Dopamine is an incredibly important hormone. While it has a variety of different jobs, you will mostly find people referring to it as the ‘pleasure chemical’. This is because high levels of dopamine have been closely linked with positive moods. In fact, many mental health conditions are the result of low dopamine levels.
Therefore, it is in your best interests to boost your dopamine levels as much as possible. While there are plenty of ways that you can do this, we believe that the following three steps will help get you off on the right foot.
Exercise More
Exercise is probably one of the fastest ways to boost your dopamine levels. In fact, you will likely notice a positive impact on your mood within 20-minutes.
You don’t even need to do anything too strenuous here. A nice, brisk walk for around 20-minutes will shoot your dopamine levels up.
Obviously, this boost is only going to be temporary. However, if you can get into the swing of walking on a regular basis, then you will notice that your dopamine levels start to stay naturally high.
Of course, this is just step one. There are a few other things that you will need to do to boost your dopamine levels.
Consume a More Balanced Diet
Step 2 is to improve your diet. If you have been feasting on fatty and sugary products, then give them a skip. Or, at least cut back a little bit. One of the worst things for dopamine levels is consuming a lot of saturated fats.
Your diet should be a mixture of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and lean meats. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, it is important that you get your five a day. The dose of nutrients and vitamins from this food is going to work wonders for your brain health.
We also suggest that you eat more fish or fatty nuts. These will contain Omega-3 which, once again, is great for your brain health.
While you are working on improving your diet, try to drink more water. You should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day.
Not only will you be enjoying higher dopamine levels from your exercise and diet, you will also start to lose weight. This is also going to improve your dopamine levels.
Take Time To Relax or Socialize
For many people, a fall in dopamine levels is due to high stress. This means that, every so often, you should take the time to relax.
Do something that excites you. This could be playing a game. It could be watching TV. It may even be a spot of meditation. Just try to take a break from the daily grind. Aim for an hour or so per day.
We also suggest that you try and socialize a little bit more. Socialization is part of being human, and study after study has shown that those that regularly socialize with others tend to have higher dopamine levels.
