Giving yourself small moments of pleasure a day is a safe bet to secrete hormones and molecules of well-being.
“ Mental health is taken care of from the moment you wake up,” experts say. And optimism, to a certain extent, too. And all of this helps generate dopamine, endorphins, serotonin and oxytocin: the so-called hormones and molecules of well-being. This is explained in book Guess my age if you can.
His book is a tour, led by several longevity specialists, of all the things we can do (and that are not genetically determined) to age well, less quickly and with a better quality of life. And precisely in this analysis, several lines are dedicated to how positive emotions will create a “virtuous circle” that stimulates the body’s ability to repair itself, relax and generate well-being hormones, including dopamine, but also others such as serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin.
Table of Contents
What can you do to generate dopamine on any given day?
1. Give yourself 3 moments of pleasure a day
One of easy recommendations to cultivate that optimism – “Being optimistic is something you have to work on every day” – is to “ give yourself something good three times a day.”
They are simple things but they help tremendously with our well-being: cooking, practicing journaling, giving a hug for 30 seconds, a bath, enjoying a coffee without doing anything else (alone or practicing fika, that Swedish custom of drinking coffee in company from friends or family). Or dance “for three minutes letting yourself be carried away by your favorite song.”
This recommendation is based on the philosophy of Three Buzzes a Day method. The author tells it in her book how to activate your optimism to be happier. And sums it up like this: “ Write down, think about and remember three good things that happened during the day.” This illuminates your thoughts and encourages you to see the glass as half full. “It changes the way you see things and stimulates the secretion of wellness molecules,” author points out.
2. Cultivate optimism
“All studies agree that between 30 and 50% of personality traits are biologically determined. This means that between 50 and 70% of those traits we can acquire and work on throughout our live”
And although the environment and the people around us influence it, we can also take steps to be optimistic. And in this work the gestures and habits that stimulate well-being hormones come into play. “When someone asks me if there is a recipe for happiness, I usually say that to be happy you have to be optimistic and draw on your own resources” . And yes, stimulating these hormones is possible.
The expert talks about oxytocin (related to a feeling of security and trust in social relationships); serotonin (more linked to emotions and mood); endorphins (cause a feeling of euphoria and prevent stress and pain) and dopamine.
The latter “is responsible for feelings of motivation and reward. “She fosters a feeling of pleasure,” expert explains. And although we commonly talk about them as feel-good hormones, there are many experts who insist that they are actually happiness neurotransmitters associated with mood regulation, a feeling of well-being and the reduction of anxiety. In the specific case of dopamine, it is a neurotransmitter that causes a quick, more energizing and stimulating sensation of pleasure.
3. Laugh more
When it comes to looking for those 3 highs a day to activate our well-being, there is one that never fails: laughter. It has been proven that both natural and voluntary dopamine generates. This is how psychologist explains it to us .
“The insula, which is one of the parts of the brain most involved in identity, is activated when we see someone smile or when we ourselves smile. We see the power that a smile has on us, because the brain dedicates a large number of neurons to the face. When we smile there is an increase in endorphins, neuropeptides, dopamine and serotonin, these hormones when acting together are capable of reducing stress, lowering heart rate, increasing productivity and reducing anxiety.”
