Every time you think of love, your heart might be the first organ that comes to mind. Although terms like ‘comprehending with all your heart or being ‘heartbroken’, make this explicable, you actually have your brain to thank since that’s where it all goes down. Ms. Kanchan Rai, Emotional & Mental Well-being Coach, Founder – Let Us Talk, explains the tell-tale effects which takes you through the many benefits of love on one’s emotive and heart well-being.
You may either consider yourself to be a social butterfly or someone who favours your own company, you cannot deny that the quality of your personal relationships does have an impact on your mind, well-being, and physical health. Since we all tend to be wired for connections and relationships, whether social or intimate, do constitute a significant part of our well-being.
It has been researched that healthy relationships and mindfulness can underwrite to lower rates of anxiety and depression and greater empathy. On the other hand, seclusion can have undesirable health consequences like increased cortisol, elevated blood pressure, and faulty sleep patterns. Hence, it is of prime significance to take good care of your heart and mind. The brain alterations triggered by love positively affect your mood and behaviour when these feelings are new, but some effects continue long past the initial blush of love, enduring to reinforce your commitment over time.
Love and brain health:
1.) Euphoria: That light-headed, euphoric excitement you experience when spending time with the person you love even if it means to just see them across the room, or even by hearing their name. You can trace this totally normal effect of falling in love back to the neurotransmitter dopamine. One must bear in mind that your brain’s reward system tends to bank on this crucial chemical to highlight pleasurable behaviours patterns. A mere thought of your most affectionate object is enough to activate the release of dopamine. The moment when you actually see them, your brain rewards you with more dopamine, which you experience as intense pleasure.
2.) Attachment and security: When we consider love, dopamine is not the only chemical on the field. Oxytocin levels alongside tend to increase, thus furthering feelings of attachment, safety, and belief. Also termed as the love hormone, its release can solidify your bond, since it may lessen your interest in other potential partners. This is exactly why one tends to feel comforting in the presence of your loved one’s company. These feelings might seem even stronger post physical intimacy.
3.) Readiness to sacrifice: Love does encompass some amount of compromise and you may find yourself being more willing to make these sacrifices as your love progresses. It is assumed this happens since partners tend to become more synced up, thanks to the vagus nerve, which has its origin in your brain and plays a major role in regulating everything from your facial expressions to your heart beat.
4.) Continual thoughts: Having your loved one to be constantly in your thoughts is partially related to the dopamine cycle that rewards these optimistic thoughts. Alongside you can also consider crediting another part of your brain: the anterior cingulate cortex. This region of the brain has been associated with obsessive compulsive behaviours which can aid in explaining why the intensity of your thoughts might seem to quietly move towards the level of an obsession.
5.) Less anxiety: Lasting love has been reliably associated to reduce stress levels. The constructive feelings linked with the production of oxytocin and dopamine can facilitate in improving mood.
Improved Heart Health When it Goes Pitter-Patter
Beyond the psychological impacts, healthy relationships can also aid in strengthening one’s heart health alongside boosting passion. Another set of hormones comes into play here. Androgens, a group of hormones that comprises of testosterone, which tends to increase your desire for physical intimacy with the person you love. Other heart benefits include reduced risk of heart ailments, lower blood pressure, better immune health, and quick recovery from illness.
In the ever-so-increasing pressures of everyday life, having someone to vent out to or someone who can have your back can help you manage challenging life events both physically and emotionally.
