10 Strange But Real Things That Happen To Us When We Fall In Love
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“Roses are red, violets are blue” are realizations you may only have when you’re in love. But that’s not the only surprising thing that happens when you fall head over heels for someone. Being in love can bring about multiple psychological and physical changes as well, which you’ll never notice on your own! Or if you do, you’ll simply think of it as “I’m in love” with that silly, goofy smile on your face.
Today we will reveal to you 10 really strange but extremely real things that happen to you when you finally meet your better half:
1. You Act Like You’re Drunk
Love can take you on a high. Quite literally! Just like alcohol makes you open up and shed your inhibitions, so does love. Even though you hardly know the one you fell in love with, you can’t help but lose your anxieties and fear and become more vulnerable. This happens due to the release of the hormone oxytocin, which affects your body sort of like like alcohol (1).
2. You Pile Up The Pounds
Don’t blame the extra kilos on food – blame them on love! “Love pounds” are a real thing and psychologists explain that couples in love eat out twice as more as single ones (2). This is probably done to compensate for the lack of energy from all the coochie-cooing! Besides, science says gaining weight in love shows happiness with one’s relationship (3). However, an American study states that even weight loss is possible due to the production of oxytocin (4)!
3. Love Becomes A Drug
Haven’t you been called obsessive by your friends when in love? They’re not wrong to call you that! Helen E. Fisher, a famed anthropologist, discovered that when people fall in love, the same part of their brain is activated as that of a cocaine addict’s (5). So that’s why you get that happy, high feeling all the time!
4. Your Voice Goes Through Changes
According to an American study, your voice changes too when you’re in love (6). In the study, one group of participants who had newly fallen in love were asked to make multiple phone calls and the other group of participants was asked to hear them. The other group could instantly realize whether an “in-love” participant was taking to their significant other or a friend just by the way their voice sounded! Women talk softly when in love, while men speak in a higher tone.
5. Your Sleeping Hours Take A Hit
“Neend udd jaana,” as Bollywood will have you know, is a common phenomenon among those in love. However, that doesn’t mean the quality of your sleep is compromised! According to a Swiss study, on average, people in love sleep an hour lesser as compared to those not in love (7). Although this never led to exhaustion or drowsiness the next day!
6. Your Heart Skips A Beat, Literally
Another cliché that might sound too dumb, but is actually true, is that of your heart skipping a beat. When the cupid’s arrow hits you, your body goes through the same symptoms as that of anxiety – rapid heartbeat, sweating, and that prominent blush! However, this is not anxiety. It has a term of its own known as ‘limerence’ (8), (9).
7. Your Creativity Is Sparked
Don’t you wonder why so many wonderful love poems and songs exist on this planet? It’s because love inspires people to put one’s most creative foot forward! As per a recent Dutch study, being in love may hinder your analytical thinking but it will heighten your creative thinking (10).
8. Love Can Heal You
Love is a wonder drug, to be honest. Plenty of studies have established a solid link between your pain perception and the feeling of being in love. The same studies showed that when in love, people felt a 40% reduction in moderate pain when they were shown a picture of the one they loved, while those undergoing intense pain witnessed a 10-15% reduction (11)!
9. Love Tickles Your Sweet Taste Buds
In a Dutch study, participants were given the task of writing an essay on a real situation. Some people wrote about love, others about jealousy, and another one about neutral incidences. After that, each group was given water and a candy. Those who wrote about love found the candy to be sweeter (12).
10. You Can Do Anything In Love
Romantic feelings are often so strong that they make you do things you never thought you could before! Like wiping vomit off the floor when your partner throws up. Researchers call this compassionate love and deem it an important part of any relationship (13).
Love is a very powerful emotion and ushers in a new chapter in your life that your heart and body are bound to remember. So, relish the feeling as much as you can!
