Neural Brain Synapses
Benefit from Happy Chemicals
While you may not think twice about walking and talking at the same time or laughing at a joke while watching television, the brain is hard at work calculating every move to help regulate thoughts, feelings and emotions. Now think of the happiest moment most of us have when we wake up. Ahhhh the smell of coffee….
Every time you reach for your coffee mug, a neuroscientific mystery takes shape. Moments before you voluntarily extend your arm, thousands of neurons in the motor regions of your brain erupt in a pattern of electrical activity that travels to the spinal cord and then to the muscles that power the reach. But just prior to this massively synchronized activity, the motor regions in your brain are relatively quiet. For self-driven movements like reaching for your coffee, the “go” signal that tells the neurons precisely when to act — instead of the moment just before or after.
At the core of these feelings are brain chemicals that affect your happiness. So, lets see it through the lens of science for a quick moment.
How do neurotransmitters affect mood?
Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that carry signals from one neuron to another. A neuron is a cell that transmits information to other cells, muscles or glands. Structurally, neurons consist of a body, axon and dendrites.
These chemicals work together every second of your day to regulate your mood, perception and view on life.
A complex process occurs whenever you experience a thought or feeling. First, an electric signal in the neuron travels through the axon where molecules bind to receptor sites. A second neuron either accepts or rejects the signal. The first molecule can then take back some of the remaining molecules, a process known as reuptake.
The end result is what makes us experience emotions such as joy, laughter, happiness, sadness, anger or enthusiasm.
Neuronal Synapse https://youtu.be/Tbq-KZaXiL4
The Happy Chemicals
Four main brain chemicals named dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins, all play a role in how you experience happiness.
Dopamine
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced by the hypothalamus, a small region of the brain that helps you feel pleasure, hence called a “feel good” hormone. It plays a role in feeling happiness, pleasure and it’s an important part in your reward system. Meaning the brain releases dopamine when you do things that feel good or pleasurable or when you complete a task. Dopamine also helps with movement and motivation.
Serotonin
Serotonin is another neurotransmitter produced when you feel satisfaction or importance. It also helps regulate your sleep, appetite and mood. Many anti-depressant medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) that help boost levels of serotonin. You release serotonin in your system by being kind to others and yourself. Spending time outside, exercising and eating a well balance diet is key for the Serotonin production.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland that produces feelings of love and connection. Also known as the cuddle hormone, the brain may produce oxytocin during sex or maternal behavior such as childbirth or breastfeeding. Technically not a happy hormone, but its role in promoting social interactions may help you feel positive emotions.
Endorphins
Endorphins are opioid peptides produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands that operate as neurotransmitters. They trigger positive feelings when you do something you enjoy such as having sex, laughing or exercising. Endorphins are your body’s natural pain killers. They help you overcome stress and discomfort. They are key in stimulating pain relief, which is the same reaction that occurs chemically when taking prescription opioids. The euphoric feeling endorphins produce helps mask pain.
Hacking into your happy chemicals
Since your brain already has these neurotransmitters and hormones, it makes sense to maximize them, right? But doing so doesn’t require a secret code. All it takes is a few simple tasks and basic planning to boost these chemical messengers.
For starters, eat well and incorporate exercise into your diet. A 20-minute workout or a light jog can help stimulate dopamine due to the pleasure you receive from accomplishing a feat. Exercising can also stimulate serotonin and endorphins by causing you to feel satisfied and enjoy the positive results of a workout.
Exercising primarily influences boosting endorphins, but remember to laugh, too.
A simple meditation can help boost serotonin. There are ways to achieve this even without physical activity. Self-confidence can go a long way in stimulating serotonin. The feeling of believing in yourself will translate to others respecting you, which ultimately promotes serotonin production.
To boost dopamine, complete simple tasks that make you feel good or set a goal you can easily achieve. The simple fact of even approaching a reward will stimulate these neurotransmitters. This explains why seeing the finish line at the end of a race activates dopamine.
For oxytocin, give someone a compliment. You may not see this as building trust, but communicating with others — even strangers — in social settings can reward you with positive feelings. Being kind also can boost serotonin and dopamine.
Mood boosting foods
When you think of foods that can impact on your mood, things like ice cream or macaroni and cheese may come to mind. Yes, comforting items may provide you with happy feelings, but this is due to behavioral association or psychological response from something like sugar or other simple carbohydrates — not a digestive response.
Serotonin and dopamine play a role in how you feel and are produced in the gastrointestinal tract. In fact, about 95 percent of serotonin production comes from your GI tract, which is lined with millions or nerve cells. The good bacteria in your gut help these neurons function and also help produce serotonin and other neurotransmitters. This explains why stress can cause issues with your digestive tract, such as an upset stomach or nausea.
There’s research that indicates probiotics can help with gut and brain health. Yogurt, kombucha, pickles and sourdough bread are common foods that contain probiotics. Sauerkraut or kimchi are both tasty side dishes that double as probiotics.
The truth is, many of the food suggestions are the same options that make up the core of healthy eating. In other words, you don’t need a fancy diet or supplemental magic pills to stimulate dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins.
For starters, eat whole foods and avoid processed foods. Whole foods and gut bacteria go together, but processed foods full of additives can become problematic. Load up your plate with fruits and vegetables, two foods groups that contain fiber.
When it comes to animal protein, focus on lean poultry and seafood and limit intake of fatty meats high in saturated fat. High-protein foods contain tryptophan, an amino acid that your body converts to serotonin.
Modulating Movement
Dopamine is commonly known as one of the brain’s neurotransmitters, the fast-acting chemical messengers that are shuttled between neurons. But in the new research a group of neuroscientists led by John Assad at Harvard Medical School finally reveals a key piece of the signal. It comes in the form of the brain chemical dopamine, whose slow ramping up in a region lodged deep below the cortex closely predicted the moment that mice would begin a movement — seconds into the future, dopamine is acting as a neuromodulator. It’s a term for chemical messengers that slightly alter neurons to cause longer-lasting effects, including making a neuron more or less likely to electrically communicate with other neurons.
This neuromodulatory tuning mechanism is perfect for helping to coordinate the activity of large populations of neurons, as dopamine is likely doing to help the motor system decide precisely when to make a movement. AND this is how you pick up your cup of coffee.