Facts about Love!

Love relationships exist throughout the animal kingdom.

We might have thought that humans are the only ones who fall in love. FALSE! Even though we often think of ourselves as a faithful species, we’re not the only ones in the animal kingdom. Wolves, swan, penguins, black vultures and even termites are just a few of those animals that find a mate for a lifetime!

It takes only 4 minutes to decide if you like someone or not.

If you want to make a good impression on someone, you’ve only got about 4 minutes to do it. It is believed that it has far more to do with your body language, tone and speed of your voice rather than exactly what you say.

When two lovers gaze at each other’s eyes, their heart rate synchronizes

Some extraordinary research has found that couples who are in love and bond in a romantic relationship synchronize their heart rates after gazing into each others’ eyes for three minutes.

Cuddling releases natural painkillers

Oxytocin, the so-called love or cuddle hormone, is produced during an embrace or cuddle. The hormone appears in the brain, ovaries and testicles and is thought to be involved in the bonding process. Research has found that a dose of oxytocin decreases headaches significantly, and for some it even makes the pain go away completely after 4 hours. It’s definitely worth trying a hugging-and-cuddling-medicine before jumping to chemicals and pills.

Even looking at a picture of a loved one relieves pain

Even though it was long known that the presence of a significant other has a lot to do with patients’ overall improvement, it has been proved that the same goes for even a picture of the beloved. Experiments have shown that when experiencing pain, study participants exposed to pictures of their beloved and to distracting word games had their pain reduced far more than those exposed to the same distracting word games and pictures of acquaintances.

Couples who are too similar to each other are not likely to last.

As the well-known saying goes opposites do attract. And, research proves that this is partially true. Couples that are either too similar or too different tend not to last very long. Apparently, there always has to be a foundation of similarities, but there also have to be things that the two of you learn from each other. 

Romantic love eventually ends to be followed by committed love

Couples at the very beginning of a romantic relationship will be very different a year later. It is estimated that romantic love, which is linked with euphoria, dependence, sweaty palms, butterflies and alike, only lasts about a year. After the first year the so-called “committed love” stage begins. The transition is linked with elevated neurotrophin protein levels in newly-formed couples. 

Holding a loved one’s hand relieves pain and stress

Research shows that long-term couples with deep, strong connections can successfully soothe each other in stressful situations or when one of them experiences pain, simply by holding hands.