Biochemistry Of Love: Meet The Hormones & Neurotransmitters That Rule Your Feelings

Who doesn't want to keep their relationship on fire? If you just need a little kindling (or a barrel gasoline!) in your love life, let's go over the ingredients to your body's own love elixir and fun ways to ignite their power.

Healthy testosterone and estrogen levels are needed for that initial attraction, the primal hunt for a mate. It is no wonder that for both men and women, low testosterone or imbalances of the estrogen isomers E1, E2, and E3 are common culprits in low sex drives among other health problems.

Being love struck activates something called the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis. Your brain-adrenal communication gets turned on, flooding your body with these hormones of intensity. Dopamine—your pleasure hormone—saying "love is a drug" isn't that far off. When you are in love your brain releases dopamine into your bloodstream triggering an intense rush of pleasure. Dopamine has the same effect on the brain as cocaine! The euphoria felt from this neurotransmitter is why relationships can be addicting and keep you coming back for more.

This dip in serotonin1 almost identically resembles people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)! About a year into the relationship serotonin starts to rise again (i.e., you start to notice all their annoying habits).

Have you ever had "butterflies in your stomach" being with your amore? That's due to our friend oxy as well. No wonder your gut is referred to as the "second brain."

Bonding + adaptogens = winning.

Another adaptogen called mucuna pruriens is rich in L-DOPA , a precursor to the love drug hormone dopamine! I sprinkle a little bit into my tea every day.

Increase oxytocin, dopamine, and adrenaline by reconnecting with your partner. As relationships mature we can take things we love for granted.

Fascinating, isn't it? Whether you're healing from a broken heart, feeling self-love, friend-love, or romantic love, now you know what hormones you have, which ones you need, and how to nurture them.