5 Ways Love Makes You Smarter

I FOUND A VERY INTERESTING LINK! =D 

5 WAYS LOVE MAKES YOU SMARTER:

Firstly, marry someone similar to you, if a bit smarter. Well apparently that's one of the ways. XP A Seattle Longitudinal Study looked at 169 couples in 7-year intervals between 1956 and 1984 and found that the most stable relationships were those in which people were similar in intelligence, flexibility of attitudes, social responsibility, and education levels. Researchers also found out that after 14 years together, spouses with the better grasp of verbal meanings and word fluency had pulled the lower-functioning spouses up to their level. 

I kinda agree. :) Actually dear mentioned something similar before too. Try to think of it this way, you and your spouse must somehow be similar, in terms of intelligence too I think. At least the two of you will have the same discussion topics and you'll be able to understand each other's thoughts more easily? :) One more thing, I always hope I can help dear out whenever he faces any problems.. I'll somehow feel terrible when I can't. >< 

Next, hold hands whenever possible. XD In addition to creating feelings of warmth and closeness, holding hands can help inoculate you from stress. One study using brain scans found out that when married women were told they were about to receive an electric shock, just holding their husbands' hands minimized their brains' response to the threat. Women in the closest relationships experienced the greatest decrease in stress-related brain activity.

Erhem, I don't mind holding his hands for the whole day hahahaha. The warmth of his hands DO make me feel calm when I get panicky. There were a few times when I was afraid and I felt alone, he held my hand tight in his warm ones when I didn't expect him to. I still remember once when we were on his car. :) I was over stressed and scared.. I didn't know what to do, and then he reached out for my hand and there, my pipe overflew. == Okay this is embarrassing. >< But yea, I like him holding my hands. :P

Number three, kiss at least once a day. According to the link, this intimate touch triggers the release of the bonding hormone oxytocin and lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Not only that, researches say that when we kiss, we activate nearly half of the cranial nerves that affect cerebral function. All of the sensory information of a kiss -- the smell and and warmth of your partner's skin, the taste and feel of soft lips -- shoots into your brain, delighting your neurons and forging new connections.

Wow see how the passage makes kissing so holiao. @@ Okay the activation thingey does exist and come on, don't tell me your cells or hormones or anything stay calm when you're anywhere near your loved ones? (=3=) 

Oh this is very useful. XD Put pictures of your honey on your desk. ^^ Brain scans show that looking at a photo of your beloved, especially in the early stages of your relationship, activates a part of the brain associated with pleasure and reward as well as focused attention and motivation. This same area is triggered when a cocaine addict gets a fix -- so you could literally get a healthy 'high' from looking at a picture of your love.

I planned to get a photo frame with his photo actually.. But I ended up giving him three small ones instead. XP  Looking at his photos do help. Like when I'm tired, or I miss him a great deal, I'll just take out my cell phone -- Yea I have most of his photos in my phone. XP It's amazing to find that one can actually smile by just looking at a person's photos.. One day I'll get one of our best photos framed to be put on my desk. ^^

Last but not least, just be together. :) A study found that average blood pressure was lower when a person spent time with his or her spouse than when they spent time alone or with other people. Even if you don't talk, just spend time in the same room, reading, watching TV, surfing the web, or doing crossword puzzles.

This reminds me of that time when I went to dear's house to do my assignments. Something was wrong with my broadband so I had to go and leech his Streamyx. >< It was a very different experience. It was like, we didn't talk that much when compared to as usual, but I didn't feel lonely at all. :)  Instead I felt like he actually accompanied me for the whole day. <3 It was very nice. ><

I miss him even more now.. Sigh.