Dopamine is triggered by the expectation of a reward. Flowers were a huge reward signal in the world our brain evolved in because they marked the coming of abundance after a hungry winter. Today we have enough to eat all year round so we don’t consciously link flowers with food. But the blossoming of a …
This chemical is often called the “bonding hormone.” Oxytocin creates the nice feeling of social trust, whether romantic love, maternal attachment, or group solidarity. We all know how hard this feeling is to find, and how easily it can be lost. That’s why we’re so eager for ways to stimulate it. Flowers help! Flowers stimulate …
This chemical is often mentioned in the context of anti-depressants, but research on monkeys in the twentieth century made it clear that the good feeling of serotonin is released when a mammal advances its social importance. Flowers can help you do that. Whether you grow them, buy them, or admire them from a distance, flowers …