In the springtime, as temperatures rise and flower buds peek out of the soil to greet the sun, the body begins making adjustments of its own.
Mark Twain once described these changes as spring fever, writing, "When you've got it, you want oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
According to a recent article on The Washington Post's "Speaking of Science" blog, the "it" that Twain's after is likely love. After all, spring is a time when "the birds are singing, the bees are pollinating and humans are likely to be happier and more receptive to romance," wrote the Post's Lisa Bonos.
Bonos investigated the season's association with falling in love with the help of biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, the chief scientific officer for Match.com.
Fisher said sunshine can be a key ingredient in people's springtime romantic success, because increased exposure to light leads to decreased production of melatonin, a hormone that causes sluggishness.
"In the spring, as light hits the retina, it goes into the pineal gland and slows the production of melatonin," she told Bonos. "And that's what gives you that light spring in your step, the feeling of giddiness and euphoria. As the melatonin recedes and the light begins to affect the brain, there's every reason to think that people will simply be more attractive as partners."
Additionally, the novelty of warm days and bright flowers after a long, dreary winter can boost dopamine levels, Fisher said.
Dopamine, a chemical in the brain associated with the excitement of new love, makes the body behave as if it's on high alert, stimulating the brain to take note of every smile, laugh or special moment shared with a significant other, Slate noted in a 2013 piece.
Bonos concluded that these theoretical links between spring and romance are fun to entertain, but will likely never be established as fact. Human emotions are too complex, and for every new couple formed in springtime there is one falling apart.
But that uncertainty shouldn't discourage people from bringing a spirit of love to their springtime, wrote Rita Watson for Pyschology Today in her list of "15 Ways to Share Love in the Springtime."
She said people should take Emily Dickinson's advice on the season. The poet once wrote, "A little Madness is the spring/ Is wholesome even for the King."
Mark Twain once described these changes as spring fever, writing, "When you've got it, you want oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
According to a recent article on The Washington Post's "Speaking of Science" blog, the "it" that Twain's after is likely love. After all, spring is a time when "the birds are singing, the bees are pollinating and humans are likely to be happier and more receptive to romance," wrote the Post's Lisa Bonos.
Bonos investigated the season's association with falling in love with the help of biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, the chief scientific officer for Match.com.
Fisher said sunshine can be a key ingredient in people's springtime romantic success, because increased exposure to light leads to decreased production of melatonin, a hormone that causes sluggishness.
"In the spring, as light hits the retina, it goes into the pineal gland and slows the production of melatonin," she told Bonos. "And that's what gives you that light spring in your step, the feeling of giddiness and euphoria. As the melatonin recedes and the light begins to affect the brain, there's every reason to think that people will simply be more attractive as partners."
Additionally, the novelty of warm days and bright flowers after a long, dreary winter can boost dopamine levels, Fisher said.
Dopamine, a chemical in the brain associated with the excitement of new love, makes the body behave as if it's on high alert, stimulating the brain to take note of every smile, laugh or special moment shared with a significant other, Slate noted in a 2013 piece.
Bonos concluded that these theoretical links between spring and romance are fun to entertain, but will likely never be established as fact. Human emotions are too complex, and for every new couple formed in springtime there is one falling apart.
But that uncertainty shouldn't discourage people from bringing a spirit of love to their springtime, wrote Rita Watson for Pyschology Today in her list of "15 Ways to Share Love in the Springtime."
She said people should take Emily Dickinson's advice on the season. The poet once wrote, "A little Madness is the spring/ Is wholesome even for the King."
