Happiness hormones can be enriched yourself using activities and tips, like hugs, meditation, meeting friends, living with pets, or even a few minutes of walking. As you can see it is simple to figure out how to boost your serotonin on your own.
There is no need to read the complete works of the Stoics, we just need to remind ourselves of the basics of happiness like how we intuitively knew what to follow when we were kids.
How To Boost Your Serotonin Or Happy Hormones
To find happiness, our brain has a treasure of hormones such as serotonin, endorphin, dopamine, oxytocin, and norepinephrine.
The particularity of these hormones of well-being is that they are within our reach, unlike others. We can, through our behavior, lifestyle and diet, stimulate our own production of serotonin (good mood hormone), endorphin (a kind of natural morphine) and oxytocin (hormone of attachment and homeland security).
The tools are in front of us, the secret is to open the door and utilize these natural hormones instead of mainly focusing on the stressful aspects of life.
1. Become an early bird, catch the sun
Sunlight increases serotonin. You only need to spend two hours in full light to feel fit. The bonuses? We are less hungry, we concentrate better, and we have more memory.
When we wake up in the morning, it’s good to be stimulated slowly. Maybe you can meditate under the sun and slowly begin the day. No wonder risers are also in a much better mood than late risers.
2. Meditate to de-stress
Mindfulness and meditation have obvious and unsuspected effects on our brains. For one thing, it brings peace as it lowers cortisol levels (stress hormone) in the blood and stimulates the production of endorphin, serotonin, and oxytocin. These happy hormones boost our sense of self and provide emotional security and sociability.
Truly, there is no loss that comes from meditation, no drawbacks such as with medication or pills.
Practicing meditation is considered a real virtuous circle because a brain that secretes endorphins and oxytocin in numbers leads you to savor the little pleasures of everyday life that will inflate your hormones of well-being further.
3. Pleasure diet
A pleasurable diet is eating the best, more nutritious diet which is also tasty.
Fermented foods will pamper our gut
As we know our intestines are considered a second brain by scientists. Fool-proof food such as Kimchi, Gherkins, Sauerkraut, Yogurts and pickles are particularly appreciated by your stomach as they help maintain the flora.
If they are eaten at least three times a week, you might feel your mood changing as you feel light and not bloated.
Smoothies are like a happy drink
The ones based on bananas are rich in vitamin B, magnesium and tryptophan. The ones which are based on the green avocado are rich in zinc, magnesium, vitamin B, fatty acids and tyrosine with anti-stress properties. To spice it up, one can add a hint of ginger which is rich in zinc, vitamin B and tryptophan.
Omega 3 boosts serotonin through various foods
Pumpkin, chia, or sesame seeds are wonderful to sprinkle on summer salads and add to multigrain bread dough because they are rich in zinc and omega 3.
Another booster of serotonin and melanin are foods rich in vitamin B, magnesium and, above all, omega 3, the essential fatty acid. You can find it in eggs, sardines, salmon, red tuna, and halibut.
Let’s also not forget the essential tryptophan, an amino acid precursor of serotonin, present in chicken and legumes (split peas, lentils, dried beans, etc.).
4. Family and friends
Are sociable people happier? Unquestionably!
So talk to your friends to revive a good level of serotonin which is also the hormone of attachment and internal security.
Whether it is watching the waves of the beach, or seeing a piece of art in a museum, we know how it feels to let go a few minutes a day in front of a painting or the sight of birds swimming over the blue sea.
By doing so, your adrenaline drops down and stimulates the growth of your neurons.
5. Boost your endorphins
Whether it’s a new hobby or hugging your pets, you need to take time out and learn how to boost your serotonin.
5 to 6 minutes of brisk walking a day (653 meters) can increase our endorphins by 30% and reduce negative emotions or cortisol by the same amount.
Hugging your best friend or hugging your pets is another amazing reservoir of oxytocin.
When it comes to dopamine (the hormone of motivation, pleasure, excitement), you can wake it up by leaving your comfort zone to explore unknown territories. Go hiking, go river rafting, call your friends over to visit a new bar, head to Thailand for diving. Why not?
