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Every one of us has our way of experiencing happiness in our lives. It is shaped by where we live, our culture, our familial values, and our social network. It is, however, extremely difficult to describe it in a simple and definitive way since it comes from a range of emotions such as contentment, love, joy, amusement, and pride. In her 2007 book The How of Happiness, positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky elaborates happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
But if you were to ask a neuroscientist, to an extent the definition of happiness is somewhat simplistic, a nice cocktail of happy hormones. Yes, we are talking about DOSE: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins. If you are unfamiliar with these, let me explain what science knows about them.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that’s an important part of your brain’s reward system. It’s associated with motivation, imminent pleasure, along with learning, memory, and more.
Serotonin: This hormone and neurotransmitter help regulate your mood as well as your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and memory.
Oxytocin: Often called the “love hormone,” oxytocin is an evolutionary gift essential for childbirth, and strong parent-child bonding. It can also help promote trust, empathy, and bonding in relationships. Levels generally increase with physical affection.
Endorphins: These hormones are your body’s natural pain reliever, which your body produces in response to stress or discomfort. Levels may also increase when you engage in reward-producing activities such as eating, exercising, getting a massage, or sex.
With that knowledge, can we hack these hormones and be happy all the time? Well, as the Pixar movie “Inside Out” very well articulates, every emotion has a role, and happiness loses its value in the absence of sadness, hack as you may, the hormones can only go so far before fading out in their effect. Too much of any of these can either lead you into anxiety or depression and even convert you into an addict. If you have found yourself reaching out to your phone now and then and checking your social feeds, that’s dopamine addiction, right there.
As long as you realize the limitations of manipulating your body’s natural hormone system, it is very much possible to adopt a few behaviors that can bring healthy levels of these hormones into a happy cocktail. A few of these that I try to adopt:
- Getting outside – Being cooped up in your home brings levels of serotonin down. A simple act of having some sunlight on your skin can boost them. Yes, you can apply sunscreen to protect yourself from damaging UV rays.
- At the risk of sounding boring, get some workout. Exercise is not only for physical well-being but has a huge role in emotional one too. A good workout (even walks) can boost both dopamine and serotonin levels. Hack it for maximum benefits, do it with friends. Group settings can amplify the happiness hormones further.
- Laughter is indeed the best medicine. Spend time with family and friends whether you engage in intellectually stimulating conversation or just jokes, a seemingly meaningless banter has a lot of meaning. Research indicates higher levels of endorphins during such gathering.
- Boost all your hormones with a healthy and tasty meal that you cook with your loved ones. Cooking builds up anticipation for a delicious meal and releases dopamine. Indulging in dinner is known to increase endorphins. Hack it this way:
- Spicy foods release higher levels of endorphins.
- Foods high in tryptophan (Quinoa, Oats, Tofu, Fish, Turkey, Nuts, Dairy, and eggs) also are linked with higher levels of serotonin.
- All your favorite foods (careful, do not overindulge)
- Are you a music lover? Put on your favorite music and bring your focus to it. I am not talking about elevator music or something playing in the background. Research has proven the link between listening to music and increasing dopamine production. If you know how to play an instrument, even better.
- If you practice meditation, you might already know of its many benefits. Research many of meditation’s benefits to increased dopamine production during the practice.
- Get a pet – Pets are known to help boost oxytocin levels in you as much as in them.
- Supplements: This one is a tricky subject but some research does indicate the value of supplementing with some precursors. The ones that are safe enough to consider:
- Probiotics – Think fermented foods, they are linked with the reduction of anxiety and depression.
- Mucuna Pruriens is a type of tropical bean native to parts of Africa, India and Southern China and contains a compound called L-Dopa. This compound helps release high levels of Dopamine.
- Gingko Biloba is native to China and known in Chinese medicine for its curative properties. Research may not be conclusive, but it is linked with better mood and brain function by reducing oxidative stress.
- Oregano Oil is known for its antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties. One compound, Carcacrol, has shown increased Dopamine production in research.
- Green tea and Coffee have long been known for their antioxidant properties and luckily, they contain L-theanine and Caffeine, which directly affect cognitive function and have anti-depressant effects.
Research on these supplements is sometimes inconclusive and sometimes only indicative in non-human tests. However, considering these are all natural substances and known very well to not be harmful in moderate consumption, I have no problem leveraging this knowledge.
There, you have it! A summary of bio-chemical approach to happiness. There is a whole another psychological and philosophical side to this but a topic for another time.
