What is physical attraction


6 Signs of Physical Attraction and Why It Is so Important in a Relationship

In This Article

Almost everyone is familiar with the feeling of walking into a room full of friendly faces, and almost each of them seems nice and willing to talk, only one face stands out from the crowd. Despite the fact that there may be many physically attractive people in the room, you find it difficult to take your eyes off of this particular person.  

You can’t seem to exactly put your finger on the reasons; however, you are sure there’s a biological force or physical energy driving you toward a specific person. There is nothing like the first spark between you and that new person.

What is physical attraction?

Physical attraction refers to the degree of a person’s physical features that are considered beautiful or aesthetically pleasing to any specific person.

Physical attraction is a science. It is a reaction between the chemistry of two bodies, and there is nothing we can do to hide it anyway. We can be attracted to any other person without a single word being said.

Romantic attraction Vs Physical attraction

Both physical and romantic attraction fit in a relationship. However, there’s a fine line between the two attractions. Someone’s relationship may not be the same as yours; however, romantic attraction is actually the core of any relationship. There might be an excessive romantic attraction between some people, while others barely have any.

Hugging, dinner dates, cuddling, exchanging gifts, giving each other compliments, hand holding, and a lot of other sweet stuff fall under right under the romantic attraction in a relationship.

When it comes to physical attraction, that’s much more touching and involve the desire for a sexual relationship with someone. Another difference between a sexual attraction and physical attraction is that a typical physical attraction is felt right away and dissipates just as quickly as it came.

Obvious signs of physical attraction

In order to understand the way physical attraction works, all it takes is a little bit of intuition and idea how people react when they are next to someone they are attracted to. It is due to the reason that most of the communication is based on body language and little signs of affection.

To make it easier to see what are the signs of physical attraction between two people, below are the most common and obvious ones.

1. Smiling all the time

You may find it difficult to contain your smile when you are with someone who’s attractive to you. It feels good to be around them. The way someone looks at you tells a lot more than his works do. If you observe someone looking at you with a silly grin on their face, it’s a sign that they find you attractive.

2. Need for touching

One of the most obvious signs of strong physical attraction between two people is touching each other. They will look for an excuse to touch, that can be either a pat on shoulder or back or something more obvious like hugging and kissing.

3. Eye contact

Another sign of physical attraction is prolonged eye contact. However, the use of eye contact should be done correctly as it may be read as confusion.

4. Nervousness

Sweaty palm and being nervous could be a clear cut sign of attraction. When we find someone attractive in a certain way, we may feel insecure and less confident. It may include fidgeting with our hands, running our hands through hairs, playing with cellphones, etc.

5. Frequent whispering

Whispering in your ear can be an indication of your partner’s physical attraction. Couples who are attracted to each other will always be leaning in closer than the rest of the people as they share more of intimate chemistry.

6. Mirroring movements

It is said that couples with great chemistry are like a mirrored version of each other. So, if you find your partner is trying to mimic any of your expressions and movements, that’s a clear sign he’s attracted to you.

Importance of physical attraction

We make all sorts of assessments about someone within moments of meeting, including their physical attractiveness.  In order to know how important is physical attraction between two people, we gathered some points.

Lack of attraction results in a lack of affection

A lack of physical attraction can lead to a drop in affection. Affection can be manifested in the form of holding hands, kissing cuddling. Can a marriage survive without physical attraction? The answer is a big NO because its absence would be like eating a cake without the icing.

Lack of physical attraction equals poor sex life

Many people often have the question “is physical attraction important in long term relationship?” Studies have shown that the relationships lacking physical attraction end up having very compromised and unsatisfactory sex lives.  It is important to remember that physical attraction significantly impacts the level of physical intimacy and sexual drive between two lovers.

Lack of physical attraction equals lack of respect

When there is no attraction between two people or they’re not affectionate towards one another, chances are they won’t care about each other’s feelings or value their opinion, which might open the door for the lack of respect.

Share this article on

Share this article on

4 Things You Need to Know about Attraction

0 Comments

Author: E.C. LaMeaux

Everyone knows the feeling of walking into a room full of friendly faces, and although each person seems nice, open and willing to talk, only one face stands out from the crowd. There may be a lot of physically attractive people in the room, but you can't seem to take your eyes off of this one particular person. You can't put your finger on the reasons, but you know there's a biological force and physical energy driving you toward a specific type of person.

What causes us to be attracted to one person more than another? What attracts a man to a woman sexually? And vice versa with a woman to a man? Romantic attraction certainly isn't an exact science, but experts do have some ideas about what qualities attract more than others. Here are a few things you need to know about attraction.

