Love is patient, kind, understanding, and all-consuming.
Love is also wild, untamed, adventurous, and bold. These are more than just words, these are axioms. And whoever has felt the magic of true love knows it in their heart.
However, there are plenty of things about this eager emotion that we are completely unaware of. Even though it represents one of the deepest feelings a person can experience, we are still far from safely saying we know everything about love. For millions of years, humanity is trying to explain all the mysterious ways love works in, but we are still oblivious to many of the details.
Here are 20 love facts you may not know about.
1. Monogamous commitment is not meant only for humans.
“My heart is, and always will be, yours.”
Jane Austen
The animal kingdom is full of species who commit to lifelong relationships. Animals like wolves, penguins, seahorses, beavers, and swans are only a few of the many monogamous animal species in the world. No wonder why the image of two swans making a lovely heart shape with their necks is a major Valentine’s day theme. All of these magnificent creatures are a symbol of devotion, and prove that lifelong relationships are possible.
2. Being in love is like being on drugs.
You have surely heard a song or read a poem that compares the feeling of falling in love with the feeling one gets when under the influence of drugs. Moreover, you have probably experienced this unreal feeling yourself at least once in your life. That’s when you get a little irrational, and you do things you would never imagine yourself doing. Well, there is an explanation. According to research, falling in love really has an effect similar to that of a dose of cocaine. Both reactions trigger similar emotions of joy, delight, and excitement. What is more, love feels like a drug, as its first stages produce chemicals that induce bliss and stimulate 12 areas of the brain simultaneously.
3. You only got 4 minutes.
You can fall in love in only four short minutes. That’s the average time considered for making first impressions. Therefore, being careful with your body language and presence during this period is crucial when it comes to making the subject of your desires fall in love with you.
4. Opposites do attract.
Undoubtedly, you have heard the phrase “Opposites attract.” Most of us have also seen many examples of this statement throughout our lives. Many couples have proven that having different or adverse interests can actually improve and stabilize a romantic bond rather than become an obstacle. While this does not mean that partners with similar interests cannot turn into a life-long couple, having more differences can make your relationship quite adventurous. The best formula for a lasting connection is having the best of both worlds.
5. When partners look into each others’ eyes, their heart rates synchronize.
When you are in a deep, loving, wholehearted relationship, you can experience what your partner is experiencing at the same time. If they are in pain, you ache too. If they are overly-excited, you are filled with joy as well. But what is curious about two people entirely devoted to one another is that their heart rates synchronize every time they gaze into each others’ eyes. The patterns of their heartbeats harmonize and become one.
6. Adventure time equals love time!
“Love is meant to be an adventure.”
Gordon B. Hinckley
Being in a risky situation can create the perfect atmosphere for two people to fall in love. It is more likely for romantic sparks to fly while experiencing exciting and dangerous events with someone, rather than being in mundane everyday settings together.
7. Don’t take painkillers. Cuddle up!
A cozy cuddle session with your significant other is powerful enough to cure your headache. That’s because when you’re in your loved one’s arms, your body produces oxytocin, the cuddle hormone, which is closely connected to the bonding process between two people and has a pain-relieving impact. What is more, looking at a picture of your partner can have the very same effect.
8. ‘Heartbreak’ is more than just a metaphor.
Experiencing heartbreak is not only a theme for another sad love song. Just like any other deep emotional trauma, having your heart broken by someone you loved can cause actual physical pain. Other saddening feelings that have the same devastatingly painful influence include losing a loved one, separation, betrayal, and jealousy. The condition that you suffer when experiencing a heartbreak is called a Broken heart syndrome.
9. Intense eye contact can make you fall in love.
Gazing into someone’s eyes, even if this someone is a total stranger, can trigger feelings of intense intimacy and even make you fall in love. The longer you gaze, the closer you feel to one another.
10. Body vs. face attraction.
It is no secret that whenever we look for nothing but a short-term fling, most of us focus more on looks rather than personality. What is more, it turns out that there is also a difference between body and face attraction. People who are interested in short-term partners pay more attention to the body, while those who look for a serious relationship are more attracted to the face.
11. Being out of your partner’s league is not beneficial.
In most cases, we get drawn to people with the same level of attractiveness as ours. In other words, we get attracted to individuals that are equally socially desirable as we are. Of course, on rare occasions, some people end up with partners who are visibly more appealing. However, on average, having the same level of attractiveness is beneficial for a relationship, as it rules out the possibility of one of the partners having self-esteem issues.
12. Attraction could be an obsessive trait.
When we look at someone we are attracted to, our brain releases dopamine and norepinephrine that trigger a ‘reward behavior’. As per The Active Times, this was proven in a series of studies by biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. In her research process, different individuals were shown a picture of a person they were attracted to. The participants displayed intense activity strongly related to the ‘reward behavior’ part of their brains. Therefore, the attraction in relationships, especially in the early stages, is based on feelings of obsession.
13. Butterflies in the stomach are a real thing.
Have you ever felt so excited to see your crush or your loved one that you feel like your stomach is filled with millions of butterflies? Well, this is an actual body response to your feelings. What you feel like butterflies is a sensation caused by adrenaline. That happens because your brain and your abdomen area are closely connected. So, when you’re falling in love with someone and all you can think about is this special person, it’s only natural to feel it in your gut.
14. Our eyes can tell if we are in love.
As they say, the eyes are the windows to the soul. When it comes to love, our eyes can tell a lot. In fact, a simple thing as dilated pupils can tell that you are attracted to the person you are looking at. What is more, enlarged pupils are also considered more attractive, so it is indeed a win-win situation.
15. Being in love can someone feel like having OCD.
It is well known that those who have obsessive-compulsive disorder have higher levels of cortisol and lower levels of serotonin. Well, the same can be applied to some people at the beginning of a romantic relationship. That’s quite a curious fact, having in mind that cortisol is connected to stress, and serotonin is a hormone of happiness.
16. Online dating CAN produce a healthy relationship.
Did you know that online dating has become the most popular way couples meet? According to a study conducted by Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, Internet meeting is displacing the roles that family and friends once played in bringing couples together. Therefore, not only dating through online apps is a thing, but it also can result in developing genuine connections.
17. Frustration attraction is real.
This type of attraction occurs right after you break up with someone you still have feelings for. Instead of moving on with your life and looking for another, better partner, you get stuck and try to pursue the one that got away even harder. In some extreme cases, when people are experiencing this type of temptation, they can even start stalking their exes with the excuse that they only want to see if their former partners are doing okay after the breakup.
18. Long-term couples develop similar facial features.
An interesting study by social psychologist Robert Zajonc has observed that partners who have been together for years share visible similarities. The expert compared photographs of couples on their wedding day with those taken 25 years later. Dr. Zajonc found out that even if a husband and wife had no facial similarities at all at the beginning of their relationship, they looked surprisingly alike a little over two decades of being together.
19. Devoted partners have a better memory.
Partners who are fully committed to one another have a better memory when it comes to their relationship history. In other words, long-term couples have more vivid memories of the things they have experienced. However, people who are not entirely devoted to their significant others often forget valuable details of their journey as a couple.
20. All you need is love!
We are constantly searching for love, giving love, and receiving love. Every single thing we do is for love, whether we admit it or not. In one way or another, we are always on a quest to find love. If you still have doubts about the importance of love, you might need some actual facts.
There is a 75-year-long research, conducted by Harvard professionals, that has proven that love is the secret to living a life full of fulfillment. All the money in the world and all the followers you have on social media cannot compare to this magical feeling. Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study, confirms:
“The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.
