Benefits and Health impacts of love.
Nov 11, 2020
There have been psychiatrists, psychologists and scientists who have studied the biochemical interactions of people in love, in which a mix of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin move around the brain to produce feelings of elation, warm gushing emotions and promote bonding and calm relationships.
The benefits in couples who have healthier loving relationships include having less strokes, higher rates of survival from surgeries and cancers and less depressive episodes. (A.Powell, Harvard Gazette, Feb 2018).
Blood pressure and heart rate are modulated well when in love, with love having a positive impact on our sympathetic nervous system.
Married couples have a 50% less risk of dying from heart disease than non-married couples and also have shorter hospital stays after a heart attack by 2 days. (Anne Arundel Medical Centre, Feb, 2020).
While the physical benefits are plenty for experiencing the feeling of love, so too are the emotional, mental and spiritual benefits.
It has been shown having strong connecting relationships helps people deal better with stress and reduces the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms. (Dr Melissa Vellas, Psychiatrist, 2015)
According to Dr Kory Floyd who studied the effects of affection on wellbeing, those with higher expressed affection for others, had less cortisol in their bloodstream, our stress response hormone, meaning those who expressed affection more, were better protected against stress. ( Diane Beaudreau 2013).
Love has the ability to warm and heal the spirit in many ways.
The well known buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, speaks of love comprising four Buddhist virtues of love, joy, compassion and equanimity.
Each of which, when practiced leads us to experience happiness.
The more we practice these virtues, the more they will grow in nature and everyone will experience them. (A.Watts, 2015)
The hindu practice of Bhakti yoga expresses that love is experienced in three ways, absolute love, of the Divine power, individual love, within and for others and in sadhana, practice, in which we engage in loving acts of kindness. ( Sally Kempton, 2017).
Love is one of the universal language of all living things and an essential need of our spirit.
Honouring and Serving,
Simran K. Rattan MD
Content support Maria Peach
Simran K. Rattan MD
Content support Maria Peach