Valentine’s Day Triggers Love Hormone Oxytocin Rush

Valentine’s day sees a rush of mushy cards, red roses, heart shaped chocolates all due to the rush of oxytocin. Oxytocin, named the love hormone , has found to improve relationships, according to extensive research studies.

//Positives in Oxytocin:
1. Bonds mother and newborn child - The level of oxytocin increases during breastfeeding and this is said to bond mothers with new born babies.
2. It is also involved in inducing labor among pregnant women.
3. Couples who had better relationships had higher levels of oxytocin.

Julianne Holt-Lunstad , Wendy C. Birmingham and Kathleen C. Light in their paper titled “Relationship quality and oxytocin: Influence of stable and modifiable aspects of relationships” study 34 young married couples to understand the effect of oxytocin. Out of these, 20 couples were included in the intervention group while the other 14 couples were in the control group.

Intervention Strategies:

1) Couples who were in the intervention group were called for 1 or 2 hour sessions and spoken to about the importance of

a) Touch

b) Understanding the mood and state of the spouse

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c) Touching their partner’s shoulder, hands or neck

2) Audio recordings were provided to the participants to follow this procedure at home.

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3) Videos for head, neck and shoulder massages were also provided.

Control group couples were asked to continue with their normal routine without changing anything. They were asked to record their mood during the course of the period on a daily basis.

Testing:

The level of oxytocin was tested at regular intervals in both the control group as well as the group on intervention.

Findings of the Study:

The study found that couples after intervention strategies had higher levels of oxytocin in their blood. The levels were high both in men and women; they remained high for a period of 4 weeks after intervention.

The intervention strategies were mainly designed to induce touch therapy and improve couple time and bonding. The findings prove that couples who enjoyed marital bliss had higher levels of oxytocin and were subsequently happier as individuals.

The study provides conclusive evidence that couples who expressed their affection towards each other were more likely to have a harmonious relationship due to the secretion of oxytocin that aids in bonding. It is little wonder why this hormone is called the love hormone. Some farmers were found to inject their crops with oxytocin to aid in growth!

Valentine’s day creates a rush for ways to make a loved one’s life and day extremely special. This constant blurry of activity focusing on the likes and dislikes of a special someone increases the level of oxytocin in the blood. This could lead to stronger relationships and happier couples.

A mystifying is a nasal spray of oxytocin that has found to lower calories intake in men. Though there is increased talk about oxytocin levels nearing Valentine’s day, with seldom discussion after that. What is required is a concerted effort to make a relationship work by focusing on spending quality time with your loved one, benefiting from the heightened secretion of oxytocin.

References

1. http://www.ohsu.edu/blogs/brain/2013/02/13/brain-chemistry-and-love-valentines-day/

2. Julianne Holt-Lunstad , Wendy C. Birmingham and Kathleen C. Light “Relationship quality and oxytocin: Influence of stable and modifiable aspects of relationships”; DOI: 10.1177/0265407514536294

Source-Medindia