Most know that oxytocin is the hormone responsible for contractions during childbirth and helping with milk ejection reflex (letdown), but it does more than that! Here are three things that you may not know about oxytocin:
- It's easy to get a quick boost. Research has shown that hugs, handshakes, or other physical contact releases low levels of oxytocin in the brain for all parties involved. The interaction is not just limited to humans: a dog's gaze at its owner can increase the human's oxytocin levels, while petting and speaking to a dog after a separation shows an increase in the dog's oxytocin levels.
- It can help provide stress relief. Oxytocin is thought to be released by the brain when a person smiles. Smiling genuinely while stressed can help you recover faster than giving a fake smile. However, even a fake smile can help a person recover faster than a neutral expression during a stressful task (source).
- It has been linked to optimism and a higher self esteem. Oxytocin levels increase in times of stress and has been associated with social skills such as empathy. Researchers have found that people with two variants of the oxytocin receptor gene can have substantially lower levels of optimism and self-esteem, and significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than those with a third variant. While these results can be used to predict behavior, they do not determine it (source).