What is oxytocin, what does it do? How to increase the love hormone?

Oxytocin is a natural hormone and especially important for women. The deficiency affects women both physiologically and psychologically. It has an important role in the formation of maternal instinct, breastfeeding, selective social bonding and sexual pleasure. In addition, love, loyalty, and happiness are the main sources of positive emotions. This hormone can be enhanced by a healthy diet, yoga, meditation, listening to music, and aromatherapy. It can also be used as a supplement medication with the advice of a doctor. Recent studies have shown that this valuable hormone is promising in the treatment of many psychological disorders, especially autism.

What is oxytocin?

What does oxytocin do?

• Oxytocin, consisting of nine amino acids, acts as a hormone in the bloodstream and as a chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) in the central nervous system.
• It plays an important role as helping contraction of the uterus during birth process.
• During the breastfeeding, it promotes lactation by moving the milk into the breast.
• It helps male reproduction.
• Balances and regulates feelings and behaviors. For example, affects the increase of positive feelings such as love and happiness.
• It can rapidly heal wounds due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
• People with high levels of oxytocin hormone have a higher pain threshold. The fact that women can experience a painful process like normal birth is a proof that oxytocin can increase the pain threshold.

What is the function of estrogen? Causes and symptoms of high level

When is oxytocin secreted?

This hormone, which has a very important role in women, is naturally secreted in the body to facilitate fertilization during the sexual intercourse, the act of giving birth by pregnant women, and the process of breastfeeding.

How is oxytocin production controlled?

The production of oxytocin is controlled by a positive feedback mechanism. This mechanism allows the release of oxytocin when a trigger occurs. The hormone then causes a movement in the body such as milk or birth contractions, which indicate more oxytocin production. The feedback cycle continues until the activities such as birth or breastfeeding are completed.

Effects of oxytocin hormone

Oxytocin and love

Oxytocin and sexuality

This hormone allows men to have sexual interest in women. The male facilitates erection capacity, provides excitement and is secreted too much during orgasm.

The effect of oxytocin on pregnancy

While having sexual intercourse, some neural stimuli in the woman’s genitals reach hypothalamus and the hypothalamus sends oxytocin to the uterus of the woman. Thus, the uterus begins to contract in a rhythmical manner and draws the sperm into the uterus as a vacuum. Since birth canal is acidic, sperms die here in a short time.

However, the inside of the uterus is alcoholic, so the sperm can live here longer and the possibility of fertilizing the ovum increases.

Oxytocin facilitates normal birth

Oxytocin hormone provides a strong contraction in the uterus of the pregnant woman during delivery. When birth begins, a neural message occurs while the baby’s head stretching the cervix and this message reaches hypothalamus. With this message, hypothalamus produces oxytocin and increases the strength of contractions.

What is Cortisone? Benefits, Uses, Dosage and Side Effects

Thus, there is a sufficient expansion of the birth canal and cervix that allows normal delivery to occur. The smooth birth of the baby depends on this expansion. In addition, this hormone protects women against postpartum hemorrhage.

Oxytocin facilitates breastfeeding

After the baby is born, the oxytocin hormone promotes breastfeeding by moving milk to the breast. When the baby begins to suck on the breast, the hormone helps baby to be fed by providing the milk production. At the same time oxytocin is secreted into the brain to stimulate the production of more oxytocin. When the baby is finished feeding, the hormone production stops.

Oxytocin enhances relationships

It can increase confidence and generosity and reduce the fear of social treason in people, especially when used as a supplementary medicine. The explanation of emotional events is an indicator of trust in people. People who use oxytocin, share details and stories more emotionally while describing a negative event.

It also increases the ability of empathy in healthy men. Some researchers argue that oxytocin has a general healing effect on all social feelings, such as jealousy.

Oxytocin reduces stress

What is Cortisol? The meaning of high and low level

Cognitive benefits of oxytocin

Oxytocin hormone, taken from outside as a drug, can increase the memory of social information while reducing bad memories. For example, men who are given oxytocin have a strong memory of recognizing faces.

Do men have oxytocin hormone?

The natural oxytocin hormone has less function in men. It plays a role in the movement of sperm and is thought to affect testosterone production in testes. In addition, according to the studies, men are using the oxytocin hormone as a supplement can be more balanced in social relations and general mental health.

What does oxytocin deficiency cause to?

Oxytocin deficiency has very important negative effects especially in women. It may complicate normal birth and prevent milk production reflex and make breastfeeding difficult. Low oxytocin levels may cause depression. In males, it can cause problems such as reproduction, attachment and loyalty.

What is depression? Causes, symptoms, types and treatment

Oxytocin levels may be high in males in some cases and causing to benign prostate enlargement, resulting with urinary complaints.

