Are you in a relationship and want to know how long it will last? Just check the level of oxytocin or the 'love hormone' in your blood, scientists say.
Researchers from Bar-Ilan University in Israel found that couples who have higher levels of oxytocin in their blood stay together longer than those with lesser level of the hormone.
For their study, the team measured levels of oxytocin in people who had recently begun relationships. Six months later, the couples with the higher levels of oxytocin tended to still be together, while the others had split.
The finding suggests oxytocin, a hormone also involved in mother/infant bonding, plays an important role in the initial stages of our romantic attachments, the researchers said.
"These findings suggest that oxytocin in the first months of romantic love may serve as an index of relationship duration," they wrote in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
The study also shows that at a biological level, the process of becoming attached to a new partner may be similar to the process of bonding with a new child, they added.
A previous study had found that a nasal spray of oxytocin could improve interactions between couples. The new findings show that such oxytocin-based treatments "may improve specific relational components among couples in distress", they said.
For their study, the researchers interviewed 60 couples in their 20s who had begun a relationship within the previous three months.
Members of the couple were first interviewed separately about their thoughts, worries and hopes for the new relationship, and then together to discuss a positive experience they had shared.
Blood samples were taken from the participants, as well as from 43 volunteers who were single.
It was found that those in new relationships had oxytocin levels that averaged nearly double those of singles. And for couples who stayed together, oxytocin levels remained stable over a six-month period.
In both singles and couples, levels of oxytocin did not depend on an individual's gender, body weight, height, smoking status, use of contraceptive pills or sexual activity.
Couples with higher levels of oxytocin exhibited more affection during interviews, such as touching and eye-gazing.
Such intimate behaviours may increase oxytocin levels and, in turn, increase a couple's emotional involvement in the relationship, the researchers said.
Elevated levels of oxytocin also have been seen in new parents, although the levels were not as high as those seen in couples in this study, suggesting the initial period of romantic love may induce the most intense oxytocin activity, the researchers said.
The researchers noted that as the people in relationships were not tested before they paired up, it wasn't clear which was the cause and which was the effect: whether the new relationship increased their oxytocin, or people with naturally high oxytocin levels are more likely to couple up.
In addition, it wasn't clear whether oxytocin levels in the blood reflect those in the brain, but studies suggest the two are coordinated.
For their study, the team measured levels of oxytocin in people who had recently begun relationships. Six months later, the couples with the higher levels of oxytocin tended to still be together, while the others had split.
The finding suggests oxytocin, a hormone also involved in mother/infant bonding, plays an important role in the initial stages of our romantic attachments, the researchers said.
"These findings suggest that oxytocin in the first months of romantic love may serve as an index of relationship duration," they wrote in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
The study also shows that at a biological level, the process of becoming attached to a new partner may be similar to the process of bonding with a new child, they added.
A previous study had found that a nasal spray of oxytocin could improve interactions between couples. The new findings show that such oxytocin-based treatments "may improve specific relational components among couples in distress", they said.
For their study, the researchers interviewed 60 couples in their 20s who had begun a relationship within the previous three months.
Members of the couple were first interviewed separately about their thoughts, worries and hopes for the new relationship, and then together to discuss a positive experience they had shared.
Blood samples were taken from the participants, as well as from 43 volunteers who were single.
It was found that those in new relationships had oxytocin levels that averaged nearly double those of singles. And for couples who stayed together, oxytocin levels remained stable over a six-month period.
In both singles and couples, levels of oxytocin did not depend on an individual's gender, body weight, height, smoking status, use of contraceptive pills or sexual activity.
Couples with higher levels of oxytocin exhibited more affection during interviews, such as touching and eye-gazing.
Such intimate behaviours may increase oxytocin levels and, in turn, increase a couple's emotional involvement in the relationship, the researchers said.
Elevated levels of oxytocin also have been seen in new parents, although the levels were not as high as those seen in couples in this study, suggesting the initial period of romantic love may induce the most intense oxytocin activity, the researchers said.
The researchers noted that as the people in relationships were not tested before they paired up, it wasn't clear which was the cause and which was the effect: whether the new relationship increased their oxytocin, or people with naturally high oxytocin levels are more likely to couple up.
In addition, it wasn't clear whether oxytocin levels in the blood reflect those in the brain, but studies suggest the two are coordinated.
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