Natural ways to activate happy hormones.
Happy hormones are responsible for positive feelings such as joy, motivation, and happiness. We can activate them in different natural ways.
WELL BEING
What makes you feel good?
Pick a piece of paper and a pen and write down a list of things that make you feel happy and relaxed. If I do the same practice, then my list would be eating dark chocolate, spending time with my nieces, having a good sleep, my funny conversation with a cat that is not my pet but he lives in our yard, and watching my favorite show on tv, etc., etc. My list is too long, so I am not sharing it all. Let's come to the topic. Our body has an inbuilt system for mood-boosting and pleasure. Certain hormones are responsible for positive feelings such as joy, motivation, and happiness, generally, these are called happy hormones. Hormones are neurotransmitters, chemicals that are secreted by different glands of a body. Here I will talk about only four happy hormones: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. And the good thing is that we can activate them in different natural ways.
Happy Hormone: Dopamine.
Dopamine is linked with pleasant feelings of reward and motivation. This hormone plays a significant role in many other functions such as memory, learning, attention, mood, sleep, concentration, and focus.
You can feel demotivated, distracted, and depressed when your level of dopamine is low and its deficiency can be a reason for some serious psychological problems such as schizophrenia.
Natural ways to activate Dopamine.
Upbeat music that gives you chills can be a reason to activate dopamine in your body.
Good quality of sleep at night is another natural way to keep regulating dopamine levels normal in the body. It is important to understand the relationship between sleep and dopamine. After getting a good sleep at night, dopamine increases in the morning and makes us feel alert and active, but if we don’t follow natural sleeping patterns and don’t get enough sleep, especially at night then it will disturb the dopamine functioning in our body.
When you eat your favorite meal, dopamine increases in your body and you feel good as if you’ve got a reward.
Completing a small task boosts the level of dopamine in the body and you feel motivated to achieve more goals.
When we do care for ourselves, we feel more energetic, and positive. The reason is that self-care stimulates the brain’s reward system which increases dopamine and as a result, we feel happy.
Dopamine gives good feelings of reward and motivation. Therefore, acknowledging yourself and celebrating your small wins activate this happy hormone in the body naturally.
Happy Hormone: Serotonin.
Serotonin is a happy hormone, not only stabilizes our mood, but it helps in improving our sleep, digestion, learning, and memory. It also reduces anxiety and depression.
Natural ways to activate Serotonin.
Sunshine is a natural source of vitamin D, which helps in activating serotonin levels in the body. A minimum of 15 minutes of skin exposure to sunlight is considered sufficient to do so. But don’t forget to apply sunscreen before going out.
Meditation is a mindful activity that helps in keeping your mind focused and peaceful. Our body releases several hormones when we do meditation and one of them is serotonin.
Another natural way to increase the level of serotonin is physical exercise such as running, aerobics, cycling, and swimming. A brisk walk only for 10 minutes helps to uplift our mood.
Deep breathing also activates this happy hormone and makes us feel calm down.
We can boost our serotonin level by eating healthy foods such as eggs that contain protein, vitamins, and choline, which play a role in releasing serotonin in our bodies. Similarly bananas, chocolates, fish, and almonds are having nutrition values, which uplift our mood.
Happy Hormone: Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a happy hormone, that builds trust and love. It releases when we feel connected with people, that’s why it is also known as a bonding hormone. Oxytocin helps us in securing our emotions which are indispensable for our wellbeing.
Natural ways to activate Oxytocin.
Sharing food with loved ones or cooking for them makes bonding stronger and causes our brain to release oxytocin that gives us pleasant feelings.
Playing with pets also improves our mood because it boosts the oxytocin level in our bodies.
Another natural way to activate this happy hormone is to play with kids.
Physical interaction, such as holding hands, hugging, kissing, and cuddling triggers oxytocin.
Giving compliments and helping others also stimulate oxytocin levels in our body and we feel good and positive.
Happy Hormone: Endorphins
Happy hormones, Endorphins are also known as the brain’s natural pain relief hormones that also reduce stress and increase pleasure.
Natural ways to activate Endorphins.
Aromatherapies are considered beneficial in boosting the endorphin level in our bodies. For example, the scent of lavender helps in relieving anxiety so you can use lavender essential oil in a diffuser for aromatherapy.
Dark chocolate contains polyphenols that activate endorphins and other happy hormones in a body.
Smile or laughter is free of cost, but it gives you a priceless thing that is a relief from stress and anxiety. Another natural way to stimulate your endorphins is laughter, so avail it whenever you get a chance.
Dancing is an enjoyable natural way to activate endorphins.
We can level up endorphins in the body while watching comedy content on television.
Moderate intensity exercises such as a brisk walk, running, and cycling, cause breathing and heart rate to be faster and eventually activate endorphins in our body.
Bottom Line.
Natural ways to activate happy hormones are easy to follow and ultimately useful for our wellbeing. We can notice from them that a balanced and healthy lifestyle guarantees our happiness.
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Happy reading :)