Why Is Love Nature’s Best Chemical Cocktail?

There’s truth to those psycho-chemical and sappy love memes, even if they seem too funny to be true. Lust and attraction are driven by the coupling hormones estrogen and testosterone as motivations for lovemaking, explains Theresa Larkin and Susan J. Thomas in a 2023 feature for the University of Wollongong (1). 

Larkin and Thomas also say that dopamine and noradrenaline increase during mating. Dopamine is the hormone that stimulates the reward pathways and increases motivation and thoughts to pursue a love interest. Briefly put, that push drives us to pursue our love interests. 

On the other hand, noradrenaline causes feelings of euphoria and physiological responses such as faster heart rate and increased energy. No wonder that love feels so hard to resist. At the end of the day, these chemical reactions spurred by a love connection are a unique combination that makes the experience of falling in love so unique. 

There’s Truth to the Saying, “Hearts Beat as One”

When two people fall in love, they not only draw on each other’s identities and experiences, which ties them together at the hip, but they also physiologically sync up. 

A 2013 study published by the International Journal of Psychophysiology found that the heartbeats of 32 couples in a relationship synchronize when they are in love (2). Even their breathing rate syncs. Sometimes, all it needed was a look for both to vibe together.

Why Do We Feel “Butterflies” in the Stomach When We’re in Love?

Ironically, when people fall in love, they experience the same things they experience when stressed. The “fight-or-flight” response, which people in love experience, is like a split-second realization that you’re in a dangerous situation and your stomach is starting to feel topsy-turvy. 

Journalist-pediatrician Howard Bennett of the Washington Post explains what those butterflies mean: The adrenal glands release adrenaline and other chemicals into your bloodstream that cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and improved muscle circulation (3). Suddenly, you’re more awake, alert, and ready for action. The release of chemicals helps you fight off stress (if you’re in a dangerous situation) or feel queasy when you first fall in love. 

At the same time, the blood will start flowing to your lungs and muscles, with less of it reaching other organs. Such changes may cause nausea or light-headedness, making your stomach churn. When you’re in love and not in survival mode, a milder version of the same process kicks in, causing the “butterflies” in your stomach.

References

1. Theresa Larkin and Susan J. Thomas. “ .” University of Wollongong Australia, February 13, 2013. | https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2023/what-happens-in-our-brain-and-body-when-were-inlove.php#:~:text=Noradrenaline+causes+the+feelings+of,reduces+negative+emotions+and+judgements.
2. Emilio Ferrer and Jonathan Helm. “Dynamical systems modeling of physiological coregulation in dyadic interactions.” International Journal of Psychophysiology. June 2013. | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167876012006290?via%3Dihub
3. Howard Bennett. “Why do you get butterflies in your stomach?” Kids Post on Washington Post, May 10, 2010. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/09/AR2010050902953.html