While doing research for various college-level biology courses and throughout my career as a writer, I’ve seen a lot of articles related to love. What causes love? Why are we attracted to certain people? Why do we act crazy when we are in love? It is through the processing of all of that material that I have developed my own reasoning behind our actions and choices when we “fall hopelessly in love”.

My research has led me to conclude that most of those crazy impulses that we have when we fall in love are due to our inherent need to procreate. We do things which make us want to further our gene pool, whether we are aware of it or not. For example, when we “like someone” or when we are attracted to someone, it could be because we subconsciously like their genes.

Why are some men attracted to women who have bigger breasts? Bigger breasts are a sign of fertility. When we are pregnant and when we are lactating, our breasts get bigger after all. Other men are attracted to women who have a curvy figure because it accentuates the woman’s hips, which used to be an important clue to her ability to birth children.

Of course, these days are much different. We can all have children and if we can’t, we find ways to do so. However, our animal instincts kick in when it comes to surviving.

Let me shed some light on some of the chemical reactions that happen when we are experiencing these emotions. When we fall in love, there are three distinct phases that we go through: lust, attraction, and attachment.

LUST

When we lust after someone, our actions and emotions are driven by our various levels of testosterone and estrogen. Testosterone (specifically) plays a major part in determining the sex drive of both men and women.

ATTRACTION

When we are falling in love (that attraction phase), neurotransmitters start to affect our actions and emotions. Studies have shown that when you are in love, your brain produces more dopamine. Coincidentally, dopamine is an important chemical that helps you experience both pleasure and pain. Just like love, right?

What else happens when our dopamine levels rise? Our levels of serotonin rise as well. Serotonin is a key hormone that affects our mood and appetite. That may explain why people who have just fallen in love don’t have much of an appetite. This may also explain why we feel so jittery and anxious when we are in love since serotonin levels (when we fall in love) are similar to the levels that people have when they have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

ATTACHMENT

When we become attached to someone we are in love with, our emotions and actions are affected by oxytocin and vasopressin. These two chemicals play a vital role in your social attachments. These attachments aren’t just centered on you and your man though. They also affect how attached you and your children get.

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Image: http://pixabay.com/en/pair-lovers-for-two-together-two-167267/

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