How To Activate Your Happiness Chemicals or Hormones
Who doesn’t want to be energetic and happy? Of course, we all hate depressive feelings and thus begins our quest to open the doors to the chemicals of happiness and satisfaction. Emotions play an important role in our actions and thoughts. For example, if you like exercising, you will be more actively involved in it than someone who goes to the gym.
Interestingly, our emotions are controlled by chemicals in our body called hormones. These chemicals can cause us to feel happy, sad, crazy, weak, and more. They’re small things but have a radical impact on our minds and bodies. Here we will specifically isolate those hormones that directly influence our happiness levels. In addition, we will also discuss possible ways to activate and promote their action.
Which hormones are responsible for happiness?
There is no single biochemical bound to determine our level of happiness. There are some that contribute to our happiness by reducing stress, while others give us a rewarding feeling. The major hormones that control our happiness are:
serotonin
Serotonin is one of the happy hormones, so it even got a moniker, the feel-good hormone. In addition to our mood regulation, however, it also plays a role in gut health. This is proven by the fact of its predominant presence in the small intestine. Its balanced concentration keeps you satisfied, confident, high self-esteem, good appetite and memory. While a deficiency in this hormone can make a person anxious, depressed, agitated or obsessed with a particular idea.
Tips to activate serotonin:
1. eat good and healthy food
2. Bathe in the relaxing morning sunshine
3. take serotonin supplements
4. Don’t ignore exercise and physical activity
5. sleep well
Dopamine
This hormone is associated with pleasure, motivation and reward. Optimal levels of this hormone can make you work harder and feel rewarded in the end. Whereas low levels of dopamine can make you depressed throughout the day. You find it difficult to do your work or even lift a glass of water. If it is in high concentration, the person may feel restless, disorganized, and have involuntary movements. And dopamine is behind cravings for a variety of foods like alcohol, drugs, junk food, video games or coffee. They increase the secretion of this hormone, which makes you crave drugs more.
Tips to activate dopamine levels:
1. Exercise at least 30 minutes every day
2. Take care of your diet, it should be healthy
3. concentrate
4. recall happy memories
5. practice gratitude
6. massage with essential oils
oxytocin
Oxytocin is also called the love hormone, which makes you feel happy and satisfied. It is basically released when you spend time with your loved ones and stay away from stress. It makes you feel high and energetic. If you’ve been feeling excited, tired, and depressed lately, it could be a sign of poor oxytocin levels. These people are usually seen to be socially withdrawn, talk less and feel emotionless.
Tips to activate oxytocin:
1. get a nice relaxing massage
2. hug your family members or your friend
3. hug your pet
4. go on an outing with friends
5. meditate and exercise
Melatonin
Also called the anti-aging hormone, melatonin is responsible for regulating our body’s circadian rhythm. This signals your brain to sleep at night. This hormone keeps our brain and body aware of the time of day and even the season you are in. After sunset, the pineal gland begins to release melatonin, reaching a peak around 2 p.m. It helps us sleep, rejuvenates our body and mind, relieves stress and feels more confident and satisfied the next day. Melatonin deficiency can lead to many chronic diseases like obesity, cancer and diabetes. And the production of this hormone is highly influenced by keeping light sources like table lamp, or other lights on before sleeping and using the phone before sleeping.
Tips to activate melatonin:
1. Avoid using screens at least an hour before sleeping
2. Eat some cherries, as they are high in melatonin
3. keep the room dark while sleeping
4. Wearing loose clothes, it facilitates the secretion of this hormone
Adrenalin
Adrenaline is a hormone that is known to prepare us for certain potentially dangerous stimuli and for the fight response. It is produced in the adrenal glands at the top of each kidney. The adrenalin hormone basically acts as an alarm and keeps you focused on work. It helps prevent stress, by making you energetic for a particular task. Studies show that during stressful situations, adrenalin helps us think more effectively and we usually think 2-3 times faster. Therefore, it increases our comfort and thrill by pushing us towards something to avoid future pain and hence feel happy.
Tips to activate adrenalin:
1. practice deep breathing exercises
2. physical activities and meditation
3. play active sports
4. spend time with my family
Endorphin
Endorphins are secreted by the pituitary gland and are natural pain relievers. Although they do not eliminate the pain completely, they reduce it to a great extent. The higher the concentration of endorphins in your body, the happier and more active you will feel. Not only this, endorphins also enable people to perform well and face difficult situations. And people who lack this hormone can be very sensitive and touchy, have a low pain tolerance, And crave foods to distract themselves from negative emotions.
Tips to activate endorphins:
1. Eat foods with healthy fats like avocado, coconut and olives
2. get outside and get some sunshine
3. eat dark chocolate
4. laughter therapy
5. exercise and meditation
Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine or noradrenaline is produced in the central nervous system as well as in the adrenal glands. This hormone helps a person deal with difficult, demanding and dangerous situations and deal with stress. This causes us to increase blood pressure, improve blood flow to the skin and muscles, and cause a higher heart rate. Deficiency of this biochemical can lead to mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, laziness and difficulty sleeping.
Tips for activating norepinephrine:
1. Mediation
2. Eat Dopamine Boosting Foods
3. Achieve achievements, whether small or big
4. Good sleep
5. Include dairy products in your diet
conclusion
So far, we have mentioned various hormones that control our happiness and related emotions. There is no single hormone responsible for every action, rather, many chemicals work together in our body. The main hormones that must be kept under control and optimal for our cheerfulness: are dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, norepinephrine, and adrenalin. There are some easy measures like exercise, eating well, spending time with family, etc., which can help you in getting these hormones in balanced amounts.