Falling in love takes less than a second.
Falling in love can take less than a second
Yes, that’s right, in fact, it only takes one fifth (0.2) of a second. Studies have shown that the feeling of ‘falling in love’ can be similar to the sensation someone gets from using cocaine! When a person falls in love, 12 areas of the brain start working together and produce dopamine, adrenaline, oxytocin, and vasopressin, (which are released together). These are the chemicals responsible for giving us those dopey, gooey feelings. The ‘feelings’ of love also affects parts of the brain that carry out complex functions such as metaphors, body image and mental representations.
These findings raise the question – Is it the brain or the heart that falls in love? – Well according to researchers at Syracuse University, it is indeed our brains and not our hearts, after using MRI scans to show the release of the aforementioned chemicals when a person falls in love. The heart is a concept we relate to. Even the ‘butterflies’ we feel in our stomachs when our Amore is close by etc is really just our brains releasing adrenaline which is then filtered down to give us that butterfly moment.
But even though it might all start in the brain, it is a fact that it affects our whole body in that all that chemical release filters down throughout our bodies; the ‘butterflies’, the heart skipping a beat, etc. Also, newly ‘in love’ people tend to have higher levels of NGF – nerve growth factor – which is crucial to the survival of sympathetic and sensory neurones.
So, for all you non-believers and cynics out there, you can and do fall in love at first sight – we’ve got the science to back it up!