What are Happy Hormones?—and How to Increase Them
What are happy hormones?
According to science, we have four main “feel good" hormones: serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin.
They all work in their own way to create feelings of happiness, well being, relaxation, satisfaction, pleasure, and love.
Sounds good, right?
So, what can we do to harness the power of these hormones?
Here’s a list of healthy ways to promote the natural production of happy hormones within your body and lead you to feeling good.
1. Serotonin
Serotonin is a chemical produced by nerve cells. It helps your body to communicate with itself by sending messages between different nerve cells and your brain.
Serotonin is believed to play a large part in the regulation of your mood.
This is why many doctors will prescribe pharmaceutical medication that is meant to increase the amount of serotonin in your brain (known as SSRIs) when patients are suffering from mental health disorders such as depression.
In addition to mood regulation, serotonin can affect many aspects of your wellbeing including things like sleep health, digestive health, and even the ability to heal wounds.
Here’s a fun fact:
Only about 10% of serotonin is produced in your brain.
The other 90% is made in your gut.
It comes from the essential amino acid tryptophan, which you obtain via your diet.
Therefore, you can increase your serotonin levels simply by changing your diet.
Plant-based foods containing this essential amino acid include:
Cashews
Pistachios
Almonds
Pepitas
Mushrooms
Tofu (or soybeans in general)
Chia seeds
Spirulina
Leafy greens
Cauliflower
Cucumber
The list goes on.
Other natural ways to increase your serotonin level:
Exercise (via initiating the release of tryptophan into the bloodstream)
Getting outside when it’s sunny. Research shows that bright sunlight affects serotonin levels.
Meditation (via increasing blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, among other things)
2. Dopamine
The pleasure hormone.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that, like serotonin, sends messages between different nerve cells and nerve cells and the brain.
Dopamine is involved in motivation and your body’s natural reward system.
It’s released when you participate in activities that make you feel super relaxed or happy.
This release in dopamine is meant to prompt you to do that same activity again.
Healthy ways to trigger a dopamine response include:
Exercise
Meditation
Massage
Being in nature
Bright sunlight
Having good sex
Spoiler alert: Dopamine can also be increased via your diet.
The amino acid Tyrosine plays a part in your dopamine levels and can be found in foods like:
Tofu (or soybeans in general)
Lentils
Pepitas
Wild rice
Sesame seeds
Chickpeas
Beans
Nuts
3. Endorphins
Interestingly, your body releases endorphins in response to pain or stress as a way to relieve the stressor. They activate your body’s opioid response.
They’re essentially a natural, healthy pain killer.
(Our bodies are seriously so intelligent.)
Endorphins promote happiness, a sense of relaxation, well-being, and can even make you feel euphoric.
Healthy natural ways to increase endorphins:
EXERCISE (I talk more about this in my post on exercise + mental health)
Acupuncture
Meditation
Massage
Laughter
Having good sex
Bright sunlight
4. Oxytocin
The love hormone.
Oxytocin is produced in your hypothalamus and released via the pituitary gland.
It’s super important when it comes to making babies and its main function is to help facilitate childbirth and lactation.
Outside of childbirth, oxytocin can help create trust in a relationship, form attachment, and promote sexual arousal.
It’s part of why being in love feels so dang good.
Here are healthy ways you can naturally boost oxytocin:
Massage (self or with a partner)
Snuggling (a pet or a human)
Hugging or holding hands
Meditation
Gentle yoga
Listening to music
Having good sex
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