Researchers from the University of Pisa in Italy (the country of love!), discovered that both male and female hormones fluctuate like crazy when a new relationship blossoms. Love-struck guys experience a drop in their testosterone levels, which relates to aggressive, typically male behavior. Meanwhile, women who are falling in love get a testosterone boost. Hence, a biological invitation to bond, solidifying a relationship.

Researchers went so far as to say that when a new relationship blooms, men become more like women, and women become like men! This way, a better understanding develops to kick-start a relationship.

“Men, in some way, become more like women, and women become like men,” researcher Donatella Marazziti explains. And there’s a very good reason: We’re more likely to be attracted to, interested in or stimulated by someone who shares our personality traits. “This elimination of differences between the sexes is important because it lays the groundwork for conception, which is essential to our survival,” Helen Fisher, Ph.D., author of Why We Love shares.

But, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), this two-peas-in-a-pod feeling doesn’t have staying power. When researchers tested subjects one year later, they found that the testosterone levels of both sexes had resumed normal, pre-relationship levels.

The upside to all of this is two-fold. First, the temporary change allows us to fall in love to begin with. Second, it’s the differences between men and women that keeps a relationship interesting.

It’s like looking in a mirror
Have you ever known a couple that looked like brother and sister? Probably, since it’s a pretty common phenomenon - and as it turns out, not a strange one. According to scientists at the University of Liverpool, our brains favor familiar faces. Given a number of digitally altered images of human faces, 200 study participants preferred faces with the features they found most like their own or their family members.

We locked eyes across a room…
Another recent study revealed that when a woman enters a room, she is perceived as more attractive by men if she turns her eyes toward a certain man. Note: it can be any man! Researchers at Dartmouth University asked men to look at photos of the faces of fashion models, some turned to make eye contact and others looking away. They were asked to rate the likeability of each model and sure enough - the ones making “eye contact” were preferred every time! The models who looked away were considered less likeable and even disagreeable! Researchers concluded that a woman’s gaze is a powerful tool and nonverbal communication is responsible for a good portion of the impressions we form.

I  just knew!
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania studying the behavior of singles say that people don’t need a lot of time or information to know if they’re interested in someone. Research suggests that we know “it” (a person who is appealing to us) when we see it. They found that both men and women assessed potential compatibility within moments of meeting using primarily visual cues. One researcher explained, “Somewhat surprisingly, factors that you might think would be really important to people - like religion, education, and income - played very little roles in their choices.”

They’re driving me crazy
You may have thought it was just a turn of phrase, but no. It’s official. Love makes people crazy according to researchers at the University of London. For starters, falling in love causes serotonin levels in the brain to drop, causing obsession. Then it increases production of cortisol, a stress hormone that causes high blood pressure and potential loss of sleep. And to make matters worse, when we look at our new loves, the neural circuits that control social judgment are suppressed, which may explain the phrase “blinded by love.”

Wikipedia tells us that the biological models of sex tend to view love as a mammalian drive, much like hunger or thirst. Helen Fisher, a leading expert in the topic of love, divides the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust exposes people to others; romantic attraction encourages people to focus their energy on mating; and attachment involves tolerating the spouse (or indeed the child) long enough to rear a child into infancy.

Lust is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. Attraction is the more individualized and romantic desire for a specific candidate for mating, which develops out of lust as commitment to an individual mate forms. Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in love, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which act in a manner similar to amphetamines, stimulating the brain’s pleasure center and leading to side effects such as increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years. Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term relationships. Attachment is the bonding that promotes relationships lasting for many years and even decades. Attachment is generally based on commitments such as marriage and children, or on mutual friendship based on things like shared interests. It has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin to a greater degree than short-term relationships have^.

The protein molecule known as the nerve growth factor (NGF) has high levels when people first fall in love, but these return to previous levels after one year.

The “Courting Phase” does not refer to the courtship process which precedes a relationship. The courtship process is when you attempt to charm someone into forming a relationship with you. The courting phase, however, is the very beginning of a new relationship itself; just after a successful courtship.

In the courting phase, both parties maintain that fascinating charm which they used to attract their partner in the first place. The courting phase is where most broken promises & exaggerate words are said as you are still trying to impress each other. Things like ‘I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before’ or ‘I think we have something special between us’ are said. Although these statements are made with good intentions, they are often inaccurate and are based mainly on feeling as oppose to logic.

A couple in the courting phase also tend to be very “playful” with one another and prefer to spend every free moment together.

Although not every relationship passes through this courting phase, it happens often enough. Just make sure you are beyond this point before you start taking any serious steps in the relationship.

READ MORE ON THIS THEME IN:

Lust is frequently mistaken as love. Lust is passion. Lust is desire. Lust is not love. It can be difficult for the inexperienced to distinguish between the two emotions. Especially, in the beginning of a relationship when sexual feelings are stronger and cause lust.

- Love is the emotional attachment in a relationship. Love is the sincere feeling of affection and devotion that you have for your partner. It is a deep, profound, and pure emotion that does not sway easily. Love is an emotion that can take years to build up and can only be felt for someone you hold dear.

- Lust can be felt towards anybody with a sufficient amount of sexual appeal. Lust is so sensual in it’s raw nature of being and can be formed instantly. It is a strong, excessive craving for sexual intimacy that can be difficult to control. It is probably lust if sex is the main basis of your relationship. Can’t keep your hands off each other? Is sex the only thing that you look forward to with this person? It is probably lust. A relationship founded on lust will only last as long as the two people involved are sexually attracted to one another; this can wear off fast.

The following 5 signs are indicators of true love:  

- you are concerned with your partner’s needs first

- you feel comfortable being apart from one another

- you fell slowly for your partner

- you trust your partner completely

- are able to resolve a fight and grow stronger through it

- you accept your partner and their flaws