Can stickers not only cure emo but also help lose weight?

Have you posted today?

When Tadpole is working overtime or feeling emo, he wants to find the girl next door to hang out with~

I felt healed the whole day after applying the patch!

Let me tell you a secret: not only hugging but also a series of physical contacts such as hugging, kissing and shaking hands can also make us feel happy (warm reminder: the premise of the above physical contacts is that both parties are willing and refuse harassment).

The secret to relaxation

The root of physical contact, such as kissing, shaking hands, etc., is that it can increase the activity of the vagus nerve, which can make people relax while lowering heart rate and blood pressure.

What is the Vagus Nerve?

The vagus nerve is the 10th cranial nerve, the longest and most widely distributed of the cranial nerves, containing sensory, motor and parasympathetic nerve fibers. The vagus nerve controls most organs of the respiratory and digestive systems, such as the sensation and movement of the heart and the secretion of glands.

Our vagus nerve, Image source: Wikipedia

The vagus nerve has many functions. In terms of mood regulation, 80% of the vagus nerve is afferent nerve fibers, whose function is to transmit sensory signals from our internal organs to the central nervous system, so that we can feel whether we are safe and help us regulate stress levels.

That is to say, on the basis that we do not reject physical contact with lovers, friends, relatives, etc., after hugging, kissing, holding hands and other actions, the activity intensity of the vagus nerve in our body will increase significantly. At this time, we will have many feelings of comfort and relaxation, and our mood will also improve.

So, are there other factors that can make us feel better?

Ding ding ding~ This is when serotonin comes on the scene.

Happy Serotonin

You may remember that we learned in biology class that the skin is the largest sensory organ in the human body, and there are abundant sensory nerves and motor nerves distributed on the skin.

Studies have found that a coin-sized piece of skin contains 25 meters of nerve fibers and more than a thousand nerve endings. Therefore, when people have physical contact with their loved ones, sensitive nerves can give them a sense of security, thereby promoting emotional communication.

Researchers have found that babies who are often touched by their parents from an early age are more likely to feel safe; and lovers who often have close contact with each other have a more stable and reliable emotional relationship.

Conversely, people who rarely have physical contact with others may crave these intimate gestures, a phenomenon known as "skin hunger."

So what does this have to do with serotonin?

Skin contact increases the production of serotonin in the human body and reduces the production of stress hormones (which rise when we feel dangerous and nervous), making us feel happy.

It is not difficult to imagine that the production of serotonin is the main source of the sense of security produced by sensitive nerves. Serotonin is also very appropriately called "happy hormone". It seems that serotonin is really a happy neurotransmitter that can make people feel happy.

It’s also worth mentioning that when we feel sad, the level of serotonin in our bodies decreases, which prompts us to eat, with the attendant risk of obesity.

Life is not easy, don't sigh, it will be better if you stick to it~

It turns out that sadness is the stumbling block on our road to losing weight! Stop being emo, serotonin exists in large quantities in our body, hurry up and be happy with Tadpole!

The benefits of stickers

The benefits of patching are far more than we imagined!

Can it slow down aging?

Can it help us lose weight?

Can it make us not emo?

Only children make choices, everything can be achieved with stickers!

Tadpole's Science Lecture:

When we apply the patch, the oxytocin content in our body will increase. Don't underestimate oxytocin, which is composed of 9 amino acids and plays an important role in the central nervous system, regulating both the peripheral and central nervous systems of humans.

Oxytocin can exert its corresponding effects by binding to oxytocin receptors in other parts of the body.

Schematic diagram of the oxytocin (solid line) and mesocortical limbic dopaminergic (dashed line) pathways. Image source: "Oxytocin improves social impairment in autistic patients by acting on the reward pathway"

It can be said that the pain during childbirth is the most painful moment a woman experiences in her life. Many people even choose to be DINKs because of their fear of childbirth pain.

Clinical trials have now proven that during painless childbirth, the proper use of oxytocin can help stimulate uterine contractions in pregnant women, significantly shorten the labor process, and reduce pain during childbirth.

Mother and child meet just after giving birth, Image source: pixabay

In addition, oxytocin can relieve stress, lower blood pressure and promote cell regeneration.

It can be understood that oxytocin can delay our aging to a certain extent.

In other words, if you stay close to each other and stay happy, it doesn't seem so far-fetched to stay as young as Tadpole.

Oxytocin can also regulate food intake and fat metabolism. Some scientists have found that long-term use of oxytocin can help reduce weight.

The secret behind this is that oxytocin reduces food intake by regulating the gastrointestinal vagal reflex, and participates in regulating anorexia by interacting with a large number of oxytocin receptors on the cell membrane. In addition, oxytocin can work together with leptin to function in the metabolic regulation center of the hypothalamus and regulate metabolism.

Then, at this point we can get the following virtuous cycle:

When the patch is applied, oxytocin is increased in the body --> the increase in oxytocin content --> it helps to lose weight and maintain body shape to a certain extent --> it is conducive to a healthy life.

However, oxytocin does more than just that.

Oxytocin, known as the "love hormone" and "intimacy hormone", plays an important role in the formation of trust and love.

In the central nervous system, oxytocin plays a role related to social behavior and is involved in the regulation of a series of behaviors such as our love and child-rearing.

Therefore, when we do the patching, the increase in oxytocin will improve our empathy to a certain extent, giving each other a sense of trust, making us feel more at ease.

Diagram of the neural processing model of oxytocin's effect on empathy response. Image source: "The Effect of Oxytocin on Empathy Response and Its Mechanism of Action"

In short, there are many benefits to sticking, so stick with your close ones and start a virtuous cycle together~

References:

【1】Zhou Ying. Caring for parents through physical contact. Golden Autumn. 2020, (20)

【2】Physical contact is good for health. Food and Drug. 2011,13(02)

【3】Wenwen. Physical contact can relieve fear. Science Review. 2014, (08)

【4】Yan Lixin, Sun Xiuping, Song Mingjing. The relationship between mental illness and obesity: the mechanism of action of oxytocin. Journal of Zoology. 2018, 53(01)

【5】Zhou Lina. Clinical analysis of the application of oxytocin in painless delivery. Chinese Journal of Modern Drug Application. 2018,12(17)

【6】Xue Bing, Wang Xuejiao, Ma Ning, Gao Jun. Advances in Psychological Science. 2021, 29(02) Oxytocin regulates psychological resilience: based on its mechanism of action on the hippocampus

【7】Li Mingjuan, Zhang Rong. Oxytocin improves social impairment in autistic patients by acting on the reward pathway. Progress in Physiological Sciences. 2021, 52(06)

【8】Yue Tong, Huang Xiting, Liu Guangyuan. Effects of oxytocin on empathic response and its mechanism of action. Advances in Psychological Science. 2018, 26(03)

END

Review expert: Ji Shi, biological field observer.

Tadpole Musical Notation original article, please indicate the source when reprinting

Editor/Xiao Xitushuo