1. Physical attraction is based on instinct

Most people can tell if they're attracted to someone in the first 90 seconds after they meet. April Masini, who regularly gives relationship advice on ABC Entertainment News and has authored books like Date Out of Your League, suggests that women are naturally attracted to men who exude confidence and passion, and who seem to lead exciting lives. Heterosexual women tend to be physically or sexually attracted to men with traditionally masculine features such as a muscular frame, a square jaw, big nose and small eyes. These physical traits often signify higher levels of testosterone, and are more common in "alpha males." Alpha males demonstrate a particular set of personality traits as well that include directness, decisiveness, and intensity.

What attracts a man to a woman sexually? Men are instinctively attracted to particular types of women. Large breasts and long hair tend to catch men's eyes, but Dr. Steven Platek, a neuroscientist, psychologist, and head researcher at Georgia Gwinnett College, reports that men's brains are particularly wired to be attracted to curvy women — especially women with wide hips and skinny waists. Statistically, those women also tend to be the ones who are most fertile.

2. Physical attraction doesn't necessarily lead to a good relationship

The primal sexual attraction you sometimes feel for certain people can be misleading.

According to Dr. Margaret Paul, a relationship expert who's appeared on Oprah and has her Ph.D. in psychology, initial physical attraction is a very poor indicator on how well a relationship will work out, which can lead to the feeling of abandonment. According to Dr. Paul, the alpha males to whom many women tend to be more attracted also tend to be more sexually promiscuous.

Many women say that when they're looking for a long-term relationship partner, they're actually looking for the opposite of an alpha-male: men who smile more, seem cooperative, and have more feminine features like full lips, wide eyes, and thin eyebrows. Strangely enough, frequent smiles and delicate features tend to be on a man's list of desired qualities in a long-term mate as well. But guys, watch out! Women cheat, too.

Dr. David Holmes is a psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University and a specialist in the area of personal relationships. He did a study on infidelity and found that 15 percent of women cheat nowadays, a percentage just slightly lower than that of their male counterparts.

3. Platonic attraction is important

In addition to how physically attractive your potential mate is, you also consider how trustworthy he or she seems and how romantic he or she is. For example, does he call when he says he will? Does she answer the phone when you call her? Does he notice little things and give compliments? Does she really listen when you talk about movies or sports you like? You also think about how similar you are to your potential mate. Common interests are often a building block to deep emotional connection.

Having a similar family background may be helpful too. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, a professor of philosophy and author of The Subtlety of Emotion, suggests that physical proximity, living close to your love interest, can be beneficial to the relationship. Believe it or not, just living in the same city or same neighborhood tends to make people feel more platonic attraction to one another.

4. The unattainable is attractive

We always want what we can't have. According to Helen Fisher, Ph.D., a professor with the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers and chief scientific advisor to the online dating service Chemistry, someone we consider "out-of-our-league" will always be attractive because they represent an ideal. It may be that we develop these frustrating crushes as a way to force ourselves to improve both our physical appearance and our social status. At the same time, what is most important is to love yourself and be patient, as it is impossible to fully love someone else without loving yourself first!




Also in Blog

Body Peace & Personal Empowerment

From the moment we’re born and take our first breath, we’re being socialized or learning what it means to be a member of the culture we were born into. We begin learning through both subtle and overt cues, messages, observations and images what the values and norms of that culture are in that time and place. We learn what is acceptable, desirable, worthy, valuable… and what isn’t.

Yoga for Swimmers: Poses for Strength and Mobility

Micha Shaw, former pro swimmer, walks us through five yoga poses that help athletes who perform repeated movements day in and day out, to not only increase flexibility, mobility and strength, but also bring awareness to movement patterns, enhance performance and stay injury-free.

Amanda Huggins: From Anxiety to Empowerment

Amanda Huggins, anxiety coach and Gaiam influencer, tells the story of how she transformed her anxiety into empowerment and offers journaling prompts to begin the process of understanding your relationship with anxiety.

How to distinguish physical attraction from love ❔

Sometimes it can be difficult for each of us to sort out our feelings and understand what we really feel for another person: love, sexual attraction, affection, or just sympathy. Especially for those who are now in such uncertainty, we decided to talk about how to still distinguish between simple attraction and true love.
Find out if your relationship is happy - read our article about their signs.

Sometimes it can be difficult for each of us to understand our feelings

You want to help

A very important difference is your desire to help your partner and support him in any difficult situations. If you are worried when he has difficulties at work or in the family, and are ready to listen and support him, it is unlikely that you experience this person only sexual attraction. Chances are you're connected to something much more than that. nine0013

And it works the same way in the other direction. If you ask for help and get rejected time after time, a request to handle it yourself or support like “Come on, everything will be fine”, most likely the person you are doubting about is not in love with you.

