What makes YOU happy?
Is it having a good job, a nice house or a nice car? Is it having people you love around you or even a pet? Is it taking a dream vacation? Sure these things can give us pleasure, but fundamental happiness is actually an inner chemical experience. These chemicals can be modulated by your environment, especially by what you eat, drink, and how you treat your body. We can alter our chemical makeup through exercise, meditation, food, and other mind-body practices. However, at the core of all this, there are four main neurochemicals (hormones) that have been recognized for being directly responsible for creating the emotions that allow us to feel happiness. In order to understand how to be happy it is important to understand the hormones responsible.
So what are these chemicals and how do we activate them?
The NEUROCHEMICALS of HAPPINESS
1. Dopamine - “The Reward Molecule”
Dopamine is a chemical messenger involved in reward, motivation, memory, attention, and even regulating body movement. It is responsible for reward-driven behavior and pleasure-seeking. Every type of reward-seeking behavior that has been studied increases the level of dopamine transmission in the brain. Low dopamine is linked to several mental health disorders, like ADHD and schizophrenia. Drugs like cocaine are known to increase dopamine fast, but also depletes your body and makes it more difficult to produce on your own.
Some of the best ways to naturally increase dopamine are:
Gut health: Take care of your microbiome by eating a plant-based diet high in fiber (especially soluble fiber), taking a good probiotic, and eating fermented foods. Several studies show that when consumed in large enough quantities, certain strains of bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria, can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in both animals and humans. In recent years, scientists have discovered that the gut and brain are closely linked. In fact, the gut is sometimes called the “second brain,” as it contains a large number of nerve cells that produce many neurotransmitter signaling molecules, including dopamine. It’s now clear that certain species of bacteria that live in your gut are also capable of producing dopamine, which may impact mood and behavior.
Exercise: You can boost endorphin levels and improve mood with as little as 10 minutes of aerobic activity but tend to be highest after at least 20 minutes.
Sleep: when dopamine is released in the brain, it creates feelings of alertness and wakefulness. Animal studies show that dopamine is released in large amounts in the morning when it’s time to wake up and that levels naturally fall in the evening when it’s time to go to sleep. However, lack of sleep appears to disrupt these natural rhythms. When people are forced to stay awake through the night, the availability of dopamine receptors in the brain is dramatically reduced by the next morning.
Meditation: The benefits of a regular meditation practice are immense, one of the benefits is associated with improved mental and physical health. Research has found that these benefits may be due to increased dopamine levels in the brain. One study including eight experienced meditation teachers found a 64% increase in dopamine production after meditating for one hour, compared to when resting quietly.
Sunlight: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), is a condition in which people feel sad or depressed during the winter season when they are not exposed to enough sunlight. It’s well known that periods of low sunshine exposure can lead to reduced levels of mood-boosting neurotransmitters, including dopamine, and that sunlight exposure can increase them. It’s generally advised to expose your limbs to about 20 minutes of sunlight a day without sunscreen and to limit sun exposure during peak hours when ultraviolet radiation is the strongest, typically between 10 AM and 2 PM. This may not be possible year-round if you live in a cold climate like me, so taking a vitamin D supplement can be helpful. You may want to have your levels tested and then take a supplement of between 5000-10,000 U per day.
Supplements: Several vitamins and minerals are needed to create dopamine. These include magnesium, iron, niacin, folate, and vitamin B6. If your body is deficient in one or more of these nutrients, you may have trouble making enough dopamine to meet your body’s needs. Blood work can determine if you are deficient in any of these nutrients. If so, you can supplement with a multivitamin as needed to bring your levels back up. Vitamin D is also recommended, I personally take 10,000 U a day in the Fall-Spring and 5000 U a day in Summer. Herbal supplements that can boost dopamine include munuca, St. Johns Wort, Ginko Biloba, ginseng, curcumin, oregano oil, and green tea. Caffeine can also boost cognitive performance, including by enhancing the release of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine.
2. Oxytocin - “The Love Hormone”
Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter produced in the hypothalamus that is associated with trust empathy, relationship-building, and sex. It is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone” or the "cuddling hormone" because its levels increase during hugging and orgasm. It may also have benefits as a treatment for a number of conditions, including depression, anxiety, and intestinal problems. This hormone provides us with the warm fuzzy feeling, by stimulating both dopamine and serotonin, and simultaneously reducing anxiety. Ways to increase oxytocin are by hugging someone, holding hands, cuddling with a pet, getting a massage, meditation, yoga, and bonding with loved ones. You don’t need someone else to release oxytocin. Performing abhyanga (self-massage), or any kind of self-care rituals can help to release oxytocin.
From a nutritional standpoint getting enough magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin C and healthy fats are all ways to increase levels of oxytocin. Vitamin C helps produce oxytocin and can be found in most fruit and vegetables such as peppers, citrus fruits, tomatoes, and broccoli. Vitamin D, actually a hormone, can be obtained through sunshine as discussed earlier, or as a supplement. Magnesium is required for the oxytocin receptor function and therefore proper signaling. You can get more magnesium by eating kale, spinach, Brazil nuts, pumpkin, flax and chia seeds, avocado, legumes, tofu, and dark chocolate.
