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Health
70 | FireFlyz
As romantic, confusing, and wonderful love can be, all the exhilarating heart thumping
and butterflies in your stomach actually boil down to nature’s way of keeping the earth
populated. Love is hardly ever in the heart –science points us towards the brain instead.
The Science of Love
T
here
are various theories
as to why people “fall
in love”; one is that we
subconsciously like them
on a genetic level. Smell
is very likely to be just as
important as looks when
it comes to whether we fancy someone
– we tend to like the look and smell of
people who are most like our parents.
But what we do know is that falling
in love causes our bodies to release a
rush of feel-good biochemicals that are
responsible for those flushed cheeks,
sweaty palms and racing hearts. Generally,
there are three phases involved in the
process of falling in love, with different
hormones involved at every stage.
The Three Phases of Love
Stage 1: Lust
Here, the sex hormones testosterone and
oestrogen power the libidinous drive,
and, contrary to popular belief, plays a
major role in the sex drive of women. That
‘struck by Cupid’s arrow’ moment where
your jaws drop and pupils dilate? Yeah,
that’s your body’s way of responding to a
potential mate to continue your bloodline.
How unromantic.
Stage 2: Attraction
Also known as the ‘love struck’ phase, this
is where the heady mix of emotions and
odd behaviour manifest because a cocktail
of neurotransmitters are having a party in
your brain.
Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Se-
rotonin bring out the party hats and
result in increased obsessive interest in
W o r d s :
L y l a