The subject of love fascinates us, and we never grow tired of reading love stories, watching romantic movies, and, of course, being in love. Alas, here are some interesting facts about love.

The Vein Of Love

Our bodies are made up of an intricate network of veins running all over bringing blood to every inch of our bodies and carrying it back to the heart. There is one vein in particular which runs from our third finger on the left hand directly to the heart. When we wear our wedding rings, they are symbolically and literally connected to our hearts through this little vein.

Frustration Attraction

When we are dumped, our bodies go through withdrawal symptoms, and our hormones fly out of whack in a major way—often playing tricks with our emotions. One of these tricks is known as Frustration Attraction which is when we feel even more attracted to the person who dumped us paired with intense levels of frustration because we can’t have them. They dumped us which clearly signals that they are pretty done with us. This cycle of frustration eventually resolves itself, but it is very frustrating regardless.

The Power Of Hormones

When we fall in love, our body releases a lethal combination of hormones to ensure that we stay in love long enough to produce babies. Some of these hormones suppress the reasoning section of our brain which leads to the phrase, “Love is blind.” Other hormones known as dopamine and oxytocin work together to stimulate the brain in 12 different areas to keep us happy and addicted to our sweetheart. Cuddling and orgasms raise these levels of hormones which further connect us and can lead to symptoms of withdrawal during a separation. Oxytocin is also known to be a natural painkiller which is why we want to cuddle when we are feeling sick or injured.

The Model We Shop By

Interestingly, we unconsciously tend to pick our romantic partners based on our parents. Men look for women with a similar bone structure as their mother, and both genders tend to fall in love with someone similar to the parent they have unresolved issues with—unknowingly attempting to resolve those issues with our partner. We also pick partners whose ages are similar to that of our parents when we were born; so, if our parents were older when they had us, we might look for an older partner.

Location, Location

Or situation rather. When it comes to falling in love, many people are more inclined to do so under dangerous circumstances than more mundane ones. For example, if you went skydiving with a group, the adrenaline rush would prepare you better to fall in love with one of the group members compared to if you attended an office party or weekend retreat together. Maybe those romantic subplots in all the action movies have a grain of truth to them after all.

Timing Is Everything

You are more likely to fall in love if the timing is right. If you are on an adventure (or seeking adventure), craving to leave home, feeling adrift in a foreign city, feeling lonely or are emotionally and financially prepared for a relationship, the odds are in your favor that you will find someone and fall madly in love with them.

Attraction In The Eye Of The Beholder

Scientists like to study and analyze everything, so it is no surprise that they studied the brain in connection with attraction and relationships. It turns out that men are visually wired to quickly assess whether or not she is healthy and can bear children while women showed more brain activity in the area governed by memory—suggesting that women go back later to analyze whether or not his behavior indicted if he would be an adequate provider.

Long Courtships Vs. Whirlwind Romances

As a general rule, whirlwind romances are more fun and exciting, but once the fire fizzles out, the relationship dies down, and the couple breaks up. Longer and slower courtships tend to produce long-term relationships which last forever. There are exceptions to both situations of course, but these are the general rules.

The Thought Process

Women feel love when they are talking face to face with their partners while men feel emotionally closer to their partners when they are playing or working side by side. Additionally, when we are thinking about love our brain lights up in the areas of creativity, abstract thoughts and long-term planning. If we are just thinking about sex, our brain shows activity in the areas governing immediate decision making and attention to momentary details.

The History Of The Heart

Most people know that the heart symbol looks like two human hearts put together (which is a romantic idea in and of itself). What some of us might not know is that the symbol of the heart wasn’t used romantically till 1250. Previously, it just meant foliage. Leafy green love anyone?

Where Your Birthday Suit To Bed

Wearing your birthday suit to bed suggest that you are content and comfortable in the relationship. It can also have many surprising health benefits which include boosting your immunity levels and improving circulation throughout the body. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Sleep Deprivation In Men

According to Scoop Whoop, men who are more sleep deprived tend to think that all women want to sleep with them. This assumption often gets them into trouble and leaves them feeling very confused. Additionally, men who cheat have lower IQs than men who stay loyal and never stray.

Gratitude

Showing or displaying gratitude to your partner for something they did has been shown to produce an immediate spike in happiness levels. So the next time your wife gets up to feed the baby and make you coffee, thank her. And the next time your husband does the dishes and grocery shops for you, thank him. It helps to keep everyone happy and in love.