3. Serotonin - “The Happiness Chemical”
Serotonin is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. It enables brain cells and other nervous system cells to communicate and helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion. Interestingly, 95% of the body’s supply of serotonin is manufactured in the gut (aka the second brain), so the well-being of our microbiome, and overall gastrointestinal tract, is vital to keeping our mood regulated. This is the chemical targeted by many pharmaceutical antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. This hormone impacts your entire body. To boost your serotonin it is a good idea to eat foods high in tryptophan including oats, nuts, seeds, pineapple, soy, tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils, oats, leafy greens, and bananas. Due to gut bacteria being a key player in serotonin production, it’s important to maintain good gut health. One of the keys is a high-fiber diet as this is known to fuel serotonin levels through the gut-brain axis by keeping your microbiome happy and healthy. In addition to taking a good quality probiotic (I love Seed), it is vital to eat prebiotic foods (to help feed the good bacteria in the gut), which includes oats, bananas, berries, asparagus, garlic, leeks, and onions. And to keep things moving through the digestive tract include soluble fiber like beans, chia seeds, psyllium husks, flax seeds, oats, pears, sweet potatoes, broccoli, figs, apricots, and apples.
Other ways to increase serotonin naturally include getting enough sunlight, getting enough sleep, exercise, meditation, reducing inflammation by eating a plant-based diet, and taking a turmeric supplement, or drinking turmeric teas and lattes. St. Johns Wort not only helps to increase dopamine as discussed earlier but also aid in regulating serotonin levels. Supplementing vitamin B levels also helps with serotonin, B vitamins assist with the conversion of serotonin from 5-HTP, and without it, we run the risk of developing a deficiency in serotonin neurotransmitter production. Be especially mindful of vitamin B12 if you are eating a plant-based diet. The minerals magnesium and zinc also elevate serotonin production in the brain. 4. Endorphins - “The Pain-Killing Molecule”
Endorphins are produced by the central nervous system to help us deal with physical pain. They are released during exercise, which is one of the reasons regular exercise is recommended for long-term health benefits. Endorphins are released after both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Studies have shown that even a 30-minute walk can significantly boost endorphins, reduce depression and improve our mood. Besides exercise, other ways to activate endorphins are through laughter, acupuncture, taking a hot bath, meditation, listening to music, sex, and eating cacao.
Endorphins play a role in natural reward circuits and are related to pleasurable activities like eating, drinking, physical fitness, and sexual intercourse. Endorphins also surge during pregnancy. They are known to minimize discomfort and pain and maximize pleasure. Since humans naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain, from an evolutionary standpoint, endorphins help ensure survival.
How can I increase these happiness hormones naturally?
I have always enjoyed the introspective mood of winter, as a time to reflect and go inward to set goals and explore self-improvement techniques. However, I do find that the shortened daylight and lack of sunshine often induce Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in me. This year I started taking the Happiness Tonic from Amina Mundi for about the past 6 weeks. I have found that along with other lifestyle changes, it has made a huge difference for me. It gives me a much-needed mood boost during these cold winter months, especially during this time of pandemic when we have all been in states of quarantine and away from normal activities and social interactions.
This formula is a mix of adaptogens, such as Rhodiola and ashwagandha, with powerfully supporting “happy herbs” like st. johns wort, mucuna and albizzia. These herbs together create a synergistic powerhouse that can help relieve stress, anxiety, and mood slumps. Hormone levels and mood are so closely intertwined as we have explored above, and this tonic can help stabilize hormone function, serotonin, and dopamine, as well as provide a soothing effect on the nervous system. While I am working to optimize my hormones and gut-health with a plant-based, high fiber diet, mind-body healing methods (like meditation, neural reprogramming, and cognitive therapy), infrared saunas, and other self-care practices, herbal treatments like this can help provide the support I need to feel good in the meantime.
We touch on some of these herbs but to give a quick summary of the herbs included in this tonic:
St. Johns wort: A strong anti-depressant and may elevate mood in those with mild to moderate depression. A 2016 review of 35 studies concluded that St. John’s wort reduced symptoms of mild to moderate depression more than a placebo and similar to prescription antidepressants.
Ashwaganda: An adaptogen that helps to lower cortisol levels, stress, anxiety, and depression. Stabilizes mood, resolves insomnia, and is a tonic to revitalize the entire body.
Rhodiola: An adaptogen that supports the function of the adrenal glands, encourages a healthy response to stress by encouraging cortisol levels and other stress-related hormones.
Mucuna: An adaptogen that boosts dopamine and serotonin receptors. Ayurveda, traditionally used mucuna to treat Parkinson's disease and has been shown to have neuroprotective effects, which may be related to its antioxidant activity. It also helps protect the body from the effects of stress.
Albizza: Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a tonic for the relief of anxiety, stress, and depression. Sometimes referred to as herbal "Prozac" it is also used for its calming and mood-enhancing properties. It has also been used to treat anyone suffering from grief, loss, or trauma.
The importance of gut health in optimizing mood and regulating hormones cannot be underappreciated. This is something I have known in principle for a long time but in the past months have really started to practice what I preach and heal my gut issues. It isn't something that happens overnight, but it is worth the effort and once you get into a new routine it becomes second nature. In fact, once things start to rebalance you find the system is more forgiving than it once was. For me, this meant switching to a plant-based diet and giving up alcohol for a while to really allow myself to heal. I found that these simple things corrected many other symptoms, fixed any sleep issues, and balanced my body naturally. In my next post, I will go into greater details about my routine and how this has positively impacted my health and wellness.
Comments