menu
FR | EN
Medical assistance
Certified Medical Tourism ProfessionalBest Medical Travel Agency 2015Best use of technology in Medical Travel 2017

Could the 'love hormone' oxytocin be responsible for life satisfaction?

04/05/2022

Could the 'love hormone' oxytocin be responsible for life satisfaction?

Oxytocin – also known as the “love hormone” – is a neurochemical that acts on organs in the body and as a chemical messenger in the brain, controlling not just key functions of the reproductive system, but also aspects of human behaviour.


Now, new research has revealed how people whose brains produce more oxytocin are kinder to others and live more satisfied lives. In addition, the research also discovered that as we age we produce more oxytocin, which could provide clues as to why older individuals are often more caring and more content with life than their younger peers.


For the research, more than 100 people were recruited and asked to watch an empathy-invoking video about a father and his child with terminal cancer. At the end of the video, the participants were given a financial reward and asked if they wanted to donate any of it to charity. Oxytocin levels were measured before and after these steps.


“The findings of our study are consistent with many religions and philosophies, where satisfaction with one’s life is enhanced by helping others,” reported first author Dr Paul J Zak of Claremont Graduate University.


“People who released the most oxytocin in the experiment were not only more generous to charity, but also performed many other helping behaviors. This is the first time a distinct change in oxytocin has been related to past prosocial behaviors,” reported Zak.


The findings of the study are published in the journal Frontier in Behavioral Neuroscience.


*image courtesy of Tristan Le via pexels.com

expand_less