These are the scientific (and wonderful!) effects of love on your body

"The heart has reasons that reason itself does not know," said the philosopher Blaise Pascal.

Love seemed anything but rational... but are we sure it can't be explained scientifically? According to scientists, love is simply a matter of chemistry.

Why do we fall in love with one person and not with another? Why does our heart beat faster when we are with someone we like? Why does the relationship change after a long time together?

All thanks (or fault) to certain hormones produced in our body that cause that strange "disease" called LOVE. Specifically, the love process would go through three phases, each characterized by particular substances and specific "symptoms."

Are you curious to know what happens in our bodies when we fall in love? Click on the arrows of the photo to continue reading!

The first stage of a love relationship is an attraction (mainly physical), when we feel a huge desire for a particular person. It is triggered by two hormones in women and men, responsible for sexual instincts: estrogen and testosterone, which push individuals to find a partner.

But why do we choose one person over another? Because somehow it brings us back to something familiar, it seems similar to us; it reminds us of our childhood experiences... Resemblance and familiarity are, in fact, the main factors responsible for attraction. When we experience an emotion of this type, our brain produces the two hormones related to desire.

And the famous saying: "opposites attract"? In some cases, that is precisely the case. It is only sometimes valid that we want to relive the past: often, we prefer to find in the other what we could not have, and we see in the other certain characteristic aspects that do not belong to us but which we need.

Even our physical appearance influences our choice: some experiments have shown that we tend to look more interested in people who seem more beautiful.

The second stage in developing a love relationship is passion, characterized by a solid emotional and passionate drive towards the other. What causes this state are mainly dopamine (linked to desire) and norepinephrine (linked to arousal), combined with a low level of serotonin (which is associated with good mood).

To complete the cocktail of hormones circulating in our body, at this moment, there is the continuous search for contact with each other, excitement skyrockets, and sexual activity is more intense and gratifying than ever. All this favors acquiring a certain intimacy and creating a solid emotional bond, which will remain once the momentum of passion and ardor of the early days has run out.

It is said that when we are in love, we feel the famous "butterflies in the stomach"... nothing more accurate; when we are in love, there are physiological consequences: dilated pupils, sweating, acceleration of the breathing, and heart rate... they are all signals that our body tells us that we are in love! Among others are side effects such as loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, and sometimes even anxiety.

Ah, love!

The infatuation does not last forever but gradually decreases. So we come to the third stage of love, that of affection. The early days' passion, excitement, and euphoria gradually give way to an intimate and profound affective legacy. The explosive rumblings of the beginning slowly transform into a soft melody, less flashy but much more solid and to such an extent that it will last even for a lifetime.

The affection phase is physically characterized by a concentration of oxytocin (also known as the love hormone) and vasopressin, the presence of which in the body can promote orgasm.

Only at this point, when the storm of initial passion subsides, leaving room for a sense of serenity, mutual surrender, security, collaboration, and connection between souls, even before between bodies, that one can genuinely talk about love. With a capital A. That love leads to a stable and lasting relationship, marriage, starting a family, and building a life together.

Among the most beautiful gestures of love, there is undoubtedly the kiss... but what happens to our body when we kiss the person we love? The kiss creates a chemical reaction chain that translates into positive consequences, especially regarding love. The kiss lowers cortisol levels, the hormone responsible for stress, and, conversely, increases that of 'oxytocin, which causes a sense of well-being.

Although it is not yet clear what the factor behind such a hormonal reaction is, some scientists think that what is causing it is the pheromones that are exchanged through saliva.