5 Health Benefits of Being Inlove

1. Love can keep you slim

Ever notice how you have no problem passing on dessert when you’re in love? Or how suddenly, you don’t have a hankering for potato chips at 9 p.m.? Sure, it may be because you’re too busy spending time with your sweetie, but it’s also because your body is constantly pumping out a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. This in turn produces adrenaline (responsible for those, Will he call? Does she like me? Where is our relationship going?moments), which suppresses your appetite. “This explains why people usually lose weight when they start dating somebody,” says Dr. Fisher. Plus, since all that dopamine is keeping you alert, you’re less likely to fall victim to late-night junk-food cravings. Also, chances are, you’re motivated to hit the gym more often in order to look and feel your best.


2. Love can improve your memory
If you often can’t remember which day American Idol is on but you can easily drum up the name of your sweetie’s best friend in kindergarten, you are not alone. Scientists at the University of Pavia in Italy found that falling in love raises levels of a hormone that improves memory by triggering the growth of new brain cells. “The area of the mind that stores recall is activated [when you are in love]. From an evolutionary perspective, we need to remember traits about this person to help stay in love,” says Helen Fisher, Ph.D., author of Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love and chief scientific advisor for Chemistry.com. Sure, you’re probably spending a good amount of time reminiscing about last night’s great date, but since this hormone boosts your brain power, you’re becoming more focused and detail-oriented overall. 


3. Love helps boost your mood
So the sky looks a little bluer, you smile at everyone who crosses your path, and life just seems great! What’s going on here? Smitten folks are consistently cranking out a brain chemical called dopamine, a feel-good stimulant that’s responsible for those feelings of bliss, optimism, and patience. “When you’re dating someone you’re crazy about, you’re operating on a constant euphoric high,” says Redford Williams, M.D., Director of Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University. “You have increased energy, which makes you excited to discover different hobbies, eat new foods, and you are easily thrilled by the smallest things.” What’s more, this mood boost lets people who are in love handle physical pain better than single folks. “It’s not that dopamine lessens discomfort, but if someone in love stubs his or her toe, that person’s able to brush it off more easily than someone who’s not,” says Dr. Fisher. Another happy factor: Infatuated people produce a surplus of a chemical called oxytocin (a.k.a. the “bonding hormone”). This endorphin spreads a kind of warm, internal flutter throughout the body when it’s released during touch, cuddling or physical intimacy. And that feels pretty darn amazing! 


4. Love helps you look younger
Your rosy cheeks aren’t just the fleeting flush of new love — people in happy relationships look physically younger than those who aren’t hit by Cupid’s arrow. Why? All that feel-good oxytocin coursing through their veins triggers the release of DHEA, an antiaging hormone that triggers cell restoration in the body. And hitting the sheets often contributes to that youthful glow, too. When clinical neuropsychologist David Weeks conducted a study on 3500 people who looked young for their age (all had fast metabolisms, smooth complexions, and good muscle tone), an active, physically intimate, monogamous relationship was the constant factor in their lives. 


5. Love can make you live longer
Good news for people who love and feel loved in return: they live longer and healthier lives than their single counterparts, according to research conducted at Utah State University. The study’s authors attribute a person’s lengthened lifespan to high self-esteem from his or her partner’s positive feedback, which lowers the odds of depression. “In addition, people adopt safer behaviors when they’re coupled up,” says Dr. Williams. “For example, you’re less likely to risk your life with smoking, binge drinking, or dangerous eating habits if a loved one is depending on you.”