The Fertility Fitness Podcast

Fertility Focus on Oxytocin

Episode Summary

In this week’s show I am talking about the beautiful hormone that is Oxytocin!

Episode Notes

In this week’s show I am talking about the beautiful hormone that is Oxytocin! This episode goes hand in hand with last week’s focus on Cortisol, so if you have not yet listened to the episode on Cortisol, please make sure you do. Oxytocin is commonly known as the love hormone, and whilst it’s main function is to help with child birth, it can also be a huge factor in bonding, feeling love, reducing anxiety, and importantly, counteracting the effects of stress. 

• Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, and is often referred to as the "love hormone" or "cuddle hormone."
• It plays a key role in childbirth, sexual arousal, and love, and is linked to life satisfaction levels, with women generally having a higher response to it than men.
• Oxytocin stimulates serotonin and dopamine, which help us feel good and lower anxiety, and can buffer the negative effects of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Ways to increase oxytocin levels include high-intensity exercise, singing in a group, and interacting with pets such as dogs.
• Oxytocin has important implications for fertility, stress management, and overall well-being.

Maria, is a PT who specialises in helping women have babies. 

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Episode Transcription

Welcome to Fertility Focus, this is a weekly minisode designed to help you improve your fertility. Every Tuesday I will be focusing on actionable steps to help you take control of your own ttc journey. 

I’m Maria, I’m a personal trainer specialising in fertility. Whether you are preparing for IVF, managing your BMI or ready to throw everything  you have at your own trying to conceive journey, tune in each week to hear more. 

In this week’s show I am talking about the beautiful hormone that is Oxytocin. This episode goes hand in hand with last week’s focus on Cortisol, so if you have not yet listened to the episode on Cortisol, please make sure you do. Oxytocin is commonly known as the love hormone, and whilst it’s main function is to help with child birth, it can also be a huge factor in bonding, feeling love, reducing anxiety, and importantly, counteracting the effects of stress. 

So here are 5 key things you need to know about oxytocin. 

1. Oxytocin is a hormone that’s produced in the hypothalamus and released into the bloodstream by the pituitary gland. Oxytocin has a huge role to play in child birth but our bodies also produce oxytocin when we’re excited by our sexual partner, and when we fall in love. That’s why it has earned the nicknames, "love hormone" and "cuddle hormone."
2. It is perhaps not surprising that oxytocin has been linked  to life satisfaction levels however there do seem to be differences in how it affects men and women and it appears to play a larger role in women’s physiology and happiness than men’s.  Oxytocin is mainly correlated with a loving touch and close relationships, and the good news is this hormone also stimulates serotonin and dopamine, while lowering anxiety. Serotonin and dopamine help us feel good, and I am sure that anyone who has experienced infertility can relate to how horrible anxiety can feel. So not only is oxytocin awesome on its own, it also supports our other feel good hormones.
3. Last week we talked about the stress hormone cortisol and how cortisol can have a negative impact on your fertility. Well, here’s the great news. Oxytocin can lessen the effects of cortisol. Oxytocin acts as a stress buffer so it will help your body maintain reasonable levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This is amazing news for anyone experiencing the stressful effects of infertility, but also has loving, supportive relationships, as these relationships can help to increase levels of oxytocin and so buffer the negative effects of stress.
4. How else can you improve your oxytocin levels? You guessed it. Exercise!! One study noted a jump in oxytocin levels measured in participants’ saliva after high-intensity martial arts training. If you have not quite started fitness training yet, or perhaps martial arts aren’t your thing, don’t worry, music has also been shown to increase oxytocin levels, especially when singing in a group, so anyone listening who is in a choir, this is fantastic news. If you are not in a choir, don’t worry, just make sure to belt out those tunes when you are in the shower every morning. 
5. If singing in the shower isn’t quite your thing either, consider getting a dog. Research has shown that petting a dog lowers the stress hormone cortisol , and the social interaction between people and their dogs actually increases levels of the oxytocin thereby lowering stress, reducing anxiety and helping you feel more satisfied with life. 

If you want to get fitter for your own ttc journey, head over to fitnessfertility.com and sign up for my awesome free workouts. Also, follow me on instagram at fitness_fertility,  where you will find a fabulous community of other women who are also trying to conceive. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Fitness Fertility Podcast, and tune in every Friday to hear interviews with fertility experts and in-depth discussions on all aspects of fitness and fertility. 

And one more thing, please share the show, because you never know who is struggling and may need that little bit of extra help.