Humans are always surrounded by ever-changing emotions. The most powerful and influential emotion is love. It makes our hearts pound and butterflies fill our stomach, but the most affected part of our body is the brain.
Although love is still a mystery to science, we still can’t help to ask ourselves: what is love? Why do we fall in and out of love? What makes us keep being in love with someone year after year? Science has never answered these questions.
How Men and Women Perceive Love
Women tend to understand and process emotions much better than men. Love can impair our judgment, cause a constant state of euphoria and change us for the better. There are pros and cons when it comes to love, and usually, women are more realistic and look at the bigger picture.
Significant differences between women and men are:
- Men fall in love faster.
- Men change more dramatically regarding their personality and perceptions.
- Although women seem stronger in relationships, they suffer more during breakups.
- Men like to live in the moment, but women are always thinking about the relationship’s future.
Men in Love
Love affects us no matter what, both in a positive and negative way. Men in love tend to be excited and cheerful as the feeling of love floods their brains with dopamine. They will try to make as many positive memories with their partner while the surrounding people will fade away.
Although some men try to hide their true feelings and emotions, their guard is not that up. Love manages to open men towards being more relaxed, trusting and mentally stable. Men lean towards being overly careful around their partners and treating them like royalty.
Studies show that love can increase our pain tolerance. Other changes that occur in the male body when love takes over are:
- A drop in testosterone and serotonin levels;
- A massive increase in dopamine;
- Increased sweat levels;
- A temporary loss of appetite;
- Increased bone strength.
When men are in love, their brain enters a constant state of euphoria. Euphoria, i.e., dopamine release into the brain, can change a man entirely. Scientists believe this euphoria state plays a crucial part in mating and procreation. By looking at this from a biological standpoint, euphoria is a crucial characteristic when it comes to finding a partner.
Love makes men constantly think about their partners because the dopamine cycle recompenses the body with that euphoric state. Studies also show that this can also happen because of the anterior cingulate cortex part of our brain. This brain region, responsible for obsessive-compulsive behavior, is linked with men’s constant thoughts of their partners.
Another benefit of love is stress relief, linked with oxytocin and dopamine levels. Being surrounded by love is a natural de-stressing method. Researchers suggest that single people tend to be more stressed as they lack the dopamine levels a person in love has. The cortisol levels, the so-called “stress hormone,” are much higher with single people.
A Parting Reminder
Love is one of the most powerful feelings that we can experience. What happens in our brain when we are in love can’t be entirely explained due to its complicated nature. But the way love changes a person’s brain truly is a mystery.
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