Oxytocin deficiency symptoms

• Feeling unhappiness and depression
• Stress and anxiety
• migraine
• Uneasiness, irritability and tension
• Incompatibility
• Infertility in women (may also develop in the high level of oxytocin)

What is anxiety? Causes, symptoms and treatment

Diseases associated with oxytocin deficiency

• Autism
• Schizophrenia
• Mood disorders
• Common anxiety disorder
• Social phobia
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder
• Alcohol-substance abuse
• Aggression
• Suicidal tendency
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorders

Depression treatment: Psychotherapy, medication or natural methods

Evidence of efficacy of oxytocin alone or in combination with other therapies may pioneer in the treatment of disorders such as autism, substance abuse, personality disorders, anorexia nervosa in which existing pharmacological therapies are insufficient.

What is schizophrenia? Causes, symptoms and treatment

How to increase oxytocin?

Oxytocin drug

When oxytocin deficiency is detected, drug therapy is used to increase the level to normal levels. Oxytocin drugs are used in tablet, spray and ampoule forms.

• Injectible solution form is preferred in labor induction or to assist in delivery and to control postpartum hemorrhage.
• Injectible solution form is used to stop or treat bleeding after abortion or to terminate pregnancy. It is injected intravenously in the hospital environment and other vital signs and contractions are closely monitored. According to this observation, the doctor decides the dose and duration of oxytocin to be given to the patient.
• At birth, the baby’s heart rate is monitored by fetal heart monitor to assess the effects of oxytocin on the baby. In some instances oxytocin may be placed into the cervix in tablet form.
• Oxycin as a supplement is used in tablet and also in spray form. Particularly, it is preferred to have problems in social relations and behaviors or in some psychiatric disorders since the spray form directly affects the brain. Pastille is also available but the effect is small.

Side effects of oxytocin hormone

• Rash, difficulty in breathing, swollen like allergic reactions in face, lip, tongue or throat
• Fast, slow or unequal heart rate
• Excessive bleeding after childbirth
• Headache, speech impairment, severe weakness, vomiting, loss of coordination, and loss of sodium in the body, which can lead to indecisiveness.
• Headache, blurred vision, tinnitus in the neck or ears, anxiety and increased blood pressure that can lead to nosebleeds
• Nausea, vomiting
• Nasal discharge, sinus pain or irritation
• Memory problems

The above is not a complete list of side effects of oxytocin uptake. If oxytocin is used for any reason, detailed information from the doctor should be obtained. In addition, the doctor should be told if all medical conditions, especially the drugs used and an allergic body is involved.

Warnings about oxytocin intake

You should inform your doctor if you have the following conditions or conditions:

• Genital herpes
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Heart rhythm disorder
• Cervical cancer
• A serious infection in the uterus
• Five or more pregnancies
• Probability of a difficult birth due to small pelvis
• A surgery performed in the uterus or the womb in the past
• Pregnancy less than 37 weeks
• Breastfeeding

How is oxytocin hormone increased?

• Sexual intercourse: Sex and orgasm increase oxytocin levels significantly. In addition, stimulation of the nipple in women provides oxytocin hormone secretion.
• Being in love: The most important reason for this hormone is called love hormone is that oxytocin production increases with love. Coupling and touching each other, holding hands increase the level of this hormone, while strengthening the bond between them.
• Communicating: One of the most important reasons of misery is loneliness. Research has shown that communication and socialization increase this hormone.

Benefits of apple cider vinegar: How to use, what is it good for?

• Fun activities and positive experiences: The fact that people are engaged with the activities they enjoy is one of the factors that increase the oxytocin level. Factors such as image, smell, or sound that lead to past memories of happiness in the past and listening to calm music, dancing, nature walks, the smell of toasted bread, etc. especially effective.
• Exercising: Walking, swimming, breathing exercises, physical activities such as meditation and yoga also help to increase oxytocin levels.
• Massaging: The increase in oxytocin levels is associated with relief, so massaging increases the secretion of this hormone.

Natural foods that increase the hormone oxytocin

• Foods containing protein: red meat, fish, chicken, eggs, milk and dairy products, beans, legumes such as lentils, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, peanut butter.
• Fruits and vegetables: Especially green leafy vegetables and fruits such as bananas, apples, strawberries.
• Foods containing Omega-3: Tuna, sardines, salmon fish, nuts, olives.
• Bitter foods: bitter food and nutrients, such as bitter red pepper and fenugrek
• Cereals: All cereals, such as wheat, oats, rye and rice.
• Water and herbal teas: drinking at least eight glasses of water a day can help secrete this hormone. Caffeine and lemon balm, chamomile herbal teas are also effective.
• Some vitamins: B6, B2, B1, vitamin D and vitamin A
• and dark chocolate