Healthytalk8 Dopamine is one of the hormones in the brain, which is responsible for the feeling of happiness, which we can boost naturally.
Whenever we are happy it is triggered which can be due to many reasons, including food, drink, sex, alcohol, music, money, etc.
If the level of dopamine in the body decreases, then it can cause many problems which include:
- Feel low energy
- Less motivated
- low libido
- Mental illnesses, like depression, anxiety
So dopamine is important but the insufficient amount, releasing more dopamine can become a habit, and less dopamine can lead to depression.
So today we will know about how to boost dopamine levels naturally.
Physical Activity
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Exercise is one of the best ways to prevent or recover from illnesses or diseases, everyone should do at least 1-hour daily exercise.
If we talk about physical activities which are recommended for both serotonin and dopamine boosting.
A study suggests that a lifetime of physical activities can protect a person from a wide range of neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease (1) (2).
Parkinson’s disease can cause when you trigger too much or too low (DP) and also lead to serious dopamine, 5-HT was found in the velvet beneath issues.
Apart from exercises including running, gym, swimming, etc there are many other physical activities such as yoga, doing housework, brisk walking, etc.
A human study on 3 months found that 1 hour of performing daily yoga significantly increased dopamine levels naturally.
Certain Foods
Dopamine (DA) is a food reward that has been associated with the motivational salience or wanting of food as opposed to the liking of food (3).
Certain foods significantly increase dopamine levels, like those rich in sugar, and fat, as well as promote eating even when you are full of the stomach (4).
There are certain foods that are associated with increased dopamine levels (5) which include:
- Banana: Higher concentrations were found in banana peels compared to the pulp (6).
- Avocado
- plantain
- Apple
- Orange
- Spinach
- Pee
- Tomato
- Beans and velvet beans: Dopamine, 5-HT was found in the velvet bean (6)
- Aubergine
Being possibly involved in the well-known anti-parkinsonian effects of the products obtained from the seeds (7).
Plan a Trip
There is a lot of excitement on hearing the name of the adventure that there will be a thrill, comedy, and lots of happiness, and anyone can tell the story of ghosts during an adventure.
All these expectations boost your dopamine levels to a great extent, and also in the future time.
Travelling has been linked to enjoyment, happiness, excitement, creativity, and motivation, and even study shown that boosts overall mental health.
In a study, results show that holiday trips can help in both decrease the underlying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms over time.
Some researchers team indicate that a low level of dopamine levels can contribute to ADHD (9).
Check out – Positive Health Benefits of Going To Adventure Ride
Do mindfulness meditation
Meditation (dhyaan) is a posture in which you set the boundaries of the countless thoughts going on in your mind.
It supports our mind like decrease depression syndrome, stress, increasing blood flow, calming our anger, and many more things that are very vital when we face our life difficult situations.
In a study, results showed that meditation was reported to increase the release of dopamine (12).
Dopamine release during meditation is associated with the experience of reduced readiness.
A study found an 8 weeks meditation program showed profound positive changes in brain regions allied with learning, memory processing, and emotion regulation in people.
In one study where 8 experienced meditation teachers include found a 65% increase in dopamine release, after meditating for 1 hour, compared with resting people.
Another study suggests that in conscious state meditation suppresses the corticostriatal circuit (8).
Check out – Is Meditation Treat Fatigue? If Yes, So How? And More
Supplements
Multiple nutrients and vitamins in our body need to create dopamine, serotonin, and other chemicals.
There are some common supplements that you should add to your diet to increase dopamine levels naturally such as
Omega-3 fatty acids: DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that plays an important role in brain growth and development.
Probiotics: Research has shown that probiotics can possess both antioxidant and free radical scavenging abilities, and also increase the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (8) (9).
A 2016 study showed that Alzheimer’s patients who took milk made with four probiotics bacteria for 12 weeks showed great results in cognitive impairment compared to regular milk drank (9).
Calcium: exercise can increases calcium-dependent dopamine synthesis in the brain, and the increased dopamine levels lead to a decrease in blood pressure (9).
It also suggests that calcium enhances dopamine levels in the brain, and the dopamine level prolongs ethanol-induced sleeping time (9).
Magnesium: Study evidence suggest that magnesium deficiency can lead to decreased dopamine levels and an increase in the risk of depression (8) (9).
Circurium: Research shows that curcumin obtains antidepressant activity through modulating the release of serotonin and dopamine.
Massage with essential oil
A study suggests that massage therapy can decrease levels of cortisol and increase levels of serotonin and dopamine (9).
In a study where were, massage therapy with essential oil including lavender, sweet orange, bergamot oil for 8 weeks on older adults decrease depression symptoms, compared to non-effective people (10).
On mice study where lavender oil was injected (10-1000 mg/kg for 5 days one time a day) showed significantly increases motor coordination and dopamine level (11).
Check Out – Essential Oils For Period Cramps, Can It Really Helpful? And More.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is the best way to relax your body it is suggested that an average man should sleep for 7 to 8 hours so that he is charged for the next day.
A study showed that patients with Parkinson’s disease, who suffer from dopamine deficiency experience excessive daytime sleepiness, but not good in the long term (10).
Many studies have shown that only one day without sleeping can increase the amount of dopamine in the brain (11).
David Diga suggests dopamine may increase after sleep losses as a compensatory response to the effects of increased sleep drive in the brain (11).
Check out about – sleepwalking.
Listen To Music
It also suggests that music plays an important role in mediating pleasure, and recruitment of the reward network (9).
The more pleasing the music is to the ear, the more pleasure the experience is for the entire body (11).
A 2019 study observed that when people were more motivated to learn they expected to hear the song as their reward.
A 2017 research review found that listening to songs, especially jazz, may have a positive effect on symptoms of depression.
The researchers found that the gato box, the Remo ocean disc, and singing all slow down baby’s heart rate, although singing was the most effective.
Check out – How Music Can Treat Mental and Physical illness
Cut down sugar
Our body needs sugar for healthy function, where the body breaks down its into carbohydrates to make glucose, which is required for energy.
However, excessive sugar consumption is one of the leading causes of illnesses including diabetes, obesity, an increase in the risk of cancer, heart attack, affect bone and tooth health.
A study showed the effect of sugar intake on dopamine neurotransmitters, that sugar intake may be associated with depression (8) (9).
Similar to alcohol and recreational drugs processed sugar immediately boost dopamine level and affect normal released dopamine level.
But eliminating sugar from your diet for a week can allow your dopamine production to return to normal.
However, less sugar in the blood is also allied with hypoglycemia, which can lead to low energy in the brain, which is linked to attention, and cognitive function.
Take Enough sunlight
Regular sunlight is an excellent source of vitamin D, and to maintain this vitamin D, 10 to 30 minutes of sunlight, several times per week are good enough.
It proved that low sunlight exposure decrease mood-boosting neurotransmitter hormones like dopamine, and serotonin level (10).
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder, which affects anyone who has normal mental health, it mostly occurs in the winter season, when low sunlight leads to this situation.
A study showed that exercise with exposure to sunlight is another best way or alternative way to treat depression symptoms (12).
A study where 68 adults are included, found those exposed to more sunlight for 30 days had the highest level of dopamine receptors in the reward and other regions of the brain.
It is also important to take precautions during exposure to the sunlight because more sunlight leads to sunburn and even skin cancer.
NOTE: Too much sun exposure can lead to skin damage, and increased the risk of skin cancer, especially among white people, so take it in moderate quantity (12) (14).
