Y’all as promised a little more in depth talk about the happy chemicals that my coffee is helping to amplify each day. Wow! That sounds amazing just typing it! Y’all should experience a cup of it.
The first is Dopamine. One of the happy chemicals, Dopamine, is a neurotransmitter that helps send vital signals in the brain and to other vital areas in the body. It plays a number of roles in humans from movement to memory to the brain’s reward system.
NEUROTRANSMITTER aka HAPPY CHEMICALS
What is a neurotransmitter you say? They are chemicals made by nerve cells called neurons. They are used to communicate messages across different parts of the body and to the brain. The total number of neurotransmitters is unknown but it is well over 100. They all play certain roles in the brain and body.
TOO LITTLE DOPAMINE
A deficiency in dopamine can be caused by several different things. It can be because of a decrease in the production in the body or perhaps there is a problem with the receptors of the brain. It may be related to certain medical conditions including but not limited to depression or Parkinson’s disease.
SYMPTOMS OF DOPAMINE DEFICIENCY
Some of the symptoms of a dopamine deficiency may include:
- Muscle cramps, spasms, or tremors
- Loss of balance
- Weight loss or gain
- Low energy
- An inability to focus
- Feeling fatigued
- Lack of motivation
- Having low self-esteem
- Feeling guilt-ridden
- Feeling anxious
DIAGNOSIS
There is no reliable way to measure levels of dopamine in a person. A doctor may just take into consideration a person’s lifestyle, symptoms, medical history to determine if it may be due to low levels of dopamine.
It is important to have a right level of dopamine in the body. As you can see, dopamine is involved in many different roles in the body. Not having the right amount can cause serious problems for you. If you think that you may be suffering from low dopamine there are ways to help increase it in the brain. The one I have found is the coffee I drink daily. All of the symptoms I was experiencing, have improved.
Dopamine Rewards System Hack
The brain’s reward system may be a hack to your success that you want to notice. Every time dopamine is released it is what drives our efforts so to speak. That dopamine hit you get from that sugary food is what keeps you going back for more. What if you could create that type of drive towards your goal?
Dr. Andrew Hubberman has done a lot of research on how to hack the dopamine rewards system in the brain, and I want to share a couple of his ideas. Many people have a hard time celebrating the small wins along the journey towards their goal. This can create a lot of pushback on moving forward towards hitting the goal. What Dr. Hubberman has noticed is when you will celebrate small external wins along the way to the big goal, the brain will release dopamine and keep you seeking more.
Dopamine is released when you take action, which in turn strengthens the neural pathways in the brain. The stronger the pathways, the easier things become. Energy in the brain is going to flow through the least resistant pathway. When you strengthen the pathway, you are on the way to hitting your goal faster.
The body’s way of getting us into action is through agitation. All those times that you have felt agitated and just felt that you needed to move, and as soon as you moved you felt better, the brain released dopamine from the action. Dopamine release brings clarity. If you are feeling stuck, go take a walk, run, or just some jumping jacks. Just get your body moving and feel the shift. Be sure to grab my Dopamine Rewards Systems Hack above.