7 Scientific Ways That Falling in Love Affects the Body (2 of 4)

Love is intoxicating

Guess what? You don’t even need those early evening shots of whiskey to calm your anxieties before the big date. Just the feeling of love itself can make you feel drunk. Much like alcohol is called “liquid courage” because it leaves you feeling uninhibited and without fear, the same can be said of falling in love due to the release of oxytocin. A University of Birmingham study found that while oxytocin and alcohol affect different parts of the brain, the end results are pretty much the same. However, falling in love does hold one huge advantage over alcohol: no need to go to rehab. 

You become tongue tied

As you admire her lovely smile and perfectly placed hair, you might begin to notice that you’re having a difficult time getting words out. And we don’t mean this as in “Does this girl ever shut up?” We’re talking about literally not being able to form sentences. The culprit: epinephrine. When released, this hormone increases your heart rate and causes you to lose your bearings when the hot chicky-poo so much as approaches you. Hopefully, it is happening to her too!