Love originates in the brain, just like other emotions do. It sometimes makes our hormones go crazy and we sometimes can feel like we're on a roller coaster ride. But what exactly is going on inside us when we’re in love?
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00:00 What is love?
00:03 It's a sensation that puts our bodies into a state of emergency, similar to when danger looms.
00:11 Our brains go into overdrive, sending out a cocktail of different neurotransmitters that stimulate our senses and ignite a firework of intense feelings.
00:25 In the first phase of falling in love, our blood is flooded with adrenaline.
00:32 That's the same hormone that's triggered by exhilaration or stress and gives you butterflies in your stomach.
00:42 It causes our pupils to dilate. The body is put on alert, causing blood pressure and pulse to rise.
00:50 Meanwhile, oxytocin helps with bonding and developing trust. Oxytocin is often dubbed the cuddle hormone as it's produced through physical contact.
01:01 Dopamine and serotonin, known as the happy hormones, are of course also part of being in love.
01:07 But in the early phase, our serotonin levels often fluctuate.
01:12 For example, when intoxicating happiness turns to desperate longing when we're separated from the one we love.
01:24 Studies of our brainwaves show that being in love especially activates the areas of the brain that are responsible for sexual urges.
01:33 So can we conclude that this hormone cocktail was only created by nature to ensure that we focus on one partner during reproduction?
01:44 In time, our bodies get used to the high-level doses of hormones.
01:55 And after two to three years at the latest, the immediate thrill of infatuation is over.
02:04 [ Silence ]