When Beyoncé sang drunk in love, she definitely knew what she was talking about as falling in love is similar to being drunk.
According to research conducted by scientists at the University of Birmingham and published in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, the love hormone, oxytocin has a similar effect on the body to being drunk.
The link between alcohol and love has always been noted: Both make you feel happy, invincible, and filled with sadness once the effects wear off and this study further highlights the link between both.
Oxytocin is released during skin-to-skin contact and is the reason being physically close to another person can often feel so good and it is also released during lovemaking.
Dr Ian Mitchell, from the School of Psychology at Birmingham University, said: “We pooled existing research into the effects of both oxytocin and alcohol and were struck by the incredible similarities between the two compounds.
“They appear to target different receptors within the brain, but cause common actions.”
“These neural circuits control how we perceive stress or anxiety, especially in social situations such as interviews, or perhaps even plucking up the courage to ask somebody on a date’, Mitchell says of the findings.
“Taking compounds such as oxytocin and alcohol can make these situations seem less daunting.”
So just like alcohol, love really can be intoxicating and just like a drink or two of alcohol, it can also fuel aggression.
Phil