Hormones and behavior

Cause and Effect

Often we are introduced with news or facts about some unusual human actions. During numerous wars our kind has fought, people have been able to endure things they could not possibly survive otherwise. Additionally, people get an unusual amount of strength during life threatening situations. Then, they can run faster, endure more physical stress, and gain incredible amount of strength. Behind these, and many other situations there is nothing more than our hormones reacting to the instructions of our brain. Namely, once thinking that it opposing a threat, our brain will issue commands for adrenaline production, enabling us the abnormal traits necessary for escaping or fighting off danger. Moreover, this goes out for sex as well, only in a different way. People start feeling attraction to one another once a different hormone has done its part. Therefore, these chemicals have plenty of influence to our mind and behavioral patterns.

How Does It Work?

In order for hormones to be produced and distributed to various different parts of our body, we have glands. Each different type of gland in our organism serves a different function, being able to produce hormones causing different effects upon our behavior. Controlled by the brain, hormones, once produced, are transferred to different body tissue parts by bloodvessels.

How Do Hormones Affect Us?

As far as children are concerned, their hormonal activity reaches its peak during puberty and adolescence. Then, their hormones influence their physical development and growth, their sexual desire and recognition, the growth of their facial, body and pubic hair and trigger numerous other different changes. In this phase, children are prone to mood swings, abnormal eating as well as falling in and out of love often.

Women get influenced by hormones quite often. During their ovulation period, their personality may temporarily change, and they may become more sexually attracted to men, prone to flirting and using means of seduction, all triggered by hormonal activity. Once pregnant, women tend to sleep more, have extreme cravings for different kinds of food, suffer from constipation, change their mood, and do many otherwise unusual things. Also, researches have shown that women may read emotions from other peoples' faces better while in this phase. Finally, at older age, women get into menopause. Then, their organisms change once again, as well as their hormonal balances. Thus, they are prone to mood changes, hot flashes, depression and many other behavioralphenomenons.

As for men, they are heavily influenced by testosterone. This hormone triggers their sexual desire, aggressiveness and competitive spirit, as well as their overall mood, which is prone to changes every 20 min.

All in all, it is important to know that we can ignore hormones, and stay ourselves if our will is strong. However, once we are not paying attention, hormones may control us easily and change our behavior completely.