Oxytocin promotes bonding & trust, and it is particularly active during childbirth where it stimulates contractions. As a neurotransmitter it helps regulating stress responses & calm the nervous system.

Higher blood oxytocin levels have been linked to greater perceived love, responsiveness, and gratitude in couples.

It makes you happy while also keeping you alive & alert. This chemical is part of the brain’s reward system — it’s what gives you pleasurable sensations and keeps you coming back for more. Dopamine is considered to be the motivational cog in this system, and it’s naturally released when you perceive food or sex, but before you consume it.

50% is produced in the gut so diet plays a big role in this motivation hormone.

Endorphins are hormones and neuro-signalling molecules that function as painkillers. They inhibit the transmission of pain signals in the central nervous system by binding to opioid receptors (the body’s natural morphine).

Endorphins & dopamine are often confused because each one is a chemical that makes you happy in the broad sense of the term. However, they are in some ways related because, when endorphins bind to receptors of the central nervous system, dopamine (the pleasure hormone) is released.