With Valentines Day just having passed it got me thinking about the health benefits of love. I was reading through some research articles on how love affects our mind and body and found an interesting article from a neuroendocrinology journal.

In this paper they were looking at how love affects our stress levels and how love improves our overall health and outlook on life.

One thing I found really interesting in this paper was that they were looking at love not just as being in love with a partner but the benefit of just having a loving attitude towards life. In this paper they referenced another study where people were taught a Buddhist tradition called loving kindness meditation. This is a technique to develop feelings of love and transform anger into compassion. The research showed that over the 8 week program the participants had a reduction in chronic pain, physiological distress and anger. Positive emotions, such as love, help us feel better, particularly in stress and improve bodily functions.

Engaging in joyful activities activates areas of the brain responsible for emotion, attention, motivation and memory. This activity pattern in the brain even has protective effects on the brain itself.

Having a loving attitude releases hormones that reduce stress, and protect our brain.

So keep the spirit of Valentines Day with you all year long and practice a loving attitude to our fellow humans and reap the health benefits!