You’ve probably heard statements like, “Love does crazy things to you.” And indeed, one infatuation it can make your head go crazy, but apparently those warm sensations also have a special effect on your body.
Change in body
Some people can’t get enough of their mouths when so-called butterflies – which sometimes look a bit like a swarm of bees in the wild – flutter in their stomachs. This feeling arises simply because your muscles tighten more when you are in love. But women also experience another change in their bodies, according to researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Researchers at the American university were curious about the impact of falling in love on your body. What happened? Women in love produced more interferons, which are natural proteins that are secreted after contact with viruses. So you get a virus infection? So these proteins play an important role in the functioning of your immune system. The study also found that interferon production decreased when infatuation decreased.
Research
The researchers followed 47 women for two years to arrive at this finding. All of the women had recently fallen in love with someone and donated blood to the researchers. Research showed that women produced more interferons. Why exactly this happens, researchers cannot say for sure. It is possible that the body produces these proteins to prepare the female body for pregnancy.
Men
What exactly happens in the male body is not yet known. The researchers indicate that it is crucial for them to investigate whether the same changes occur in men when they are hopelessly in love.
Source: Things for Women, Science Direct, HLN | Image: Taryn Elliot (Pexels)
