What is love? The word comes with different connotations and definitions depending on how it is used. However, science has its own explanation as to how love works in the physiological level of processes. In fact, there are three stages of love according to science.
Love is often compared to addiction, since the social attachment recognize reward signals to the brain similar to what happens when a person abuse cocaine. On average, there is about 90 seconds to 4 minutes time frame for a person to recognize of he is in love, Examined Existence reported.
Rutgers University revealed the three stages of love: lust, attraction and attachment. When observed from a scientific perspective, each stage involves different chemical reactions in the brain and within the body.
Lust is the initial stage of love. Basically, sex hormones come into play whenever lust is involved. Oestrogen and testosterone are the two basic hormones hat is triggered whenever lust is sent to the brain. The brain's response would be health-promoting and stress-reducing. This stage also prepares the person to attraction.
Attraction is the phase where an individual will be thinking about a particular person most of the time. It could somehow be considered "temporary delusion," as mentioned by Broadly. The hormones at play on this stage of love are adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin.
Adrenaline has something to do with stress response, attitude reaction and increased adrenaline and cortisol. This is the reason why you tend to be very nervous whenever you see your crush. Dopamine on the other hand is the indicator of "pleasure level" in the body. It spikes up whenever a person sees the object of attraction - in simple words, "addiction." Lastly, serotonin is the culprit why you can't stop thinking about that special someone - it makes your brain focus on nobody else but on your "love."
The third stage is attachment. This stage of love involves the hormone oxytocin and vasopressin. Oxytocin is similar to the hormone involved between a mother and infant during the time of birth. Simple signals like a touch could endear a person towards the other because of increased levels in oxytocin.
The vasopressin on the other hand is known as "anti-diuretic." However, it is released after sex is made. It normally happens between married individuals which increase levels of attachments every time they do sex - helping to keep them in love.
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