7 Ways To Increase Your Dopamine Levels Naturally And Improve Mental Health

Regulated dopamine levels are important for the proper functioning of motor skills and cognitive abilitiesDopamine is a neurotransmitter - a chemical in the brain that sends signals between the brain and nerve cells. If your dopamine levels are not at an optimal level, you may be susceptible to various mental health illnesses.

The neurotransmitter's levels see a spike when you are anticipating something important. It plays a key role in the body's reward and motivation system, and strongly influences your memory.

Dopamine is released during pleasurable experiences and helps reinforce behaviors that result in a spike. This is why you are likely to repeat a behavior that makes you feel good in the moment, such as smoking, overeating, or drinking alcohol. It plays a decisive role in regulating bodily functions that include cognitive abilities like paying attention, short term memory utilization, and capacity for learning.

Dopamine levels can greatly influence your sleep cycle and what you dream about. Your voluntary movement and pain processors are also dopamine-dependent. Thus, whether you are successful in accomplishing a set goal is determined by how you feel after its completion.

How are dopamine levels and mental health linked?

Individuals with extremely high levels of dopamine face problems with anxiety, increased stress, excess energy, insomnia, hallucinations, and an unusually high s*x drive.

On the other hand, low levels of "the happy hormone," as it is often referred to, can cause problems in your physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities, and trouble with your mental health. Symptoms of dopamine deficiency include:

Low motivation levels
Brain fog
Loss of interest in activities
Persistent feelings of sadness
Chronic back pain
Digestive issues
Fluctuations in weight
Low energy levels
Mood swings
Low s*x drive

Dopamine deficiency is a common factor in individuals with depression, as their mind's reward system is severely disrupted, including the brain's anticipation, motivation, and decision-making stages.

Individuals with signs of schizophrenia have a distorted sense of reality, which is a result of their delusions and hallucinations. This psychological disorder severely affects an individual's ability to think and express themselves. The symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, and psychosis can also be traced to low levels of dopamine, among other neurotransmitters.

Other mental health illnesses that have been linked to low levels of dopamine include attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), binge-eating disorder (BED), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

What causes dopamine deficiency?

There are many different reasons behind why you many have dopamine deficiency. The causes range from lifestyle habits to what you consume, all of which can lower the amount of happy hormones in your body. Some factors that could be causing a drop in your dopamine levels are listed below:

Substance abuse

The consumption of substances like alcohol, stimulants, and mind-altering drugs affects the body's dopamine levels. These substances reduce the body's ability to produce both dopamine and its receptors.

Medication

Certain medicines inhibit the production of dopamine or dampen the receptors.

Obesity

The negative effects of obesity are well known, but one lesser known effect of the condition is the fact that it causes the body to produce lower amounts of dopamine.

Poor sleeping habits

Improved sleep quality is directly linked to increased dopamine levels. Individuals who do not get adequate amounts of sleep face problems like obese people. Dopamine receptors, which mediate the function of the neurotransmitter in the body, are reduced in individuals who do not get adequate sleep.

Dietary habits

Diets that are rich in saturated fats affect the amount of dopamine levels produced in the body as they cause inflammation and disrupt the central nervous system from functioning properly. Diets that are low in protein can also cause a deficiency as it causes a shortage of the amino acid L-tyrosine.

Chronic stress

Constant stress from work, financial responsibilities, and family troubles are a few things that take a toll on the mind and body. This causes the brain to produce lower amounts of dopamine over a period of time.

Seven ways to increase dopamine levels naturally

Exercise

Engaging in physical activities is one of the best ways to get dopamine. Regular exercise and movement cause the brain to be flooded with waves of dopamine. So sticking to a regular schedule that includes physical activity like running, weightlifting, dancing, calisthenics, and swimming is a great way to improve not just your physical health, but your mental health as well.

Sleep

Getting enough sleep is vital for the optimal functioning of an individual and is one of the easiest ways to ensure an increase in dopamine levels. Sleeping for around seven to nine hours daily, coupled with going to bed on a pre-planned schedule, improves sleep hygiene.

Sunlight

Sunlight is a natural dopamine booster. Exposure to sunlight is important for the development of mood influencing neurotransmitters. Sunlight increases the amount of receptors in the reward and movement regions of the brain.

Meditation

Meditation is gaining popularity across the world for its various physical and mental health benefits. A major benefit of meditation is that it increases the amount of dopamine levels.

Improving gut health

Research has shown that the brain and gut are linked more closely than previously thought. The gut has several large neurotransmitter signaling molecules and that certain bacteria that live in the gut are capable of producing dopamine. Probiotics that have been proven to be beneficial for the gut may aid in the production of adequate dopamine levels.

Thus, improving your gut health will make you happier in the long run.

Music

Music is highly transformative in nature and increases activity in the reward and pleasure areas of the brain. Listening to music alone is capable of increasing your dopamine levels.

Diet

A change in diet, which emphasizes a reduction in the consumption of saturated fats without changes in body fat levels or weight, has been shown to increase dopamine levels. Dopamine-rich foods positively influence your mood. Consuming foods that increase dopamine levels, good amounts of protein are also vital, as the protein contains amino acids, which are also helps in the production of the happy hormone.

Steve Verghese is a trained psychologist with an MSc in Counseling Psychology from the Indian Institute of Psychology and Research.