The Health Benefits of Love

If you want to be alive, love is the truest health.
-Rumi
 
Over the past decade, researchers have used PET scans, MRIs and biomarkers to assess the neurobiology of love between romantic partners. In doing so, they’ve been able to get a closer look at the body’s biochemical response to love and even explain such phenomena as “feeling weak in the knees,” or being “madly in love.” From the initial attraction to long-term marriage, the data demonstrates that being in a supportive, loving relationship offers several health benefits.
 
Do you know that feeling when just the thought of someone makes you weak in the knees? As it turns out, that feeling is not just in your head! Researchers have discovered that the initial throws of romance create a physiological stress response, including the release of a cascade of neurochemicals, most notably cortisol. This leaves our heart racing, induces sleepless nights and can lead to excitement and trembling at the thought of the person we admire. This biochemical response also leads to less fear, reduced depression and improved mood.
 
Moreover, owing to love-induced hypercortisolemia (a temporary rise in cortisol), serotonin is reduced, potentially leading to irrational behavior and lack of judgement particularly affecting our ability to critically assess our partner—a phenomena that leaves some feeling that “love is blind.”
 
And when we’re in love, our dopamine reward centers become activated (the same reward centers associated with addiction). This might leave us feeling indescribably infatuated with someone or, as some refer to it, “madly in love.”
 
As a romantic relationship endures, cortisol and adrenaline eventually level off. And as intimacy and emotional connection level up, something known as “pair bonding” occurs, wherein oxytocin (the “love” hormone), vasopressin (which regulate your kidneys) and GABA (the brain’s primary calming neurotransmitter) are released, leading to the relaxation response restoring the autonomic nervous system to homeostasis. This leads to a sense of calm, contentment and security as the heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen consumption are reduced. This stage also includes an upregulation of the immune system, improved mitochondrial efficiency, improved insulin secretion and reduced sensitivity to pain, i.e., love-induced analgesia.
 
Notably, the health benefits of love are sustained in long-term healthy relationships, specifically in those whom continue to describe themselves as “in love.” Sustaining that love through acts of kindness and displays of affection promotes a greater sense of purpose and well-being, further boost oxytocin, and lower blood pressure, leading to greater heart health and improved mood.
 
Importantly, the physiological benefits of love don’t just disappear when someone is not partnered. In fact, acts of self-love and displays of love for friends and family have many of the same life-sustaining benefits.
 
So this Valentine’s day (and every day), I encourage you to celebrate the love that sustains you, be it with a partner, with yourself, or in the nurturing relationships with friends and family.