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Happiness hormone: what is the role of dopamine in our body?
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Read also: How do you measure how happy you are?
What Does Dopamine Do?
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Dopamine is important for many bodily functions. As a neurotransmitter, dopamine is involved in certain body processes such as movement, memory, attention, learning, motivation and mood.
In addition to its role as a chemical messenger in the brain, dopamine also acts as a hormone. It plays a role in the fight-or-flight response that we automatically make in stressful situations.
Dopamine also ensures that your blood vessels relax or constrict, that sodium and urine are removed from the body, that insulin production in the pancreas decreases and that the activity of lymphocytes decreases.
Read also: Stress: symptoms and health consequences
Dopamine and the feeling of happiness
Dopamine is part of our ‘reward system’. That ensures that we are rewarded when we do things that are necessary to survive. So we don’t make dopamine all the time, but only during specific activities such as eating, drinking, exercising, being in love and having sex. Dopamine brings a feeling of happiness. As a result, we want to repeat the behavior that is rewarded over and over again.
Read also: How do you recognize an addictive personality?
How do you recognize a dopamine deficiency?
- Fatigue
- Unrest
- Memory problems
- Concentration disorders
- Sleeping problems
- Feeling gloomy, seeing things negatively
- Craving sweet food and drink
- Difficulty thinking ahead, being unmotivated
- Not having good control over emotions
- Twitching eye or shaking hands
- Less desire for sex, difficult to have an orgasm
- Joint pain
Read also: What are hormones and what do they do?
How can you stimulate dopamine?
- Eat foods rich in magnesium and tyrosine. These substances function as building blocks for dopamine production. A diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates is also said to promote dopamine production. Examples of dopamine-boosting foods include: chicken, seafood, avocados, apples, bananas, chocolate, green tea, oatmeal, oranges, nuts, seeds, legumes, tomatoes, and green leafy vegetables.
- Do relaxing activities such as meditation, yoga, massage, walking in nature or reading a book.
- Move enough. Daily exercise will increase the calcium level in your blood. Calcium, in turn, stimulates the production and uptake of dopamine in your brain.
Read also: Why is a walk in nature so good for your health?
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