Getting our Daily DOSE: the Importance of Neurotransmitter Health
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not, how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
by Mary Oliver
Worry and anxiety are two words we hear often in our neurofeedback clinic. Our brains have the ability to rest in a flexible flow that nurtures a calm, stable environment where worry and anxiety are silenced. This quietness is the birthplace of joy.
What are some of the things we need for mental and emotional well-being? How can we help our brain and nervous system move through life with resilience, peace, and integration? How can we, as Mary Oliver suggests in her poem, give it up… and take these bodies out into the morning and sing?
We have several words we say often in the neurofeedback clinic. Safety – it transforms everything for our nervous system. Curiosity, Openness, Acceptance, Love – these help us move from chaos and rigidity back into the flow of flexibility. And the ability to experience and embrace these things is greatly supported by a healthy biological balance of our “feel-good hormones,” which we call our daily DOSE.
Hormones are our body’s chemical messengers. They are released by glands into the bloodstream to act on organs and tissues, and they control everything from the way we function to the way we feel, respond to, and perceive our world. One special group of hormones are also known as neurotransmitters because they carry messages across the spaces between nerve cells. These four “feel-good hormones” make up the acronym DOSE to help us easily remember the things our minds and bodies need each day. The hormone levels of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins can be boosted with simple lifestyle changes and intentionality. Here is a quick overview of these wonderful hormones’ gifts to our bodies:
Dopamine has the important job of helping us feel pleasure when the brain rewards us. It reinforces our resolve to stick with things and ‘do it again’. It is produced at the base of the brain in a two-step process. First, the amino acid tyrosine is converted into another amino acid, L-dopa. Enzymes then change this into dopamine.
Dopamine has a key role in these areas:
Learning and attention
Mood
Movement
Heart rate
Kidney function
Sleep
Pain processing
Lactation
Depression is often linked primarily to serotonin, but studies show that dopamine deficiency contributes to downheartedness. Hopeless feelings lead to lack of motivation and difficulty concentrating or paying attention.
Two ideas for helping boost our dopamine levels are:
(1) eating foods that are rich in tyrosine (a side benefit is that a tyrosine-rich diet may improve memory and mental performance)! Chicken, dairy foods, avocados, bananas, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and soy are a few tyrosine-rich foods.
(2) Meditation – the changes in consciousness that happen when we meditate trigger the release of dopamine.
Oxytocin is sometimes called the “love hormone” because our pituitary gland releases it into the bloodstream to help facilitate childbirth and lactation. It is produced by the hypothalamus when we fall in love or get excited by our sexual partner.
Oxytocin is produced and secreted by a positive feedback loop – meaning that the hormone causes an action that stimulates more of its own release. An example of this is when a newborn nurses, the nipple and cervix mechanoreceptors are stimulated, creating a positive feedback loop, which releases more oxytocin in the brain. Oxytocin positively influences our ability to relax, trust, and experience psychological stability.
A brilliant way to boost oxytocin naturally is with exercise, music (especially group singing because of the bonding element), and touch. Giving someone a hug or a gentle shoulder pat, cuddling, a massage, or making love leads to higher levels of oxytocin which encourages a greater sense of well-being.
Serotonin keeps us feeling hopeful, happy, and that all is right in the world. It lifts our mood. An area in the center of the brainstem produces serotonin, which then acts on many different parts of the brain to affect a whole lot of functions and behaviors, like:
Memory
Fear
Digestion
Addiction
Sexuality
Stress Responses
Sleep
Low levels of serotonin are often linked to depression, and many antidepressants aim to increase serotonin levels in the brain. Here are a few ways to boost serotonin levels through our own efforts:
Exercise: when you move your body, your body releases more tryptophan, the amino acid your brain uses to make serotonin. This boost is why some folks get a feeling of euphoria after a workout.
Light therapy: in the Pacific NW, it’s easy to get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). These winter blues are often triggered by a drop in serotonin, something that exposure to the sun or light therapy can counteract by increasing serotonin levels.
Endorphins are our body’s natural painkillers and are released by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in response to pain or stress. This group of peptide hormones both relieves pain and creates a general feeling of well-being.
There are about 20 different types of endorphins, the best studied of which is the beta-endorphin or endorphin associated with a “runner’s high.” We also release endorphins when we exercise, laugh, fall in love, have sex, or eat a delicious meal.
If you want to increase your body’s endorphin release, you might try:
Acupuncture: placing fine needles into the skin and specific pressure points around the body triggers the release of endorphins.
Sex: endorphins are the reason many of us get that blissful feeling after sex.
Play Music: when you sing, dance, or pound on a drum, you release a rush of endorphins
Laughter: A good belly laugh helps our state of mind but that’s not all—it also releases endorphins and alters levels of serotonin and dopamine in all the best ways.
Ruth Droullard is a Neurofeedback Practitioner at Northwest Life Medicine Clinic.