If you are ready to help a person in difficulties, then there is not only attraction between you

You do not want to part and strive to spend as much time as possible with each other

Most often, simple sexual attraction is limited to periodic evening and night dates, which can end before morning. If you spend constant time together and do not want to leave, there is a high probability that what is between you cannot be called just passion.

If you look forward to a meeting and get frustrated when it comes to an end, consider taking your relationship to the next level, because meeting a person with whom you really feel good and comfortable is really not so simply. nine0013

You don't make any of yourself

build nobody out of yourself. You are not trying to be better than you really are, you are not assigning yourself some non-existent qualities. You are just as calm about your appearance - do not run to make up as soon as you wake up, do not meet your partner exclusively in smart clothes, but you can calmly be with him in warm pajamas and your favorite home T-shirt. Around him, you just stay the way you are and behave the way you would behave alone or with your closest friends. nine0013

When "to be, not to seem" is your rule in life

You do not hide and are not ashamed of your partner seen, but only heard many stories about him. This is a very real person whom they have seen more than once, and who comes with you to birthdays, weddings and parties. If he has long been a friend or good acquaintance of your friends and fit into your company, most likely it is difficult to call him your little hobby. nine0013

By the way, embarrassment of oneself and one's choice (soulmate) helps to avoid good self-esteem. We have already written in the article "How to love yourself and strengthen self-esteem."

You talk for hours

When you are together, you never stop talking for a minute. You can discuss both the simplest things, like what happened in the last few days, and the global problems of the universe that concern you. It is always not enough for you to communicate with this person, and it seems that the topics for discussion will never end. What is very important - you share the most intimate, sometimes even what your closest people do not know about you. You are not afraid to entrust the most personal to this person. If all this fits your relationship, then there is definitely not only passion between you. nine0013

Communication with this person is never enough for you

You have joint plans

Most often, people who are together only because of sexual attraction do not have any plans. Because their relationship is limited to simple physical attraction, behind which there is no emotional component. Both understand that this is temporary, so they see no point in making far-reaching plans.

Things are quite different in those couples who are connected by love. Even if they are not yet making plans to get married and have children, they can discuss vacations together, renting a shared apartment, and planning joint activities. After all, you can start small. The main thing is that joint plans should be present in principle in your life. nine0013

You can make plans both for the next vacation and for joint projects

You have been together for a long time

As we have already said, attraction most often does not last long. After some time, it passes, and then two options are possible. Either relationships between people are transformed into something more, or they simply stop. If you and your partner are in a long-term relationship, it is likely that there are feelings between you that keep you together. At the same time, of course, it is worth mentioning that here we do not mean meetings once a month for three years. Of course, in such a relationship there can hardly be any talk of love. nine0013

You have common interests and like to spend time together, not only in bed

Common interests can be anything from watching all the new TV series together to skydiving, from embroidery to courses in philosophy . The main thing is that you like to do it together, that it has become your tradition - say, to meet every Friday and listen to lectures on quantum physics, and then drink coffee in your favorite cafe.

Any common interests and joint activities that are not related to your sex life indicate that you are at a certain level of mutual understanding when you want to spend time not only at night, but also share interests and everyday life with your partner. nine0013

It's great when you have common interests - for example, sports

You are always in touch

Whatever happens to you, your partner is always the first to know about it. Something joyful happened to you - you immediately share your happiness with him. You have some kind of trouble, or just a bad mood - you go to him again to share this and get support. Such communication speaks of a high level of intimacy and intimacy that cannot be achieved in a relationship that is based only on sex. nine0013

Besides, if you always learn everything first of all from the other person and know all his secrets, then, most likely, he is not with you because he feels exclusively attracted to you.

You feel it

In fact, everything is extremely easy - you just need to listen to yourself. Really listen and understand what your inner voice is telling you. Because he and your intuition are almost never wrong. If it seems to you that a person is with you only because of sex, or that he does not want to build any future with you, most likely it does not seem to you. nine0013

If you feel that it is with this person that you could share your life, if it is easy and comfortable for you to be together, and you cannot imagine yourself apart from him, then listen to yourself.

We are accustomed to deceive ourselves and often do not do what we want in the depths of our souls. But if you stop and hear what your inner voice is saying, you will know exactly what you need to do. The main thing is to be honest with yourself.

