Why Oxytocin Is So Important For Your Health & Happiness

Oxytocin ain’t just for bonding with babies.

Did you know the oxytocin is both a hormone AND a neurotransmitter?

That both women and men produce it?

That the oxytocin system is the calm-and-connection antidote to our fight-or-flight crazy world? ✈️

Oxytocin is created in the hypothalamus and then heads to the posterior part of the pituitary gland. From there, it is released into the blood to be distributed throughout the body.

BUT, it also is delivered directly from the hypothalamus to the nervous system as a neurotransmitter. So it’s a double your pleasure situation!

What does it look like when your oxytocin system is engaged? You feel pleasure, relaxation, connection to others, a sense of quiet and ease. Physically, your body experiences lowers blood pressure and heart rate, increases circulation in the skin (think glow!), and very importantly, your digestion improves, you absorb more nutrients, and re-up your nutrient store.

Being in your oxytocin system isn’t simply about the absence of stress – it can be intentionally engaged. AND, it plays a role in regulating your cortisol and supporting over-worked adrenals, which are producing our stress hormone cortisol.

Accessing Oxytocin

How to do that exactly? Here’s a few ways:

✨Grounding. Have you heard of this? In a nutshell, it’s about connecting our bodies to the Earth.

The Earth has an electrical charge, and that’s why our technology is ultimately connected to it via polls and stations – the electricity has to be grounded in order to not go haywire. Same goes for our bodies. 
When we aren’t connected to the Earth, our own energetic systems can go haywire – particularly when we are under constant stress that spikes, and eventually lowers, our cortisol.

Getting your hands and feet into the dirt stimulates oxytocin, and helps reset the diurnal patterns of cortisol. There’s even a 2004 study that shows this:

“Results indicate that grounding the human body to earth (“earthing”) during sleep reduces night-time levels of cortisol and resynchronizes cortisol hormone secretion more in alignment with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythm profile. Changes were most apparent in females.”

Better yet, grounding helps reduce inflammation and acts as a support for those suffering from autoimmune disorders as noted in a 2015 study:

“Grounding reduces pain and alters the numbers of circulating neutrophils and lymphocytes, and also affects various circulating chemical factors related to inflammation.”

So yes, it’s worth getting your hands and feet dirty, bundling up during winter and going for a hike, and cozying up to a tree on a consistent basis to help lift your oxytocin and level out your cortisol.

✨Socializing. Spending time with family and friends is imperative to our health, especially as we age. Part of the reason why is because socializing produces oxytocin.

✨Physical Touch. Most of us are aware that hugging for at least 30 seconds produces oxytocin, as well as giving birth, but giving or getting massages, petting animals, and of course, having sex also produce oxytocin.

✨Helping Others. Selfless acts can also promote oxytocin release. Petting A

Oxytocin, Cortisol, & Sleep

Oxytocin and cortisol oppose each other. So when we are in our flight-or-flight mode, it can be hard to access the feel-good hormone oxytocin.

Alongside what we just covered to produce oxytocin, a BIG player in regulating your cortisol is to get good sleep.

The truth is, your disrupted sleep patterns more than likely have to do with what we call “dysregulated” cortisol.

As a quick reminder, cortisol should be at its highest in the morning and drop to its lowest at night, where melatonin takes over to help you get – and stay – asleep.

What are some ways to turn this bus around if you deal with high nighttime cortisol? Well, you pretty much always need to begin with lifestyle changes, including:

✨Good sleep hygiene (dark room, cooler temps with heavy blankets, no sound, no technology in the room, WiFi unplugged)

✨Switch off technology at least 1-2 hours before going to bed

✨Calming nighttime rituals – favorites include epsom salt baths, infrared sauna, vaginal steaming, and castor oil packs.

✨To bed no later than 11pm, though 10pm is better

✨Designated times throughout the day to get into your parasympathetic nervous system via meditation, visualization, breath work, yoga or stretching

Herbal & Nutrient Supports

Now, I know some people need a bit of extra help while making these lifestyle changes, and you want to get off sleep meds. Here’s some things that can help:

✨Adaptogenic herbs – holy basil, chamomile, lemon balm, and valerian are a couple of good options. Some of my favorites include ZenBiome Sleep, ProThrivers Wellness Sleep, and Cortisol Manager, all of which can be found in my Fullscript store for 10% off.


✨Phosphatidylserine, which helps regulate the hypothalamus and pituitary glands that oversee cortisol production. Seriphos is my favorite brand, which is also on Fullscript.


✨Magnesium

✨L-theanine, an amino acid that promotes relaxation

✨GABA – there is a lot of debate over whether GABA supplements cross the blood-brain barrier, amongst other issues. Liposomal GABA seems to cut through some of this, and Quicksilver Scientific has a combo GABA/theanine liposomal option


✨Taurine – when I need to break out the big guns, I turn to the amino acid Taurine. It knocks me out like a sleeping pill would.

✨Melatonin – although it was previously believed that if we took melatonin for longer periods of time, our own melatonin production would stop, this has been debunked. It also has an anticancer effect, as well as potential anti-arthritic effects, and can reduce the severity of long Covid.

When we start to really hone in on our cortisol rhythm, that helps us better access oxytocin, which is really one of the best ways to truly enjoy your life!

Let us know in the comments – are you feeling joy in your life? Do you utilize the hacks mentioned above? Are you enjoying good sleep?