psychopathology. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 765198. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8848115/

Nummenmaa, L., Glerean, E., Hari, R., & Hietanen, J. K. (2015). Oxytocin and Social Touch in Humans. Hormones and Behavior, 76, 150-157. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10181820/

Field, T., Diego, M., & Hernandez-Reif, M. (2016). Keep Calm and Cuddle on: Social Touch as a Stress Buffer. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 2(4), 344-362. DOI: 10.1007/s40750-016-0052-x. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-016-0052-x

Scheele, D., Wille, A., Kendrick, K. M., et al. (2013). The role of oxytocin in familiarization-habituation responses to social novelty. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 761. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00761. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-29512-001

Nagasawa, M., Mitsui, S., En, S., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M., Sakuma, Y., … & Kikusui, T. (2015). Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds. Nature Neuroscience, 18, 673–678. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3900. https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.3900