Physical Effects of Falling in Love

What happens when you fall in love? Words cannot do justice when it comes to explaining how a person feels when he/she is in love. When you are in love, you are willing to do anything just to get a glimpse of that person. No wonder those chance meetings happen all the time. However, when he/she comes around, you do make a fool of yourself by fumbling for the right words, and saying all the wrong things.

When you bump into the person you are attracted to, you go weak in the knees and your heart begins to race. You can't eat, you can't sleep; everything changes when you are in love. Be ready for the oh-so-many awkward moments that are going to happen. Yes, love does that to you.

Love can be very addictive, and when you fall in love, all the other so-called important things take a backseat. Even the most mature and logical people end up behaving in a way that defies logic.

Ever wondered why life suddenly seems to be beautiful when you fall in love? Scientists believe that the physical, as well as the emotional effects of love have a lot to do with hormones and neurotransmitters. Let's delve into the chemistry of love, and find out what love does to you.

Caught up in an unending train of thoughts, you are most likely to spend most of your time daydreaming. Love simply takes over, pushing every other part of your life under the carpet.

When you are in love, you make it a mission to bring love in most of your conversations. Reruns of the conversations, or the meetings with your love interest, are being telecast in your mind all the time. At times, you even think about conversations that may happen in the future.

The sight of the person you are attracted to activates certain pathways in the brain. It's the release of certain neurochemicals that is responsible for so many physical effects that are experienced by those who are falling in love.

What's making your heart beat faster is the adrenaline rush. Neurotransmitters, such as epinephrine and nor-epinephrine, are secreted when you are stressed or scared. The fight-or-flight response is triggered when you perceive a threat.

The release of neurochemicals causes the heart to beat faster. The feeling of butterflies in the stomach also results due to the release of nor-epinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol. These neurochemicals are also the culprits behind the jitters that people get before an interview or a presentation.

Where's the time for other things when you are in love! Love can be an all-consuming affair, which can completely change the way you think and behave. Since most of your time is spent in thinking of ways to please your love interest, you cannot concentrate on other things.

Dopamine and nor-epinephrine are the neurochemicals responsible for the feelings of euphoria in the 'lovey-doveys'. Love becomes the driving force behind everything, and lovers can spend hours talking to each other.

When love takes over, other things suddenly seem inconsequential. Some people even lose their appetite. Most of their time goes into thinking how to get his/her attention. You are in a room full of people, but all you can see is the person you have fallen for.

Though our pupils dilate to allow more light to enter the eyes in a dark room, various studies have revealed that our pupils dilate when we look at someone or something we are attracted to.

According to Eckhard Hess, a biopsychologist from the University of Chicago, the pupils dilate when you look at something that sparks interest. Similarly, pupils may contract when you come across something or someone you dislike or don't approve of. The study of pupil size as an indicator of emotion is referred to as pupillometrics.

When you are in love, you can spend hours gazing at the moon or watching the sunset. Not only do lovers daydream, they toss and turn in their beds, as unending thoughts about their love interest keeps them awake.

Phenylethylamine is one of the chemicals believed to be responsible for making a lover feel the way he/she does. This chemical causes the release of epinephrine and dopamine. Serotonin is another neurotransmitter that regulates the sleep/wake cycle, mood, and appetite. Scientists believe that lower serotonin levels cause people to obsess about their love interest.

If he/she doesn't, you sink into an abyss. Does he love me? Does he love me as much as I love him? There are so many questions that keep popping up in one's mind.

When we long for someone, we do indulge in obsessive thinking. Lovers are infamous for making mountains out of a molehill. Even the most trivial of the things can make you edgy.

Jealousy, the green-eyed monster, raises its ugly head, even if you see your love interest talking casually with another person of the opposite sex. Many people become extremely possessive, and act unreasonably. Desire, fear of rejection, and a host of other emotions, make you behave the way you do.

Love is one of the most written subjects, but there's no single definition that can capture its essence. Since time immemorial, love has caught the fancy of poets, novelists, songwriters, movie makers, and others from the media industry, and will continue to do so forever.

However practical you consider yourself to be, when love wages a war against your sanity, the practical you will disappear into oblivion. You will find yourself singing and dancing to mushy songs.

You will forget your meals and even your sleep, and behave in a way that's unlike you, but that's what love-struck people do. Yes, love makes you do the unthinkable, but it certainly is worth it.