10 scientifically proven ways love can heal!

Being in love can be the most wonderful feeling out there. But did you know that being in a loving and happy relationship actually has innumerable health benefits? Well, this Valentine’s Day we bring you the 10 health benefits of being in love.

Makes your skin glow: Falling in love can be a great experience. But apart from making you feel absolutely on top of this world, love can make your skin glow too. According to experts, when you fall in  love your body release a whole host of hormones including endorphins. It also helps reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, that directly translates to lesser stress and fewer stress related skin ailments like acne.

Can beat depression: With all the joy of being with the person you love, depression can easily be something that does not bother you any more. But on a more scientific note, love helps release happy hormones including endorphins in your body. This surge of hormone helps beat depression.

Keeps you away from ailments: According to a report by the Health and Human Services Department,USA, couples in love tend to be healthier and have lesser common ailments. While the exact reason for this has not yet been pin-pointed, experts believe that this phenomenon is because partners generally tend to coax their significant other to live healthy, exercise right and get regular health checkups.

Lowers your blood pressure: In a study published in the Annals of Behavioural Medicine, couples in a happy marriage or relationship had lower blood pressure than those who were single. But experts say that it is the kind of relationship you have that determines how well managed your blood pressure is. They found that people in unhappy relationships often had high blood pressure levels just like their single counterparts.

Beats stress: Being in love is often an ecstatic feeling and the reason for that is the fact that we experience the release of happy hormones which in turn bust stress. Apart from that, the hormones released when you are in love lower the levels of cortisol (or the stress hormone) in your body, therefore helping you stay safe from the ill effects of stress.

Can help you suffer lesser bouts of anxiety: In a study performed at the State University of New York[2], published in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists took brain scans of people in love and those in long-term committed relationships and found that being in love activated that part of the brain associated with intense love. But what this study also found was the fact that when in love, a person’s dopamine-reward area in their brain lights up. Also known as the same place that is activated when a person is extremely happy, consumes an addictive substance like cocaine or wins a lottery. All this translates to lesser anxiety as the happiness overpowers the symptom.

Promotes faster healing: Love can heal. Yes, the fact has been scientifically proven. In a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry[2], scientists found that wounds heal faster in couples who are in a stable and loving relationship. The reverse was also true. People in hostile relationships tended to have slower wound healing capacity. Thought to be due to the pro-inflammatory cytokinens released when a person was sad, lonely or the subject of abuse, the presence of this compound was found to be much lower in people who were in love.

Helps you live longer: Experts believe that people in happy and stable relationships tend to live longer. They theorise that love helps provide each of the partners with security and someone to share the load of life with. What’s more is the fact that couples often tended to look out for each other and pushed the other to stay healthy. They say that at times just having someone to simply understand the other person’s fears helped lower stress levels and beat loneliness (a common cause for depression and mortality) thereby reducing the chances of a person suffering from ailments.

Can help you stay physically fit: No, this does not mean that you can ditch that workout but it has been seen that couples who workout together often achieve their goals more easily than going at it alone. Apart from that, couples were more likely to inspire the other person to stay fit helping you stay healthy.

Can regularise your menstrual cycle: Love and having regular sex can help regularise your periods. A study published in Planned Parenthoodfound that women who had sex at least once a week had higher levels of oestrogen and had more regular menstrual periods. So ladies, if you need to get that monthly clock working properly, get some action between the sheets.

For more articles on love and relathinships, visit our love and relationships section. For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter.

 Originally published on www.thehealthsite.com

Reference:

[1] Society For Neuroscience. (2003, November 11). Scientists Uncover Neurobiological Basis For Romantic Love, Trust, And Self. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 9, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031111064658.htm

[2] McGuire L., Heffner, K., Glaser, R., Needleman, B., Malarkey, W. B., Dickinson, S., Lemeshow, S., Cook, C., Muscarella, P., Melvin, W. S., Ellison, E. C., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K.(2006). Pain and wound healing in surgical patients. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 31:165-172.

[3] Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Loving TJ, Stowell JR, et al. Hostile Marital Interactions, Proinflammatory Cytokine Production, and Wound Healing. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62(12):1377-1384. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.12.1377.

[4] Allan V. Horwitz, Helene Raskin White and Sandra Howell-White. Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol. 58, No. 4 (Nov., 1996), pp. 895-907. Published by: National Council on Family Relations