According to love biologist Dawn Maslar, the chemicals dopamine and vasopressin are vital for a man to start falling in love, whereas it's oxytocin and dopamine for women. Oxytocin, often nicknamed the love or cuddle hormone, also plays an important role in men but at a later stage.
Physical attraction, sexual compatibility, empathy, and emotional connection are key to making a man fall in love with a woman.
High levels of dopamine and a related hormone, norepinephrine, are released during attraction. These chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and euphoric, even leading to decreased appetite and insomnia – which means you actually can be so “in love” that you can't eat and can't sleep.
Testosterone, a male sex hormone, tends to make men more competitive. Oxytocin has various social and physiological functions in the brain and the body, but is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone” due to its role in social bonding.
Oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus and stimulates uterine contraction and milk ejection. While many people consider oxytocin to be a female hormone, it is reported that, in men, the plasma oxytocin level increases markedly after ejaculation.
The cuddle hormone
Men also have oxytocin, but it is compensated for by higher levels of testosterone - so they are less prone to cuddling!
Oxytocin also had no effect on the men's attitude toward the female experimenter — whether men received the oxytocin or the placebo, they rated her as being equally attractive. In a separate experiment, the researchers found oxytocin had no effect on the distance men kept between themselves and a male experimenter.
Emotional vulnerability
Research shows that by being emotionally vulnerable with each other, couples can bond with each other. It can deepen the love between them in a significant way. Emotional vulnerability can be the key to what makes a man fall deeply in love with a woman.
Results: Testosterone has a primary role in controlling and synchronizing male sexual desire and arousal, acting at multiple levels.
Men love women who are thoughtful, caring, loving and kind. A woman who does little things for her man for no other reason other than that she loves him. A woman who makes him smile back whenever she smiles at him. A woman who radiates love and warmth from her heart.
Oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin are often referred to as our “happy hormones.” When you're attracted to another person, your brain releases dopamine, your serotonin levels increase, and oxytocin is produced.
When a man falls deeply in love, there may be a lot of passion and a high sex drive. However, a man who has a sense that he is in love will not just put his focus on sex. Many men become more emotional when falling in love and they may be interested in getting to know you on a deeper level, not just sexual encounters.
The initial happy feelings of being in love is stimulated by 3 chemicals in the brain: noradrenaline that stimulates adrenaline production causing that racing heart and sweaty palms; dopamine, the feel-good chemical; and phenylethylamine that is released when we're near our crush, giving us butterflies in our tummies.
Compliment him often
It Is not just women, but even men love compliments. If your man looks good on a certain day, compliment him. If he did something to help you with household chores, appreciate him for this. It will boost his confidence.
Broadly speaking, intimacy means deeply knowing someone, while also feeling deeply known yourself. It is something humans crave, and though at times, it may seem more difficult for men to express it, that doesn't mean they don't need or want it.
One of the signs he has strong feelings for you is when he constantly tries to communicate with you. He checks on you by texting or calling you. He would even chat or text you when he wakes up, letting you know that you're the first one he thinks about upon waking up.
Like women, men want a life partner who will be trustworthy, faithful and reliable. They want a wife who will stand by their side and, considering divorce rates, it's no surprise that dependability would continue to be attractive.
The average time for men to fall in love is 88 days, while those same feelings of true love take women 134 days. Another dating site, Elite Singles, did a poll in 2017 and found that 61 per cent of women believe in love at first sight, while 72 per cent of men do. These surveys focused on heterosexual relationships.
The more oxytocin your body produces (the more physical intimacy you experience), the more your body wants – increasing your desire. Low levels of oxytocin can lead to decreased sexual desire.
Men have been shown to be particularly sensitive to physical contact, so touch likely boosted their oxytocin levels considerably, Melton says. “Justifying small ways to make any activity one where we're touching our partner, whether that's touching of the arm or around the shoulder, [could be useful],” Melton says.
Oxytocin in people assigned male at birth
The hormone contracts the vas deferens to push sperm and semen forward for ejection. Oxytocin also affects the production of testosterone (a sex hormone) in the testes.
For couples who stayed together, oxytocin levels remained stable over a six-month period. "These findings suggest that OT in the first months of romantic love may serve as an index of relationship duration," the researchers wrote, using an abbreviation for oxytocin.
What is oxytocin? Also called the “love hormone,” oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone and a neurotransmitter that is produced in the hypothalamus and transmitted into the bloodstream by the pituitary gland.