Butterflies in your stomach are caused by a lack of blood

You probably are all familiar with that sensation in the stomach best described as ‘butterflies in the stomach’. That is the result of your body’s response to stress – yes, even when someone you have feelings for happens to be near you.

When individuals are stressed, they experience what is called a fight-or-flight response. Brain signals are transmitted to the pituitary gland and hypothalamus – the parts of the brain tasked with controlling bodily functions. The pituitary gland then alerts the adrenal glands which rest above each kidney. The adrenals release adrenaline and other chemicals into your bloodstream.
It’s the adrenaline that causes increased blood pressure, a rapid heart rate and improved circulation of muscle to enable you deal with or take off from the source of your stress. With blood flowing to your muscles and lungs, not much of it is reaching the other organs – the stomach included. And it is this that causes the butterflies in the stomach.