The Feel-Good Messenger
Dopamine, also known as Feel-Good Messenger, is one of the key neurotransmitters. Like all other mental activities, your feelings are also carried in the form of electrical messages, between the brain cells, by chemicals known as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters play a vital role in setting your mood. This Feel-Good Messenger i.e. Dopamine can have rising levels which trigger happiness and positive feeling whereas, the falling levels can bring sadness, depression and low mood.
Foods with high sugar and fats kick up the levels of Dopamine. The quicker the Dopamine level rises, the sharper it hits a fall. Hence, to keep a balance, protein-rich food is an obvious option for you.
Supply yourself with soybeans, almonds, meat and eggs, which are the precursors to ensure a stable production of Dopamine and stay in good mood all day long.
When you are suffering from a really low mood, what comes really handy is chocolate. Chocolate contains anandamide and is greatly effective in pumping up Dopamine. Pamper yourself with a large chunk of chocolate and you are all smiles.
Alcohol in small quantities also does the trick because this partly boosts Dopamine but large doses can lead to hangover and cause low mood. Moreover, it is also addictive and prolonged or regular use destroys brain cells, resulting in poor memory.
To Start Off with a Good Mood
Starting off the day in a happy mood and a smiling face always helps to minimise the stress or the bad time waiting for you.
Start your day with green tea. It has amino acid thiamine which helps the release of the feel-good chemical.
Expose yourself to the morning sunlight as much as you can. The more morning light you consume the happier you stay throughout the day. Eat your breakfast beside a window in the morning sunlight or exercise under the sun.
Daily Habits Lead the Way to Happiness
The best thing you can do to yourself is to keep yourself happy all the time. Life is never even for anyone. But even during bad and depressing times, a little smile can bring back the positive energy that you need to overcome the depression.
At night, right before going to bed, pen down all the good things that happened to you or you did throughout the day. Keeping a track of all the happy moments of the day will help you keep the smile on.
Exercising brings happiness because it produces endorphins which stimulate the production of Dopamine. Dopamine makes you stay happy and exercising also helps you to stay fit and healthy.
Do things which make you happy, like your old hobbies of painting, gardening, etc. Also try to spread happiness around you. Seeing someone smile just because you put in the effort to bring that smile, gives you the most wonderful feeling that you can cherish throughout your life.
Thanking people for simple things such as offering you a seat in a bus, bringing your order at some café or restaurant, or such things not only help you feel happy but the person helping you also feels great.
When you are feeling low, go through the old pictures and down the memory lane when you had a hearty laugh with people closest to you. Such memories boost you with positive energy.
Shopping always instantly makes you happy when you have a bad mood. But instead of buying in happiness through shopping, you can also go for really delicious and extravagant food.
Another great way to set up your mood is to talk to a funny friend and laugh out all the stress. You can even share your worries with someone close and seek suggestions. And, if your funny friend is not available at that time, you can search the internet for funny videos. Laughing hard is all it takes to lift up your mood.
Last but not the least, if nothing else works, take a break from whatever you are doing and fill a room with fragrant candles or incense sticks. Sit in meditation. This helps you to calm down and relax.
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