I trust that some may have eaten two to three times their normal intake at last night's dinner. The food hangover is a rough one. Bloating, sluggishness. sounds sexy.
So in honor of over indulgence I thought I'd write about what happens to the brain when you over indulge in sex. It's a lot prettier than indigestion.
We all have our pleasure spots unique to us. The places on our body where, when touched, rubbed or licked send the euphoric waves of orgasm coursing through our system. However, we can all unite in the erogenous zone between the ears.
Ah yes, the beautiful and sexy amydala, located in the limbic system, otherwise known as our mammalian brain. This region of the brain has been keeping us alive by using neurochemicals that give us the primal desire to eat, drink, feel, love, fight and have sex. Sandwiched in between our nice, big rational neo-cortex and the more basic survival region, the central core, the limbic system is where our pleasure neurochemicals are released.
The way it works is to give us a rush of the chemical dopamine which goes off like a reward to your body; as in "yay! you found food have some dope" or "yay! you had sex here's some more dope!", kinda like when you cleaned your room or did household chores around the house for a couple of dollars. It is because of this, the dopamine pleasure pay off, that our urges seem out of control at times. The addictive part of you that "has to have it", yup that would be your limbic talking.
The amygdala, much like any paying job, doesn't hand out the same amount of dopamine for any menial task. You get a certain amount for imbibing water, eating certain foods and feeling certain emotions. Chocolate cake rewards one with more dopamine than a fresh salad because it contains more calories and your mammalian brain is still looking to survive, not knowing that, not only have we survived but we've been so good at survival that we now have type2 diabetes!
Again this is why we have a rational neo cortex to keep that wayward mammal in check.
Wasn't i going to talk about orgasms?
Orgasms are the biggest shot of Dopamine available to us (legally that is ). After a study done on brain scanning during orgasm it was found that the brain resembled that of a brain during a heroin rush, and like any heroin addict knows, that high has an equal low.
Your body must find it's homeostasis and that means a reduction of dopamine and a post coital hangover. You may notice a subtle difference in mood or in desire or presence.
You know the societal thought that men just want to sleep after sex? well, in part it's true. The depletion of dopamine right after orgasm is also a depletion in interest and it facilitates the surge of a peptide hormone called Prolcatin. Evidence shows that prolactin acts as a stress hormone like fight or flight as well as the type of stress that goes along with feeling defeated, despair or like giving up. It surges faster in men and in a more time release fashion in women, but it can come and go for up to 2 weeks for both sexes.
Because when one is up the other is down an equivalent mood manifests. The up and down roller coaster of satiating a desire and suffering it's hangover can be attributed to some other aspects of relationships like anxiety, depression and mood swings as well as loss of libido. One partner can be needy while the other removed. It can also encourage addiction to get the body back into a dopamine high.
One way of identifying the high/low affects is by abstaining for orgasm for a few weeks and recording the difference, if any, or stasis in your mood; then achieve orgasm and follow that for 2 weeks. Notice if you have a shift. Have you found more reasons to argue in your relationship? do you feel more morose or removed? I figure I'll give it a try to see where in the midst of the margin, i lay (This experiment will start next week however as I am going to visit my love this weekend). I'll write about what, if anything, I find.
Happy digestion and enjoy your black Friday!
**I feel that chemical imbalance is a catch phrase that we are all too eager to take a pill for, but I research sex and not mood disorders. Having said that, it is not uncommon for people to have too much of one and too little of another as far as their chemical make up goes. This article is meant to add some entertainment and information and not diagnose or instill fear.
***There are many minerals and vitamins available that can help replenish the brain's happy chemicals and you can find a table of contents on wikipedia. -Search for vitamin and mineral deficiency and you'll see each one's table
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment