Dopamine is one of the hormones known as happiness hormones. It is responsible for the feeling of well-being after carrying out an activity or behavior, that is, it is responsible for the feeling of reward. In addition, it participates in memory, learning and motivation processes, among others.
Having the right amount of dopamine is very important, since too much can cause diseases such as schizophrenia. On the other hand, a deficiency can cause diseases: depression, a multitude of physical and psychological problems, Parkinson’s disease… Some symptoms of dopamine deficiency are drowsiness, low mood, craving for sugar or loss of interest. for things, among others.
In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you how to increase dopamine with natural remedies, foods and medicines.
Remedies to increase dopamine naturally
If you are wondering how to increase dopamine, let’s look at different remedies to increase dopamine naturally:
- Do sport: The first way that everyone turns to to increase dopamine is to play sports. With physical activity, a multitude of substances are released in our brain, including dopamine. This happens to a greater extent when it is also a physical activity that we like. The ideal is to try several and see which one you enjoy the most.
- A good break It is essential for dopamine levels. Studies have shown that more dopamine is released in the mornings than at night. If the body is forced to be awake at night, in the morning it will be more difficult for the body to be active and be able to produce that release of dopamine.
- Music It is a great ally to increase dopamine, being able to do so by up to 9%. Also being social and staying active helps this increase.
- Small goals every day: Planning daily goals helps increase dopamine. Make a list and cross out those objectives that you are meeting: clean the bathroom, play sports, study for an hour, etc. The fact of achieving them activates these sensations of reward, which means that dopamine increases.
- Sunbathe increases the number of dopamine receptors. If we realize, in times when there are fewer hours of daylight it is easier to feel depressed or dejected. Therefore, especially in winter, whenever you can, let the sun shine on you for a few minutes.
- Do activities that relax you: Finding different ways to relax is very useful to increase dopamine, since the less stress, the greater the amount of dopamine. Try doing or focusing on an activity you really enjoy like painting or reading. The idea is that for a few moments you forget about what causes tension and stress and your body and mind relax. Try to have a moment for yourself in every day.
Foods to increase dopamine
At a general level, when we talk about foods that increase dopamine or a diet rich in dopamine, we are referring to foods rich in its precursors: tyrosine and phenylalanine. Generally, foods to increase dopamine are of animal origin, especially protein, which we can ingest by eating meat and fish. On the other hand, there are also other vegetarian food as the following:
- Bananas.
- Apples.
- Green leaves.
- Nuts.
- Legumes.
- Turmeric.
- Dark chocolate.
- Green Tea.
- Blueberries.
- Coffee.
There are some natural supplements that can also help increase dopamine such as turmeric root and the ginkgo biloba. Regarding the aforementioned green tea, L-theanine is especially effective.
Medications to increase dopamine
How to increase dopamine? As we have seen, there are different ways to increase dopamine. Next, we will look at medications to increase dopamine:
- One of the most used medications when there is a dopamine deficiency and, therefore, depression problems, are dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (IRDN). Likewise, these medications are also used in the treatment of attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD). In this article, you will see what the .
- Bupropion: the best known drug to increase dopamine. It is also used for the treatment of smoking. You discover the.
- Dopaminergic agents: one of them is the one commercially known as Dopamine Grifols which is used as a cardiac stimulant to regulate hemodynamic imbalances caused by a myocardial infarction or trauma, among other ailments.
- Levodopa: It is the most commonly used medication for the treatment of . It is a precursor of dopamine that, upon entering the brain, is transformed into this substance.
- dopamine agonists: they increase dopamine receptors in neurons and, therefore, more of it circulates in the brain.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Bártulos Encinas, Ó. (2009). Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase expression by chimera transcripts and role of dopamine in cardiogenesis.
- DeYoung, C. G. (2013). The neuromodulator of exploration: A unifying theory of dopamine’s role in personality.
- Mandal, Ananya. (2019, April 09). Dopamine Functions. News-Medical.
- Vargas-Barahona, L.M. (2007). Parkinson’s Disease and Dopamine. BUN Synapsis, 2(2), 11-15.