From dopamine to oxytocin, the “chemical storm” of falling in love alters sleep, appetite and mood. This is how long the most intense phase lasts and why the brain in love resembles the one under the influence of substances.
According to science, the most intense phase, the one that alters appetite, sleep, concentration and mood, lasts between 18 months and 3 years (but there are exceptions). In this period, the brain is prey to a mix of substances that amplify attention towards others, generating euphoria and hyper-activating the so-called “reward system”.
Dopamine, which fuels desire, oxytocin, which promotes trust, and norepinephrine, responsible for cardiac acceleration, contribute to upsetting us.
“Drugged” emotions
In various publications at the beginning of the millennium, Helen Fisher, anthropologist at Rutgers University (New Jersey), collaborating with neuroscientists, showed, through tests based on magnetic resonance imaging, that a brain in love resembles that of someone under the influence of cocaine, activating the same brain areas.
As time passes, this “storm” subsides, and falling in love transforms into a feeling fueled by the dynamics of cooperation rather than by chemistry.
