Lesson 3 Oh, Happy Days!
The Chemistry of Happiness
When we ask ourselves what makes us happy, we often think of the circumstances we are in, what we have, or whom we are with.
From a biological point of view, however, happiness is largely a chemical experience.
Four main brain chemicals are responsible for creating the sensations and emotions we associate with happiness: endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin.
It is good news for us that happiness can be controlled.
Even when our lives aren’t exactly what we would like them to be, we can improve our mood by engaging in pleasant and healthy activities that increase the amounts of these happiness chemicals.
Let’s take a deeper dive into what each of these chemicals does and how we can increase their levels.
Endorphins: The Pain Relievers
Endorphins are natural pain relievers.
They are “feelgood” chemicals because they can make you feel better and put you in a positive state of mind.
When our body feels pain or stress, the brain releases endorphins to block the nerve cells that receive the pain signals.
This essentially turns off your pain, helping you continue functioning,even in painful and stressful situations.
The most well-known way to increase endorphins is through slightly challenging exercise which makes you a little short of breath.
Research shows that about twenty to thirty minutes of exercise can help boost your endorphin levels significantly.
Another way is to have a good laugh.
Share funny videos, tell jokes, and laugh with your friends.
We don’t laugh because we are happy; we are happy because we laugh.
Serotonin: The Mood Balancer
Serotonin is another brain chemical that plays a key role in balancing our mood.
It provides feelings of happiness and also helps decrease our worries and concerns.
When you feel happy and all seems right with the world, you are feeling the effects of serotonin.
Serotonin is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan, which must enter our body through our diet.
Therefore, eating foods rich in tryptophan like chicken, beans, eggs, and nuts can boost your body’s natural ability to make serotonin.
Furthermore, good habits like getting more sunshine and going on short walks can do wonders for boosting your levels of serotonin.
Dopamine: The Reward Chemical
Dopamine is an important chemical for motivation.
It is called the “reward chemical” because it rewards the brain with happy feelings for meeting goals and achieving things.
We can also feel a dopamine rush when we imagine a future achievement.
In both cases, dopamine gives us feelings of joy and satisfaction, encouraging us to seek out more goals and find new challenges.
Choosing food higher in protein can be a good way to increase your dopamine levels naturally, because it can only be made with the amino acid tyrosine, which is found in many proteins.
Getting regular, high-quality sleep may also help keep your dopamine levels balanced and help you feel more alert during the day.
Meditation has also been shown to increase dopamine levels.
This, in turn, leads to improved focus and concentration.
Oxytocin: The Love Hormone
Oxytocin is often called the “love hormone” because it promotes social bonding and trust.
It is mainly associated with loving touches and close relationships.
Oxytocin will be released when you are connecting with people, and it reduces your stress level and calms down your nervous system.
Spending time with friends and loved ones is a great way to raise your oxytocin levels.
Giving or receiving a massage, shaking hands, or hugging can lead to higher levels of oxytocin as well.
If you have a pet, you can increase oxytocin for both yourself and your pet by hugging your little friend.
You may have heard the saying “Happiness depends on your attitude, not on what you have.”
Endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin help promote happiness, and you can give these happiness chemicals a natural boost with simple activities.
We cannot always choose the situations we find ourselves in, but we can certainly choose what to do for ourselves.
There’s a lot we can do to boost the happiness chemicals in our brains.
This means that we have control of our own happiness!
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