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Brilio.net/en - A bouquet of flower on your anniversary makes you happy. A sunny day in Greece makes you happy. A good night kiss from your cute toddler makes you happy. A shot of espresso in the morning makes you happy. What is happiness, really?
When someone asks us what in the world makes us happy, we tend to instantly think the circumstances, possessions, or people in our lives. In fact, happiness is largely a more complex chemical experience.
There are four main neurochemicals, hormones and neurotransmitters inside our brains playing a fundamental part of creating such sensations and emotions associated with happiness.
Well, this is a great news actually!
The point is, even when all circumstances, possessions, or people in our lives arent in exact condition wed like them to be, there are ways to keep us happy. We can somehow increase our happy chemicals in our brains to switch our mood instantly.
Heres how you can do it:
1. Serotonin
This is the best-known happiness chemical and largely addressed in many antidepressant medications. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is naturally stimulated by doing several everyday things.
Exposure to bright light, especially sunshine, is one way to increase serotonin. Exercise and happy, positive thinking also stimulates the production of this chemical. Some research has found that a higher intake of tryptophan-heavy foods (such as nuts, seeds, tofu, cheese, red meat, chicken, turkey, fish, oats, beans, lentils, and eggs), relative to other foods in the diet, will also do.
2. Endorphins
This kind of chemical are produced by the central nervous system, and that makes it an opioid neuropeptide. Endorphin helps us to overcome physical pain, makes us feel lightheaded, and even giddy at times. A non-painful (well, at least not too painful) way to increase endorphins is exercise.
Both aerobic and anaerobic exercises stimulated our body to release endorphins. In a study, 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill for 10 days in a row was sufficient to produce a significant reduction in depression. This study used samples of clinically depressed subjects.
3. Oxytocin
Oxytocins are tightly related to mothers, as that hormone is produced in abundance during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This hormone is primarily associated with loving touch and close relationships.
This hormone provides a double dose of magic by stimulating both dopamine and serotonin while reducing anxiety. To get a hit of dopamine without popping ecstasy, simply give someone you love a cuddle. Even a pet will do.
4. Dopamine
This neurotransmitter is often referred to the chemical of reward. When you hit a target, achieve a goal, or accomplish a task, youll receive a pleasurable hit of dopamine in your brain that tells you youve done a good job. But this chemical also may increase naturally when you do something meaningful or just are kind to others.
Volunteering has been shown to increase dopamines as well as long-term health. Some research has even found that that it only takes thoughts of loving kindness to bring on the dopamine high.
For many of us, happiness might seem like the unreachable holy grail of emotion. But thank God our bodies and brains are made to constantly carry out complex chemical processes that we can trigger with our daily actions to create happiness.
Once we understand how good-mood hormones and neurotransmitters work, the largely sought happiness will always stay within our reach!
Source: Mind Body Green
(brl/tis)
