Science says: this is where the butterflies in your stomach come from

‘And do you already feel butterflies?’ This question is of course maddening and yet I always ask it to friends who are dating. But what do we actually mean by this? Feeling butterflies in your stomach due to love: is that even possible? I obviously looked into it.

When you are truly in love, you can clearly notice it in your body. Think of a high heart rate, sweaty armpits, a nervous feeling in your stomach, and being unable to swallow a bite. Just the thought of seeing your lover again gives you a massive panic attack. Man, being in love is actually stressful, right?

Okay, we can surely agree that this feeling is not always pleasant, but why do we still talk about butterflies in our stomach? Well, it works like this: due to love, a stress hormone is released in your brain. This causes nerves, your breathing becomes heavier, and the muscles in your stomach contract. Consider it a fight-or-flight response; when you are head over heels in love, your body reacts just like in great danger, hence the blind panic.

According to professor of neurobiology Gert ter Horst from the University Medical Center Groningen, your body signals during intense love that ‘something’ is going on. Well, it’s not nothing to have your head in the clouds. But how does that signal arise?

Okay, normally when your body processes food, a large part of your blood goes to your stomach. But when you are head over heels in love, this blood does not go to your stomach but to your heart, lungs, and muscles. The blood supply to your stomach decreases, causing your stomach muscles to relax. As a result, your stomach sends a signal to your brain, which translates that feeling as ‘butterflies in your stomach’, in other words: something positive. And while your brain in a fearful situation would actually send a different signal, namely: a knot in your stomach.

So those butterflies you feel in your stomach during intense love actually arise from poor communication between your brain and your stomach. That your brain then turns that into butterflies, we should consider as something beautiful.

Sources: Womenshealth, Willem Wever, Rug.nl