Oxytocin – The Love Hormone

How often do you hear people say that love is all about the chemistry between people - get that right and the relationship is bound to flourish? It might seem on the face of it that this is something of a romantic view of love, with love relying on that certain something if it’s to exist. But the idea that love and chemistry go hand in hand might not be quite as far- fetched as it may seem on the face of it.

For years scientists have known about the hormone oxytocin and the role it plays in childbirth and breast feeding, but it now appears that oxytocin has a much wider range of effects when it comes to relationships and emotional involvement and that these effects are not just confined to women. In fact, if there is such a thing as a ‘love drug’ then oxytocin is it and the idea that there has to be chemistry between two people may be much more than a romantic notion.

So just what is Oxytocin?

Well, as mentioned above oxytocin is a hormone. It’s produced by the hypothalamus - an almond sized region of the brain located close to the brain stem that links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. It is released either directly into the blood via the pituitary gland, or to other parts of the brain and spinal cord.

Oxytocin plays a crucial role a woman’s reproductive cycle. During menstruation oxytocin is responsible for causing uterine contractions that lead to the expulsion of the uterine lining. And it is this ability to cause uterine contractions that makes oxytocin critical during childbirth, as it plays a vital role in triggering and regulating contractions during labour. And if labour is progressing too slowly then it’s not uncommon for a mother to be given oxytocins to help her labour along. Oxytocin is also often administered just after birth to encourage a quick and complete third stage of the labour - the delivery of the placenta and membranes. And once labour is finished, oxytocin acts to protect the mother by encouraging the uterus to contract down and stop bleeding.

It’s also after birth that we get our first real glimpse of oxytocins as a love drug - you only have to look at a mother with her baby to see oxytocin at work. The deep and profound bond that develops between a mother and her baby is down to the effects of oxytocin - it’s little wonder then that oxytocin is sometimes called the bonding hormone. Oxytocin also plays a crucial role in breast feeding providing the ‘let-down’ reflex that enables the mother’s milk to flow.

But oxytocin isn’t just confined to women or to menstruation and childbirth. In fact, of all the hormones in the human body, oxytocin is probably the one that gives us the greatest happiness in life.

It wasn’t until the 1990’s that researchers began to realise the potential of oxytocin to influence human behaviour beyond menstruation, childbirth and lactation. They noticed that nursing mothers were calmer in the face of exercise and psychosocial stress than their bottle-feeding counterparts. The difference was attributed to the effects of oxytocin and subsequent research has begun to reveal the true extent of its influence.

For a start, the new baby bonding experience isn’t just for the mother - new fathers feel a similar surge of emotion which is also due to the effects of oxytocin. This put paid to the previously held view that oxytocin was a female-only hormone. But not only does oxytocin enable us to forge powerful bonds with our off-spring, it is also the reason why we form all sorts of other deep connections with other people such as our partners and friends. It even lies behind the close relationships we often form with our pets.

Oxytocin and Sex

Oxytocin also plays an important part in our sexual lives. Unlike most species, human beings are unusual in that they engage primarily in sexual relationships for pleasure and/ or to express love and emotional intimacy, rather than for the purposes of procreation. For many people, sexual intercourse creates a powerful bond. It probably doesn’t come as surprise to learn then that oxytocin is released by both men and women during lovemaking. But what’s more, not only is oxytocin released during orgasm, it also appears to be responsible for causing orgasms in the first place.

Researchers have discovered that stimuli such as skin to skin contact and the stimulation of erogenous zones leads to the release of oxytocins. This rise in oxytocin levels cause an avalanche of reactions in the body both physical and emotional that result in sexual arousal and the desire to be touched further. If this occurs, more oxytocin is released and desire and sexual arousal are increased even more. The more you are aroused the more oxytocin is released and the more oxytocin that is released, the more you become aroused and for many this circle of oxytocins release and arousal ends in orgasm. Even orgasms themselves are generated by oxytocin as it causes spontaneous reactions in the nerves in the genitalia. Whilst male oxytocins levels quintuple by the point of orgasm, female levels rise even more dramatically because women need more oxytocin if they are to achieve orgasm - but when they do their brains are so often flooded with the hormone that they may be able to achieve multiple orgasms.

Other health benefits of Oxytocin

Oxytocin may also be capable of providing us with other important health benefits. It is believed that it can help to avert the potential rise of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and allow us to turn potentially extremely traumatic and stressful experiences in to ones that give rise to feelings of profound happiness and love. Childbirth is a good example. Without the effects of oxytocin, many women could be exposed to the risk of developing PTSD after coming through such an overwhelmingly stressful experience. Instead, oxytocin enables most women to reflect on childbirth with deep feelings of calm and joy rather than reliving the pain and trauma. The result is that many women feel capable of going through the birthing process again, which has to be good news for the survival of the species!

This general sense of well being that oxytocin generates spreads far beyond helping us to deal successfully with traumatic situations, but spreads right into our everyday lives. By regulating sleep patterns and making us feel calmer and more in control, it appears that oxytocin is capable of counteracting some of the effects of stress and the damage that can be caused by the stress hormone cortisol. Just quite how oxytocin manages to evoke such as sense of well being is not yet fully understood, but given that virtually every disease and condition is aggravated by stress, lowering the effects of stress can have a huge impact on our overall health. What is known for sure is that married people live longer than single people and people with pets often recover more quickly from illness than those without pets - and the effects of oxytocin would seem to be the reason why.