How can we increase serotonin naturally? How to combat the lack of serotonin in our body? 12 Keys to promote the ‘happiness hormone’.
The serotonin It is a neurotransmitter well known for being the ‘happiness hormone’. In fact, the relationship between serotonin and happiness is real, since this substance influences our feelings of well-being.
It is for this reason that many people look for a method to increase serotonin naturally in your body, which can improve not only our emotions, but also positively affects digestion and appetite. Although serotonin greatly influences our emotional state, we must warn that increasing it does not imply a formula to know how to cure depression naturally. But, by getting natural serotonin you can feel happier and experience greater mental stability. How can we generate more serotonin naturally?
How to increase serotonin naturally?
There are a series of habits that can help you increase serotonin levels in your body. Among the most effective, we find the following:
Sunlight and vitamin D: Surrounding yourself with a more natural environment, as well as getting more sun, can have a positive impact on our mental state. In fact, a lack of vitamin D is linked to depression. Therefore, getting outdoors and getting regular sun exposure can help both reduce the symptoms of a depressive disorder and increase serotonin
Give hugs: It is normal that when we are feeling bad we think that we need a hug. Physical contact, such as hugs and caresses, can help us build better bonds with others and influence the produce more natural serotonin
Gratitude: Reflecting on everything around us, as well as our strengths and virtues, can help us generate a more positive impact on our lives. In fact, the more you practice gratitude, the easier it will be for you to identify or enjoy the positive aspects in your life, which can influence improving your life. lack of serotonin One of the methods you can use to integrate gratitude into your life is to identify two or three things each day that you think you should be grateful for.
Control caffeine: Although we are used to using coffee as a stimulant in our mornings, the reality is that having an excessive dependence on this substance can mean that by drinking less we can experience a lack of serotonin That is, excessive coffee consumption contributes to lowering our body’s natural serotonin levels, which can affect both our mental health and the feeling of well-being that we experience in our daily lives.
Sleep enough: There is evidence that shows that serotonin can influence our sleep patterns, as well as its quality. Serotonin also contributes to the production of melatonin, the ‘sleep hormone’ that helps us fall asleep better and experience drowsiness. Therefore, if we get enough sleep, we can also stimulate the natural serotonin production in our body.
Healthy food: The lack of serotonin in our body can be a combination of two factors. The first is that our body does not produce enough serotonin, which could be related to deficiencies in both our vitamins and nutrients, or on the other hand, that our body can produce it but not use it effectively. In this way, there is a relationship between mood and food, so much so that it affects how we feel. There are foods that increase serotonin naturally such as eggs, salmon, oats, cheese, turkey, nuts and seeds, bananas, among others.
Exercise regularly: Regular exercise has very positive effects for us. In fact, it helps us improve our mood, as well as allowing us to better control some of the symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. More specifically, incorporating aerobic activity into your daily routine will increase tryptophan, a substance that increases natural serotonin of our brain. In addition, physical exercise can also be very effective in limiting our feelings of stress.
Get a massage: One of the most unknown ways of increase natural serotonin of our body is precisely receiving a massage. In fact, massages help increase both dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. By contributing to a greater production of these substances in our body, this makes you feel completely relaxed afterwards. Therefore, happiness after a massage is a completely real fact.
Meditate: Practicing meditation regularly allows us to develop better presence and awareness of our state of consciousness. Research has shown that it is a practice that allows us to relieve daily stress and also promotes a different perspective on our life, which allows us increase natural serotonin of our body. In fact, studies carried out at Harvard analyzed a group of meditators through MRI and discovered that the increase in neuronal activity related to meditation could contribute to the improvement of the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as serotonin.
Improve your intestinal health: Although most of us know that serotonin is in our brain, the reality is that this substance is produced in greater quantities in our intestine. Therefore, eating probiotic foods, such as or maintaining a diet rich in fiber, can help us increase intestinal microbial diversity and increase natural serotonin of our body.
Practice positive thinking: When we force ourselves to think in a more positive way, we can increase our well-being. In fact, it is an effective method for our brain to create more natural serotonin in response to our positive emotions. Studies have also highlighted that having more positive thinking can also play a role in neuroplasticity. But we must also emphasize that we should not take a positive attitude to the extreme, as it can even be harmful to our mental health.
Listen to music: Music can make us feel a wide variety of exciting emotions, from euphoria to sadness. It can also help us increase serotonin in our body. This effect occurs because listening to music that we like allows us to activate the pleasure center of our brain, which not only releases dopamine and serotonin, but also maintains it for longer.
As we see, there are many factors that contribute to both a lack of serotonin and to increase natural serotonin of our body. Despite this, when this deficiency ends in a depressive disorder or other effects on our mood, it is vital to go to a professional psychologist. In addition, integrating all these simple methods into your routine can also help you improve both your mood and achieve greater emotional balance.
