So, we’ve established you can’t use time to reliably predict when you might fall in love. Then how can you tell when it actually happens? Most people agree it usually involves some of the following: A burst of energy and excitement. You might describe this as feeling “on top of the world.” A sense of newness. Your day-to-day routine might feel revitalized, brighter, or more interesting. Difficulty focusing on anything else. Most of your waking moments, plus plenty of your dreaming ones, center on memories of your past encounters and plans for future meetings. A desire to spend as much time together as possible. You don’t even care what you do together. Run errands?…

Researchers have identified three main stages of romantic love. Lust This stage has a lot to do with sexual desire. You can thank your evolutionary impulse to propagate the human species for that. On a more chemical level, the hormones estrogen and testosterone (present in varying levels in people of every gender) help boost libido and prompt the urge to get physical. That’s one good explanation why the early weeks of a relationship often involve plenty of physical intimacy. Attraction This stage can also involve feelings of lust and desire, but it goes a little deeper. As attraction takes root and blooms, your brain produces higher levels of different hormones, namely dopamine and norepinephrine. These chemicals can boost…

Love tends to be somewhat complicated. Most people would probably agree, in fact, that even “complicated” is putting it mildly. Even the act of falling in love can mean different things to different people — or at different points in your life. If you’ve fallen in love a time or two before, you might have some firsthand knowledge of its complexities. You might even find it a slippery thing to define, no matter how many times you’ve experienced it. Is it that first rush of powerful attraction that leaves you dizzy, breathless, and feeling like you’re about to literally fall over? That spark of absolute certainty that you’ve finally met…

Asoul mate is often thought of as someone who just gets you and shares your quirks and commonalities, whether it’s your love of avocado toast, puppies, or obsession with hitting the gym—or even a boutique fitness class with puppies. Interestingly though, compatibility might not be the most crucial factor for making your relationship work for the long run. Ted Hudson, PhD, told Thrive Global that his research has shown “there’s no difference in the objective compatibility between couples who are unhappy and those who are happy.” He found compatibility wasn’t an issue for couples who were happy in their relationships: Those couples made it clear that their will to keep their bond strong—not how alike they were—was to thank for their…

Love acts in mysterious ways, but research can help you learn some of its secrets and make yourself a more attractive love prospect. Love is a complex mixture of biochemistry, thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Yet science reveals simple rules you can follow for success. In addition to the predictable factor of physical attractiveness, traits like being open, confident, engaged, and positive make you more desirable to potential partners. Following are five science-based factors that can enhance your prospects of finding and keeping a partner: 1. Physical Appearance and Body Type It isn’t fair, but studies show that one’s chances of getting a second date or having an online prospect respond to…

Falling in love is easy, but relationships can be hard—despite what Hollywood tries to sell us. Like anything else in life worth having, relationships take work. Some couples successfully weather the storms that inevitably arise, while others simply drift apart. When it comes to coupling, there is no instruction manual. Remember that old playground mantra: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes so and so and a baby carriage? If only it were that simple. While some couples follow this traditional trajectory, many people do not. Fewer couples are getting married, some are having children before marriage, and some are choosing not to have children at all. Every relationship, like every individual, is…

In romantic relationships, as with so much else, it’s the little things that count. Just as a mis-spoken word or odd look can throw a couple into a weeks-long feud, small and seemingly insignificant gestures can help keep a relationship on track. A little gift, an off-hand compliment, a moment of physical contact can vastly strengthen a relationship. 1. Tell your partner you love them. Although it’s true that actions speak louder than words, words often speak more clearly than actions. Take a moment every now and then to verbalize your feelings for your partner. A simple “I love you” or “You mean the world to me” can go a long way…

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye. As an Indian I’ve seen many lovey dovey bollywood movies and have heard love stories of people in the folklore.For the love stories in the folklore, you never get to know whether the persons involved are real or fictional…and most of the bollywood love stories are banal (barring a few)….But here is a love story (not a story actually) from Orissa in India that blows my mind every time I think of it. It actually shows why they say that love can make you do anything.P.K. Mahanandia was born on 1949 in an untouchable Oriya weaver family, in Kandhapada village…

We’ve also all heard the usual caveat – life is hard and unforgiving, love even more so. And in the conventional wisdom to play it safe, we guard our hearts and cover our asses, and we often skip right past the little miracles of love that surround us in our everyday existence. Let’s take a look at a few of these, real life successful love stories, right from the celebrities whose lives (and often, love lives) we all covet right down to the average person. 1. Shah Rukh Khan And Gauri Shah Rukh may be the badshah of Bollywood and reside in his palatial Mannat, but he sure didn’t start out that…

A long time ago, someone told me one of the truest love stories. It was this: the real value of your life is how well you loved and were loved back. In an age where people, places and moments are too easily replaced, societal norm has acclimatized to a kind of social media dating that is anything but normal. I have often pondered what impact this modern re-invention of romance would have on me if I were 10-years-old today. I grew up where liking a boy meant a stomach of fluttering butterflies if he looked at me. At 10-years-old, my idea of romance or love stories was the way your…