Recently, in an experiment, scientists discovered that oxytocin helps reduce stress, especially for individuals engaged in activities before an audience.
The Role of Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the human brain and other animals, particularly in the hypothalamus. It plays a crucial role in regulating the brain in relation to issues concerning love and sexuality. For this reason, oxytocin is affectionately nicknamed the “love hormone“.
This hormone acts as a catalyst for connecting human relationships. Additionally, it provides certain health benefits, such as: reducing stress, enhancing memory, and effectively alleviating pain.
Oxytocin is typically released during sexual intercourse or through other intimate gestures like hugging, kissing, and hand-holding among couples. In females, oxytocin is involved in reproductive processes, helping to stimulate labor and increase milk production during breastfeeding. For males, oxytocin aids in the easier movement of sperm.
Intimate gestures help release oxytocin.
Oxytocin May Help Reduce Stress
In recent years, some neuroscientists have explored the potential benefits of using oxytocin to alleviate anxiety and social stress, as well as to support cognitive processes. Although some studies have yielded intriguing results, the therapeutic potential of oxytocin remains unclear.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) recently conducted a special study to investigate whether administering oxytocin to professional singers before performing in public would reduce their anxiety and improve their feelings of anxiety afterward. This finding, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, provided an intriguing new insight into how oxytocin may affect human self-perception and cognition.
In the article published, the researchers stated: “The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a single dose of 24 IU of intranasal oxytocin on professional singers performing in front of an audience. The singers will self-assess their performance and mood. This study will consider whether oxytocin has potential efficacy in treating anxiety, cognitive processes, and reducing social stress.”
The lead researcher, Dr. Flávia de Lima Osório, and her colleagues conducted the experiment on 54 male professional singers in Brazil. These singers were asked to perform in front of an audience in an environment similar to the audiences they typically perform for. Before and after their performances, each participant was required to complete two questionnaires: one assessing their mood and the other regarding their self-perception and performance.
Before the performance, half of the singers in the study were administered a dose of oxytocin intranasally, while the other half received a placebo. The results revealed that the researchers observed some differences in how those receiving oxytocin felt about their performance.
Essentially, the findings gathered by this research team indicated that oxytocin could make professional singers or other performers feel more confident about their performances. This means they felt they performed better and that the audience enjoyed the show more.
However, in the study, the use of oxytocin appeared to have no effect on the anxiety experienced by professional singers during their performances, suggesting that it may not directly influence physiological stress levels.
The researchers concluded: “Oxytocin may mitigate social stress, particularly during performances.”
This discovery is exploratory in nature and requires further research in the future to clearly determine whether the use of oxytocin is indeed relevant for musicians, especially those frequently affected by negative thoughts and high anxiety when performing in public.
