Glossary
Oxytocin
It is released by touch and by orgasm. The nickname cuddle hormone is only half right.
What is oxytocin?
Oxytocin is a hormone and neuropeptide that your brain produces and that is released by touch, sex, orgasm, childbirth, and breastfeeding. It plays a part in bonding and relaxation. The nickname “cuddle hormone” sums that up nicely, but it simplifies what the evidence actually shows.
| Also known as | the cuddle hormone, a simplified nickname |
| Category | a hormone that plays into the sexual response cycle |
| Where it comes from | produced in the hypothalamus, released via the pituitary gland |
| Released by | touch, sex and orgasm, childbirth and breastfeeding |
| Important nuance | the “trust hormone” claim is weakly supported scientifically |
What oxytocin is proven to do
Part of the story stands firm. Oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus and released via the pituitary gland, and it sets off, among other things, labor contractions and the let-down reflex in breastfeeding. In sex it plays a part too: Marie Carmichael and colleagues measured as far back as 1987 that the oxytocin level in the blood rises during the human sexual response, peaking around orgasm. That makes oxytocin one of the substances that color the relaxation and the sense of connection after sex, alongside endorphin, for one.
Why you take the folklore with a grain of salt
The popular version overshoots. Oxytocin is often called “the love” or “trust hormone”, as if a spray makes you fall in love or more credulous. It isn’t that simple. Gideon Nave, Colin Camerer, and Michael McCullough concluded after a critical review that the evidence oxytocin raises trust in people is weak and not robust. What remains is more sober: oxytocin belongs with touch, sex, and care, but it is no button for love or trust. Anyone who wants to know more about the physiology can turn to their GP or reliable medical sources; this page explains a term and is not medical advice.
Where this fits on this site
That touch and closeness stir something in you is not a sales pitch but partly just physiology. I promise you no hormone rush, but time and attention in which relaxation gets the room. There is more on the need for touch at skin hunger.
Sources
- Plasma Oxytocin Increases in the Human Sexual Response. Marie S. Carmichael, Richard Humbert, Jean Dixen, Glenn Palmisano et al., The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 64(1), 1987. Gives that the oxytocin level in the blood rises during the human sexual response, peaking around orgasm.
- Does Oxytocin Increase Trust in Humans? A Critical Review of Research. Gideon Nave, Colin Camerer & Michael McCullough, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(6), 772–789, 2015. Gives that the evidence oxytocin raises trust in people is weak and not robust.
- Oxytocin. Encyclopedia entry. Gives that oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus and released via the pituitary gland, and plays a part in childbirth, breastfeeding, and social bonding.
Related terms
Oxytocin is one of the substances that play into sex and touch. The terms below sit next to it.
- Sexual response cycle. The model of the phases in which oxytocin peaks around orgasm.
- Endorphin. Another of the body’s own substances that colors the relaxation after sex.
- Adrenaline. The hormone of tension and arousal, the opposite pole to the calm of oxytocin.
- Skin hunger. The need for touch, in which oxytocin plays a part.
- Libido. The appetite for sex, which the hormone story sits around.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about this term
Is oxytocin really the cuddle or love hormone?
Only half. Oxytocin is demonstrably released by touch, sex, and orgasm, and plays a part in childbirth and breastfeeding. But the popular claim that it raises your trust is, according to a critical review by Nave and colleagues, weakly supported. It is no button for love or trust.
Who can you turn to with questions about oxytocin?
For the medical side of hormones, your GP and reliable medical sources are the right place. As for me, I’m Victor, a gigolo and psychotherapist by background, not a doctor. I’m glad to think along, with no obligation, about how touch and closeness bring relaxation, through the contact form or first chat for free.
Learn more
Still have questions about oxytocin?
I'm Victor. I promise no hormone rush, but time and attention in which relaxation gets the room. Feel free to ask what's on your mind, no obligation, and I'll text you back when it suits you.