Mood: 10 Natural Ways to Boost it

It is important to boost your mood not only during winter but daily. We all want to be in a good mood. There are so many factors that play a role in influencing our mood and affect our happiness like social media, exposure to negative news, color, weather, clutter, stress, finances, job, social status, social well-being, diet, sleep, and exercise.

I am going to outline how to take advantage of natural brain chemicals, which will make a difference in your own life and in the lives of others.

You can boost your mood by getting a dose of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin.

DOSE stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin. I am going to explain all of them in layman’s terms and then write about how you create it naturally.

Dopamine

The average human brain contains 86 billion neurons that communicate with one another through neurotransmitters.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is linked to seeking pleasure and motivation. It is vital to our memory, mood, sleep, intelligence, social functions, language, learning, heart rate, blood vessel function, kidney function, pain processing, and attention functions.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin the love hormone is produced by the hypothalamus in the brain and secreted by the pituitary gland. Oxytocin plays an important role in human bonding. This happy hormone has a positive influence on emotions, love, trust, security, contentment, and mood.

Oxytocin is called the moral molecule, love and cuddle hormone. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that the brain cells use to communicate with one another and the brain also releases it into the blood to communicate with the rest of the body.

Any kind of interaction with another human being, social bonding, hugs, childbirth, making love triggers a release of oxytocin.

Serotonin

Serotonin is a chemical, nerve cells produce to communicate with each other and are found in blood platelets, the digestive system, and the central nervous system.

Endorphins

Endorphins are peptides and act as the body’s natural pain reliever. Endorphins are nature’s way of keeping away from negative stimuli and toward positive stimuli. Endorphins play a part in immune response, improving self-esteem and reducing anxiety and depression.

Here are the 10 natural ways to boost your mood:

Music for the brain does wonders for your mood

Listening to music, triggers dopamine and serotonin in the brain, because the area in the brain linked to reward and pleasure is stimulated. Exercise does wonders for the body. Listening to music is the perfect exercise for the brain as per John Hopkins University. John Hopkins University concluded that listening to music improves mood, memory, mental alertness, sleep quality, and reduces blood pressure and anxiety.

Creating or listening to music also raises your endorphins and oxytocin and makes a positive difference to your focus, motivation, and mood.

Get your beauty sleep

When you do not sleep enough it disrupts your natural rhythm and results in poor coordination and lack of concentration. Focus on getting between 7-9 hours of sleep as per the National Sleep Foundation to keep the dopamine levels balanced. Serotonin helps with alertness and influences our sleep patterns.

Exercise gets you high in the mood

Research has shown that exercising three times a week for 45 minutes, increases endorphin and mood improves after 10 minutes of it.

John Ratey, MD, author, and psychiatrist posits that exercise raises the level of dopamine and together with endorphins is responsible for the high you get after running.

Don’t worry be happy, reduce stress

Stress reduces dopamine and is a harbinger for many medical conditions. Try to have some control. If the job, long hours, long commute, toxic relationships, toxic boss, or other stressors are bringing you down then try looking for alternatives. Going for a walk, exercising, deep breathing, meditating, and getting a massage or acupuncture are great ways to reduce stress.

Dark chocolate is good for your mood

Dark chocolate has chemicals that improve your mood and stimulate endorphins and produce more serotonin. Serotonin makes you feel happier and endorphins give you the same high after exercising.

Spend time with friends and family

Focus on empathy and listening to your family and friends. Cook and have a meal and volunteer with them.

There are two kinds of happiness: hedonic and eudaimonic. Research has shown that when you spend time with friends and pursue interests that have meaning leads to eudaimonic happiness. Laugh often with friends as it stimulates endorphins. Laughter increases dopamine and gives our bodies more oxygen and cools down our stress response mechanism.

When you talk to your friends and share feelings, give a hug, kiss, and tell them how much you appreciate them increases oxytocin. Loneliness and being isolated are not good for your health. Spending time with friends raises your endorphins.

See a massage therapist

A professional massage or from your partner raises your endorphins. Massage increases your oxytocin and decreases your pain, stress, and anxiety.

The use of aromatherapy for massage, having a bath or using it around the home raise endorphins. If you go to the spa for a professional massage, use the sauna as it raises your endorphins.

Get lots of rays

Go out for a walk in nature and get some sun rays. It is good for you, creates vitamin D, and increases serotonin.

Acupuncture does wonders 

Acupuncture stimulates pain receptors and raises levels of endorphins.

Meditate

Compassion meditation focused on goodwill, love, and compassion towards a loved one boost oxytocin. Meditating on scriptures boosts your endorphins.