Everyone is familiar with the clichés associated with falling in love: you feel butterflies in your stomach, your knees grow weak, and your appetite disappears. However, it turns out that the romantic modifications to your body are not just the creation of bygone eras’ poets. Your entire being is altered by love, including the chemistry in your brain, the way you behave, and the way you appear on the outside. The only clue you need to know that this is more than just a crush or fleeting fling may be to pay attention to the physical cues your body gives off that indicate you’re in love.
Your body is genuinely magnificent when it is in love. Most experts refer to the first few years of a relationship as the “honeymoon phase” because during this time, your body and mind undergo noticeable physical changes. Knowing what is happening to your body may be almost as intriguing as falling in love, from that first date when you notice something unusual about them to the first time you make love — and all the little moments in between. It turns out that you can determine whether you’re in love without the help of specialists or even your best romance book. A quick glance in the mirror may provide the solution. These nine bodily cues indicate that you are in love.
1. You may experience addiction
As absurd as it may seem, the term “addicted to love” isn’t used very often. Being near your significant other can make you feel genuinely addicted due to the high quantities of dopamine in your brain. According to Dawn Maslar, M.S., a love biologist and authority on the science of love, “fMRI brain scans actually reveal activity in the parietal lobes similar to activity we see when using cocaine” Romper. “It can feel like a drug addiction to fall in love.”
2 You may become ill
Attraction is the first of numerous distinct phases of love, according to Maslar. You may have a sick feeling in your stomach during this stage. She explains to Romper that “the feeling of attraction has the same response [in] your body as the fight or flight response.” This may result in dilated pupils, sweaty palms, butterflies, nervousness, and an upset stomach. “Your body is merely alerting you to something that requires your attention,” Maslar says. According to behavioural scientist Clarissa Silva, most individuals associate “love at first sight” with this ecstatic stage. Typically, it lasts for several months.
3 You’re easily agitated
Your hormones are obviously changing if you find yourself more anxious and forgetful around your spouse, or even just thinking about them. Maslar tells Romper that “the hormone of happiness, serotonin, ironically falls when a person falls in love,” and that it can even fall to the level of an obsessive compulsive disorder sufferer. An individual may experience tension and obsession when this occurs. They worry about being apart from their lover and want to be with them all the time. When someone falls in love, certain brain regions, such as the prefrontal cortex, are also deactivated. This deactivation might lead to a selective forgetting of things that are not related to the relationship. Maslar puts it this way: “In other words, they can be aware of the specifics of their beloved’s life story but forget they have a job to go to.”
4 You may have difficulty falling asleep.
Keep an eye out for potential sleep problems if you’re searching for tangible evidence that someone is in love with you. As Dr Seuss once said, “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” He wasn’t incorrect. Maslar claims that the stress hormone cortisol surges during romantic love. This hormone’s regular action is essential to the sleep-wake cycle, therefore an increase in it makes it very difficult to fall asleep. According to Maslar, “you probably are pretty content to spend the entire night with your beloved.”
5 You modulate your voice.
One of the outward manifestations of love is a shift in voice.
Surprisingly, a University of Bath study found that when women are interested in someone, they tend to speak to them in a softer, higher tone. It’s actually one of the more popular expressions of love. Silva tells Romper that “speaking at a higher pitch is really about nurturing your partner and strengthening the bond between you both.”
While it is true that a woman’s voice can grow softer and higher when speaking to a romantic partner, Maslar points out that studies have also shown that women tend to match their pitch with their mate, thus on the other hand, their voices may also be growing lower. She explains, “The researchers think that this change in voice is a way of saying to the other person, ‘I am one with you,’ and represents a desire for affection and intimacy.”
6 Your hunger fluctuates
Similar to forgetfulness or difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite is another typical “side effect” of being in love and is caused by an increase in hormones and brain activity. Maslar notes that while the fight-or-flight reaction may result in an appetite decrease during the initial stages of attraction, falling in love actually causes a tremendous cortisol surge. She says, “In some people, this can lead to an increase in appetite, but in others, it can cause a decrease in appetite.” “Instead of eating meals, these lovers would prefer to spend their time doing other things.”
7.They seem like people you’ve known for a longer time.
Hormones working overtime may be the cause of the “I’ve known you my whole life” feeling, or the impression that you’ve met the one. Silva says, “You may feel like you have known each other for longer than you actually have because of oxytocin and vasopressin.” She states, “Oxytocin, also referred to as the “love hormone,” induces emotions of profound connection, security, and relaxation. She also claims that vasopressin plays a role in behaviours that support attachment and long-term planning. “There’s a strong bond that can be perceived as having more compatibility, shared interests, and core values,” Silva explains to Romper about the interaction between the two hormones.
8 You think your spouse is perfect.
Your lover may seem like the most ideal person to walk the face of the planet and that the sun shines out of their behind. According to Maslar, “the ventromedial prefrontal cortex deactivates when you fall in love.” “That is the area of the brain responsible for judging other people.” You essentially go a bit too far with the entire “judgment-free zone” concept. Thus, you find everything kids do adorable or original, Maslar adds.
9 You have the impression of being on an emotional roller coaster.
You’re not alone if falling in love seems a lot like riding an emotional roller coaster. Maslar explains, “I refer to falling in love as temporary insanity.” “A lot is happening.” Which is putting it simply between your hormones having a free-for-all and true brain deactivation. Your stress hormone cortisol soars while your happy hormone, serotonin, actually plummets. You become a tense, compulsive person as a result of the mix,” Maslar tells Romper.
Although love does feel overwhelming in the moment, Silva claims that the neurochemical process of falling in love is euphoric but fleeting, dissipating with time. The finest thing about love, according to her, is that it develops over time and goes through many phases, leading to true joy or rapture after a while—often years. Thus, things will eventually settle into a more sustainable ebb and flow of love, even though you may feel overburdened, obsessed, and sleep deprived for a while.
