Did you know? Your hormones play a significant role when it comes to your well-being. Hormones regulate various functions in your body. Also, it has the power to improve or impair your health.
Hormones also affect our emotions, including happiness, pleasure, sadness, anger, and more.
With the pressures of life and the threat of COVID-19, it’s easy to become stressed and depressed. Our thoughts become overcrowded, which makes it challenging to feel happy. But, there are several ways to increase and improve your health.
There are four happy hormones that you need to take into consideration. Each hormone has a specific role. Let’s check each one below:
- Dopamine
Dopamine is well-known as the “feel-good” hormone and neurotransmitter, and it is often associated with pleasurable sensations. Also, it affects a person’s learning, memory, motor system, and more.
- Serotonin
This is also known as the “mood-regulator” hormone. It helps manage your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and more.
- Oxytocin
This is often called the “love hormone.” It’s essential for important life moments such as childbirth, breastfeeding, and bonding. It can also help build trust and empathy in relationships. Studies show that physical affection increases oxytocin levels in the body.
- Endorphins
This is often related to the body’s reaction to pain. For example, when you experience stress or discomfort, your body releases this to cope. Likewise, when you engage in reward-producing activities, endorphin levels also increase. Some examples of endorphin-releasing activities are eating your favorite food or working out.
Here are four easy ways to hack your happy hormones:
Get Your Daily Dose of Vitamin D
According to research, spending time outdoors and getting sunlight can make one happy. Why? Because being outside increases the body’s serotonin and endorphin levels.
Around 10 to 15 minutes of early sun exposure will help boost your mood for the day. But make sure to wear your sunscreen for protection.
Proper Diet and Exercise
Food has a significant impact on hormone levels. Thus, certain foods can either increase or decrease your happy hormones.
So, if you plan on eating food that can boost your mood, you can try out the following:
- meat, eggs, yogurt, nuts are foods linked to dopamine release
- spicy foods trigger endorphin release
- foods high in tryptophan increase serotonin levels
- foods that contain probiotics improve gut health
Exercise also impacts a person’s physical and emotional well-being.
Try Some Supplements
Like vitamins, supplements are now becoming a part of everyday life. Now, psychedelics are becoming an option for treating various health conditions. These include physical ailments like cluster headaches. Or mental health disorders like anxiety and depression.
Magic mushrooms are one of these psychedelics. Medical professionals are now considering these as an alternative treatment.
These shrooms contain psilocin, the psychoactive agent that produces a ‘trip.’ Also, studies have shown the link between psilocin and serotonin.
As discussed a while ago, serotonin is the hormone that regulates a person’s mood. Thus, better disposition means better health.
Though these substances can be helpful, some might not be. So it is crucial to stick to the recommended dose written in the instructions.
Also, before buying any supplement, make sure to talk to your healthcare provider.
Get Good Sleep
Sleep is your body’s way to heal and regenerate. Thus, it is vital to have at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day. This will make you feel better, and also, it will help balance your hormones, especially dopamine.
Doing these four simple steps will help you boost your happy hormones. So, go ahead and try them out and see the difference they will make in your everyday life.