Oxytocin Hormone: The Cuddle Hormone is the Body's Own Love Potion

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Oxytocin Hormone: The Cuddle Hormone is the Body's Own Love Potion Johneen Manning
Is love a biochemical by-product? Oxytocin explains the importance of foreplay and may even show that women in committed relationships have better sex!

Research suggests that if a love potion does in fact exist, the mammalian hormone called oxytocin is likely the key ingredient.

Oxytocin is a hormone produced naturally in the hypothalamus in the brain. Studies have shown that oxytocin is associated with our ability to mediate emotional experiences in close relationships and maintain healthy psychological boundaries.

In studies with non-human mammals, oxytocin has been shown to promote nest building and pup retrieval, acceptance of adopted offspring, and the formation of adult pair-bonds.

This important hormone is naturally released in response to a variety of environmental stimuli including skin-to-skin contact, uterine or cervical stimulation during sex, nipple stimulation in lactating women, and as the result of a baby moving down the birth canal.

In humans, oxytocin stimulates milk ejection during lactation, uterine contraction during birth, and is released during sexual orgasm in both men and women.

Research has shown that women who were currently involved in a committed relationship experienced greater oxytocin swells in response to positive emotions than single women

Oxytocin Loves Foreplay

Being touched (anywhere on the body) causes a rise in oxytocin levels, initiating a series of events that lead to biological and psychological arousal, including a rush of endorphins (the body's natural pain relievers) as well as a spike in testosterone levels (the hormone that kick-starts sex drive).

Oxytocin heightens that warm and fuzzy bonding feeling, increasing sexual receptiveness and intimacy. Considered by many to be the key lubricant in the machinery of sex, oxytocin also increases the desire to be touched further, reinforcing the cycle of sex hormone escalation.

Binghamton University psychology professor Diane Witt says that since the release of oxytocin can be classically conditioned, after repeatedly having sex with the same partner, just seeing that partner could release more oxytocin, making you want to be with that person all the more.

Oxytocin's affect on the brain is greatly dependent on its interactions with sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and corticosterone. However, its effectiveness as a the 'cuddle hormone' requires the presence of estrogen. This fact may partially explain some of the behavioral differences between the sexes when it comes to intimacy, the desire for cuddling, and even touch's role in the ability to achieve orgasm, since women's bodies produce vastly more estrogen than the male body.

Do Women In Committed Relationships Have Better Sex?

Research has shown that women who were currently involved in a committed relationship experienced greater oxytocin swells in response to positive emotions than single women, leading researchers to speculate that a close, regular relationship may influence the responsiveness of the hormone. So, do the math:

Oxytocin is produced as a result of touch
Oxytocin causes feelings of intimacy and closeness
Oxytocin triggers powerful orgasms
Women in committed relationships experience enhanced oxytocin production

The facts would suggest that women in committed relationships have better sex!

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