Simply put, feeling happy makes life better. There are several compounds like hormones and neurotransmitters which make you feel happy and one of these neurotransmitters is called dopamine. Dopamine influences many components of your life including your memory, movement, personality, and memory.
Dopamine is produced by your brain and creates a feeling of pleasure. It encourages you to continue to seek out behaviours which are linked to the release of this neurotransmitter. There are many ways you can increase your dopamine levels. Here are five lifestyle strategies you can add into you day to increase the ‘happy’ in your life:
Eat to Feel Happy
It may surprise you to read that the food you eat can impact how much dopamine your body produces. There are several foods which are sources of amino acids called phenylalanine and tyrosine. These amino acids or protein building blocks are precursors to making dopamine.
Foods which are good sources of phenylalanine and tyrosine include dairy, pork, seafood, poultry, eggs, and lean red meat. Also, plant sources of protein which are good sources of these two amino acids includes tofu, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, and beans.
On top of this, ensuring that your diet is achieving all its essential food groups and variety. This will help your body to have all the components needed to create dopamine from the essential vitamins and minerals as well as essential fats like omega-3 polyunsaturated fat. This is another reason to include seafood two to three times a week. Fatty fish like sardines, herrings, mackerel, and salmon provide good sources of not only phenylalanine and tryptophan but provide good sources of omega-3 fat as well as a matrix of other vitamins and minerals.
Maintain An Optimal Gut Microbiome
There is a direct link from your gut to your brain called the brain-gut axis. If your gut microbiome is in a state of health this is felt directly in your brain and the same is true if your gut is in a state of dysbiosis or imbalance. The health promoting microbes in your gut may help to increase the levels of dopamine in your body.
Ways you can promote an optimal gut microbiome are to aim for thirty different plant-based foods a week. This includes whole plant foods like wholegrains, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruit. Each of these has different types of fibre and prebiotics which feed the health promoting microbes in your gut and help to keep them alive and thriving. Secondly, including two sources of probiotic and/or fermented foods daily. This includes probiotic rich yoghurt, kimchi, tempeh, kombucha, sauerkraut, and miso.
Move to Feel Good
Movement is linked to increased dopamine levels. As little as ten minutes have been shown to increase levels of dopamine in your body. It’s important that you choose to move, you find enjoyment in it. This way you are likely to stick with the changes and create a lifestyle of health, wellbeing, and happiness. Ideas you can try could be doing yoga, dance classes, weightlifting, running, skipping, taking the dog for a walk, cleaning with vigor, group fitness classes, swimming, and cycling, just to give you a few ideas.
If you add music to your workout this can further enhance the release of dopamine. So, make sure you are listening to your favorite tunes while moving.
Find Your Zen
Meditation has been shown to have many positive effects on your brain. One of these is an increase in the production of dopamine. Meditation takes practice and setting a small amount of time such as five minutes out of your day can be a good place to start. There are many free meditation apps available which you may like to try to help you get started.
Get Enough Sleep to Feel Your Best
I am sure you understand suboptimal sleep can leave you feeling suboptimal the next day. There are many reasons to ensure you are getting adequate sleep each night as your body will produce more dopamine consequently. Aiming for no less than six hours a night and preferably between seven and eight hours as a standard is the goal for an adult.
Take home message: Feeling your best to deal with life is something which can be largely linked to your lifestyle choices. Try adding these five strategies to boost your levels of dopamine to help you to feel your best for life.
References:
- González-Arancibia C, Urrutia-Piñones J, Illanes-González J, Martinez-Pinto J, Sotomayor-Zárate R, Julio-Pieper M, Bravo JA. Do your gut microbes affect your brain dopamine? Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2019 May;236(5):1611-1622. doi: 10.1007/s00213-019-05265-5. Epub 2019 May 17. PMID: 31098656.
- Lin TW, Kuo YM. Exercise benefits brain function: the monoamine connection. Brain Sci. 2013 Jan 11;3(1):39-53. doi: 10.3390/brainsci3010039. PMID: 24961306; PMCID: PMC4061837.
- Salimpoor, V., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K. et al. Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nat Neurosci 14, 257–262 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2726
- How to Increase Dopamine Naturally. Life Extension. https://www.lifeextension.com/wellness/sleep-relaxation/dopamine-increase
