Dopamine is a type of monoamine neurotransmitter that is made in your brain and acts as a chemical messenger between nerve cells in your brain, as well as your brain and the rest of your body — however, dopamine also acts as a hormone, specifically a neurohormone that is released by the hypothalamus in your brain. Dopamine plays a role in many body functions, such as:
- Movement
- Memory
- Pleasurable reward and motivation
- Behavior and cognition
- Attention
- Sleep & arousal
- Mood
- Learning
In the same way that cortisol is known as the stress hormone, dopamine is known as the “feel-good” or “happy hormone” – it gives a sense of pleasure and the motivation to act or do something when you feel pleasure because it is part of your reward system. This “system” was designed to “reward” you when you do the things that you need to do to live — eating, drinking water, etc. Because of this, humans are hard-wired to seek out behaviors that “reward” us with dopamine — as a result, you seek more of that feeling. If you have a healthy balance of dopamine, you feel happy, motivated and alert. On the other hand, if you have a low dopamine level, you’ll often feel tired, unmotivated or unhappy — you could even experience memory loss, mood swings, sleep problems and can have difficulting focusing throughout your day.
In order to improve your dopamine levels naturally, you could try eating foods that are high in magnesium and tyrosine – these are the building blocks for dopamine production. Foods known to increase dopamine include almonds, apples, avocados, bananas, chicken, green leafy veggies, sesame and pumpkin seeds, turmeric and watermelon (to name a few!). Also, try your best to engage in activities that make you feel happy and calm! This could be exercising, meditating or praying, reading, playing with pet, going on a walk or reading a book.