After participants got either a spritz of oxytocin or a placebo, they rated pictures of 48 men and women for attractiveness and 30 for trustworthiness. Her team also tested for mood. Following the procedure, researchers found that volunteers who received oxytocin rated male and female strangers as both more attractive and trusting. Researchers did not examine how oxytocin could affect social judgements, but Theodoridou speculates that the hormone dampens brain activity in a region involved in processing fearful emotions, called the amygdala. Although Theodoridou’s study shows that oxytocin acts similarly on men and women when rating strangers, sex differences could emerge in real-world situations, says Jennifer Bartz, a psychologist at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York.

Described the oxytocin released during labour as a ‘cocktail of love hormones’ which I think is a lovely description. “But he said they are shy hormones and the mum in labour has to feel safe for them to be released. “She has to be with someone she trusts and loves. “Fear equates to tension which equates to pain. “Endorphins are 200 times more powerful than morphine and when you get them, your baby gets them too and loves them. “The more you relax, the more you release endorphins, the more you release endorphins, the more you relax. “And a calm birth leads to a naturally calmer baby.

You know, when you have kids you spend all of your time hugging your kids, you’re dressing your kids, you’re doting on your kids, and you really stop doing that with each other,” Kerner said. “There was a recent study that came out that showed if you just hug your partner for 20 seconds it increases oxytocin levels, which actually increases a sense of connectedness, and a bond. So that’s why all of that hugging and kissing, and cuddling. “Sitting next to each other and holding hands, it’s really important that you do that as a couple and not just through your kids,” Kerner added.

In the latest trial, Theodoridou’s team tested 96 men and women in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. After participants got either a spritz of oxytocin or a placebo, they rated pictures of 48 men and women for attractiveness and 30 for trustworthiness. Her team also tested for mood. No matter their sex or mood, volunteers who received oxytocin rated male and female strangers as both more attractive and trusting.