Oxytocin is the real “happy” brain chemical that we are all after. It lasts longer than dopamine and is a lot more rewarding in the long term. Sure, dopamine feels good when we eat our favorite food or receive a delivery at the door that we have waited for. But it quickly goes away again and we can find ourselves looking for the next hit of dopamine soon after.
Don’t take my word for it, and read the research yourself. Oxytocin is associated with trust behaviors and empathy towards others, including total strangers. It promotes increased generosity, trust, empathy, positive communication and helping behaviors. Basically, a lot of social behaviors that we like and that others like in us.
It can help regulate your stress responses, such as cortisol and inflammation reactivity, and so may be relevant to stress-related psychological disorders (McQuaid et al., 2014). Oxytocin is very much needed to help us find our social belonging and connectedness. And whilst our Calm Knight weighted blanket helps your body produce oxytocin, it’s better if you can start with a trusting, loving relationship too.
Great ways to increase your oxytocin with your loved ones include holding hands, sitting next to them with arms or legs touching whilst watching Netflix (the real Netflix and Chill!), lots of hugs and saying hello with a great big smile when they walk into the room.
Practise with the above first so that you can feel like you belong and are connected with your people again. And only then can we talk about how a blanket can help amplify oxytocin production in you and your loved ones.
