Know your brain: A quick guide to serotonin
Serotonin is also known as the ‘happy chemical’ because it helps to regulate happiness. Here’s how it works.
You have 40 million brain cells and most are influenced by serotonin.
Serotonin influences your mood, your sleep, your appetite levels, and even your digestion.
In other words, serotonin is a pretty big deal. Here’s how it works and why it’s worth keeping your serotonin levels front of mind.
What is serotonin, exactly?
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, meaning it’s used to transmit messages between nerve cells (neurons).
Inside your body, there are a number of naturally occurring chemicals that carry messages around – kind of like an internal text messaging system.
OK, but what does serotonin actually do?
Some of the most important roles of serotonin include:
Mood regulation
If your serotonin levels are right, you’ll feel happier, better able to focus, and more emotionally stable. On the flip side, an imbalance in serotonin levels has been linked to depression.
Appetite and digestion
Serotonin influences how your bowel works. If you eat something dodgy, your intestines will make more serotonin to help get it out of your body (from both ends) more quickly. It also helps reduce your appetite as you eat.
Sleep regulation
Serotonin helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle. Low serotonin levels can interfere with your sleep, which in turn can affect your health and wellbeing.
Need some extra help getting off to sleep at night? Click here for 5 ways to relax your mind at bedtime for better sleep.
Self esteem
Serotonin has been labelled the confidence neurochemical. Higher serotonin activity is related to greater feelings of confidence, which in turn gives you the drive to do the things that build self-esteem.
Memory
Serotonin also influences memory and learning. In particular, serotonin seems to improve the speed of learning.
Blood clotting
When you cut yourself, serotonin gets to work helping your blood clot to stop the bleeding.
Tips to boost your serotonin levels
Get a move on
Exercise increases serotonin production and release. Whether it’s walking, running, yoga or playing sport, regular exercise makes you feel good and is great for your overall health.
Stopped exercising and want to restart? Click here for tips.
Eat your way to health and happiness
Eating certain foods can help boost serotonin levels. These include; salmon, spinach, poultry, eggs, soy products, milk, nuts and seeds.
Remember the time when …
When you think about something good that’s happened in the past, your brain will increase serotonin production. Chatting with someone, looking at old photos or visualising a happy moment can all improve your mood.
Let there be light
Getting a good dose of natural sunlight every day helps increase your serotonin levels. Being exposed to sunlight in the morning also helps your brain and body wake up. At night, avoid blue light from computer screens as this interferes with the conversion of serotonin into melatonin (the hormone that makes you feel sleepy).
Massage to happiness
Several studies have shown massage increases serotonin levels, which is why you always feel so damn good after one.
