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Oxytocin – The Cuddle Hormone

Are you held by your partner on a regular basis?   Oxytocin, a powerful neuropeptide…

Are you held by your partner on a regular basis?

 

Oxytocin, a powerful neuropeptide (it acts as a hormone and a brain neurotransmitter) is often referred to as the “cuddle hormone” and is released when couples spend intimate time together. Oxytocin plays an important role in romantic relationships as it rewards contact between partners and increases pleasure during sex by stimulating your smooth muscles and sensitizing your nerve endings which lead to your sexual arousal.

 

Oxytocin is released through physical touch which can include hugging, kissing, stroking, cuddling or having sex and gives you that feeling of closeness. It is thought to work together with our feel-good hormones, dopamine and norepinephrine, by influencing the way these hormones interact with the reward center of our brain and associating these feelings with love. You could even say, the more oxytocin you create, the more closeness you crave from your partner.

 

If you are feeling disconnected from your partner or not in the mood, why not start by holding their hand? Small steps toward creating intimacy can have BIG results.

 

DOI: 10.9790/3008-1206060109