The main sources of good mood and joy are hormones of happiness. By influencing their level in the body, you can become a truly cheerful person. How to increase the amount of these hormones? And why is the feeling of constant serene happiness dangerous for a person? Olga Smirnova, Professor of the Department of Medical Biology of the Siberian Federal University, spoke about this to AiF - Krasnoyarsk.
Chemistry of happiness
The happiness hormone is not just one substance. There are at least four of them: endorphin, dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin. Together they cause that emotional feeling of comfort, joy, a surge of strength, a second wind, which we call happiness.
Endorphin is a pain-relieving hormone. It is produced most often in extreme situations. When you release this hormone, you are capable of things that you would normally not be able to do. For example, in the event of a fire, lift a very heavy object, carry out a dying person … Fans of extreme sports produce a lot of endorphins: skydiving, dangerous driving, etc.
Dopamine is found in people who study a lot, strive for something. But we get it when we reward ourselves, most often - we eat deliciously. We feel a surge of joy when foods contain tyrosine. It is found in meat and fish. We unwittingly improve our mood. In addition to food, coffee also stimulates receptors and dopamine release.
Oxytocin is an attachment hormone. It is a lot of married couples, where there are good relationships, as well as friends. Such people are less sick with somatic diseases, they do not have atherosclerosis. Animals also give a feeling of warmth and affection.
Serotinin is an internal antidepressant. He is responsible for our good mood, implementation, making plans. We are able to awaken it on our own. Much depends on the mood. No wonder they say: you should be happy with what you have, and not complain about life. Many parents form low self-esteem for us from childhood and thereby reduce the amount of serotonin, saying: “Misha is better than you,” “You didn’t do it,” etc. This is how internal discontent appears.
Short-term effect
The release of hormones has a very short-term effect: literally minutes. It's like buying a new thing. The first seconds are a feeling of happiness, and then we calm down. Or like traveling. The first day - euphoria, flight, emotions. And the next day, the new places seem common. This is normal. Because it is not safe for a person to be in a state of euphoria all the time. After all, the release of hormones occurs against a background of stress. Because of this, the vegetative system is disrupted, somatic diseases appear.
Still, it is possible to artificially evoke such emotions. For example, form positive habits. Sports activities trigger the release of endorphins. Only it is worth doing not waddling, and not feeling sorry for yourself. When you feel that you have a second wind, it means that there has been a surge of hormones. Spending time in a pleasant company, tasty healthy food, walks, healthy sleep - all this affects the mood and the feeling of happiness. Anyone can form a good habit in 45 days. There is no hormone therapy in medicine, the only thing I can advise in the fall-winter is to take vitamin D.
Emotions in advance
Many people dream of feeling the emotions that you experience when you fall in love. So to speak, the candy-bouquet period. At this time, there is a huge release of endorphins. They can also be provoked. For example, jumping from a parachute together. Or ride horses. Firstly, communication with animals is the release of oxytocin, the achievement of the set goal - dopamine, and extreme, plus communication with a loved one - endorphin. We must be more attentive to each other. When you feel proud of your partner, hormones are released too.
I repeat once again: our receptors have to rest, and the constant feeling of flight and buzz will not lead to anything good. So addiction can appear. People who use drugs are constantly on the lookout for happiness. But, having received a dose, their receptors are depleted and take a long time to recover. And if a person could not stop, then he needs more, more and more. And he no longer feels the effect, because he “took happiness in advance”. The new has not accumulated, exhaustion arises. I'm not even talking about the danger of overdoses, unforeseen circumstances and much more.