When a person falls in love there are physiological, emotional, and physical effects that occur to the person. Everyone can fall in love and the feeling is unexplainable when talking about it. But it can be explained with science.

Two physiological effects happen to a person upon falling in love which is caused by dopamine and norepinephrine. Dopamine is produced by the hypothalamus which controls the reward system in the brain. It is released when a person does the activities or things that make them feel good. This causes a person that falls in love to want to spend time with their significant other. While on the other hand, norepinephrine increases a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. This combined with dopamine causes a person to feel giddy, energetic, and euphoric. Causing a decreased appetite and insomnia. This means a person can not eat or sleep because they are in love. 

The two emotional feelings associated with falling in love are attachment and jealousy. Attachment is caused by the hormones of oxytocin and vasopressin. Oxytocin is produced by the hypothalamus and is nicknamed “cuddle hormone” according to Harvard (“The Friend Zone”).

This causes a person to want to bond with the person they love. Jealousy is caused by the production of too much oxytocin. Oxytocin plays an important role in ethnocentrism which increases the amount of love to a person and those unfamiliar appear more foreign to our eyes.

A person that is in love is more likely to cause reckless behavior. 

Lastly, the two physical effects to a person upon falling in love are an improved immune system and improved gut. The immune system boosts when falling in love. The actual feeling of being loved and cared for helps the immune system. This reduces the chances of having a cold or viral infection. The gut is 80% of the immune system. The feeling of love helps nurture the immune system. The feeling of love can enhance the gut microbiome to fight the bacteria making a person feel down. 

In closing, we hope you are now more informed about the effect falling in love can have on a person. Remember that the three main effects of falling in occur physiologically, emotionally, and physically. Physiologically by hormones produced in the brain, emotionally by the feeling of attachment and jealousy, and physically enduring good health. 

Works Cited

Mary Jane Mlynarski, et al. “Love, Actually: The Science behind Lust, Attraction, and Companionship.” Science in the News, 19 June 2020, https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/. 

Hormone. “Norepinephrine.” Hormone Health Network, Hormone, 4 Sept. 2019, https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/hormones/norepinephrine. 

Gerard, Lauryn. “The Surprising Health Benefits of Love.” UT Health Austin, https://uthealthaustin.org/blog/health-benefits-of-love.