And if you want to know something more about relationships, then read our article on invme about how to get closer to your loved one .

everything that captivates us • musanews

Attraction comes from the Latin attraction -onis and indicates the action of attracting something to oneself . This is not the only meaning, but now there is we will focus on the attraction that is created between two people.

One of the first things to pay attention to is to understand if a partner is reaching out to us, è learn her body language. La posture, gestures and movements in general they can often be worth more than a thousand words. In this video we explain how interpret the signals your partner is giving you through your body.

Where does sexual desire originate?

We all put in place very specific strategies to get noticed by the person we like but what factor does it make accept physical attraction ? Ability to attraction is more of a skill , which in some cases was helped by some physical traits is able to ensure success.

- Advertisement -

However, in most cases you do not need to have doe eyes , angelic face and sensual lips for throw another at our feet , it all depends on our skills.

Unfortunately or fortunately the first thing noticed is the physical aspect of or: "the eye also wants its part" and for how long we know that a character is worth a lot more than e and everything we have inside, physical, for better or worse, is crucial in to describe the first impression.

© GettyImages

Remember: first impression, but not last , It's up to you to turn the result in your favor if things don't go the way you hoped.

The human brain can process human physical traits in less than two seconds 0148 what we have in front of us and give it an aesthetic assessment. Hair, complexion, clothes - all this is the first thing we notice without even realizing it.

All are cataloged and classified . Without saying a word, the interlocutor has already told us a lot, or rather, we have interpreted it. Therefore, when you say love at first sight , now we know what it means!

© GettyImages

Attraction: the role of hair and perfume

Hair frames 's face and is part of the list of the very first things sees. When we meet a new person we can tell if "Skin" we like it or not.

How do I hair fit, color, if I am straight or curly all these are factors that will affect the final decision. A well-groomed, shiny, thick hair he will certainly be attractive even in the eyes of an outsider.

What about the smell? Yeah, even our perfume or even the smell of the skin, which we often don't know about, greatly affects the seduction of a partner. Having an unpleasant or too aggressive smell will not help us : better I prefer natural flavors or with a fresh scent, which is always very popular.

© GettyImages

Do beauty and attractiveness go hand in hand? nine0021

A well-known proverb says: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" which means that often and willingly inner beauty conquers outer beauty.

Some people are not physically attractive but they have a way of doing things, laughing, certain gestures or more generally a personality that makes them irresistible.

All these non-physical characteristics they act like a real magnet for each other and ignite a spark mental attraction, which may immediately be followed by physics.

In addition, they play a fundamental role pheromones, substances secreted by a woman's body during ovulation and which cause them to rapidly increase testosterone levels in men.

- Advertisement -


© GettyImages

Other physical factors that cause sexual desire

in the game of seduction there are so many factors to consider that we have already mentioned some physical types, but there are others determinants in awakening interest in a representative of the opposite sex. Let's see what they are for both men and women.

  • Symmetrical edges

Symmetrical and harmonious faces invariably attract attention, always because the eye strives for beauty and perfection. Well-groomed face, radiant skin clearly affect the whole process.

  • Iris

More than the color of the eyes, the dark circle around the iris is striking: the brighter it is, the more attractive it will be. nine0013

  • Height

Height plays a key role for both men and women. Usually, women prefer tall, strong men who give a greater sense of security and security. On the contrary, men are attracted to small and short women.

  • Muscles

Expressed muscles are not always pleasant, it is very subjective. What is certain is that muscular men (as well as women) always make their figure and in most cases are extremely attractive. nine0013 © GettyImages

Wrinkles are attractive too

We used to always look for eternal youth miracle creams that make disappear all signs of aging until you get expensive surgeries get rid of even the last wrinkle on your face.

We want to reveal a secret: according to some recent studies conducted by the University of Madrid, men are also attracted to faces that are not necessarily young . A mature face has everything it takes to seduce and be attractive even with wrinkles.

In fact, all this is done in order to emphasize that some wrinkles, a scar, some thin lips, they are not considered defects, but distinctive features that can make us attractive.

© GettyImages

Love vs Attraction: What's the Difference?

Love is a direct result of attraction , but there may be exceptions. All it depends on the intentions of and the way we live. Therefore, it is not said that if we are attracted to a person, then we also love him.

Unfortunately, just from these situations, the first misunderstandings arise in a couple: one of the two may be already in the phase of falling in love , and the other could be stopped at a simple physical attraction.

Love disappointments are just around the corner we need to know how to identify them, and above all, establish a dialogue and be clear about your intentions from the start.

© GettyImages

The attraction also includes animals.

In fact, we are not that different from animals in the animal kingdom, the game of attraction and seduction is manifested in the same way as in man.


Learn more