5 Ways to increase the serotonin hormone naturally to make you happier

As a hormone that can make you feel better, serotonin plays a very important role in your life. Lack of chemical compounds that are responsible for carrying messages between brain cells, can cause a bad mood. So that this does not happen, find out some ways to increase the serotonin hormone here.

How to increase the serotonin hormone naturally

The serotonin hormone in your body can actually be increased with the help of drugs. However, it is likely that the drugs can make you addicted.

So trying natural ways to increase the hormone serotonin without the help of drugs helps avoid the risk of dependence.

Here are the things you can do:

1. Eat foods rich in carbohydrates

The presence of the hormone serotonin in the body increases your chances of having a happy and enjoyable day.

Well, one way to increase serotonin naturally is to pay attention to your diet.

Eating foods that contain an amino acid known as tryptophan can help increase the presence of the hormone serotonin.

However, according to a study from Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences Tryptophan does not directly increase serotonin. However, it requires the help of foods that are rich in carbohydrates.

This is because carbohydrates that are already in the form of sugar in the bloodstream cause more insulin production.

Then, the insulin will help speed up the absorption of amino acids and leave tryptophan in the inside.

In the end, tryptophan in the blood is absorbed by the brain and used to produce serotonin.

Here are some foods that are believed to increase the serotonin hormone in your body:

• Whole wheat bread filled with cheese and chicken or high protein meat
• Rich oatmeal with nuts
• Brown rice or brown rice with salmon
• Milk and dairy products

2. Exercise regularly

In addition to consuming foods that are high in carbohydrates and amino acids, regular exercise is also a natural way to increase the serotonin hormone.

This is evidenced by several studies summarized in an article from Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience.

In the article, the researchers agreed that regular exercise can release tryptophan compounds into the blood and reduce the amount of amino acids.

Exercise causes tryptophan compounds to be released in large quantities into your brain.

In addition, there are studies that reveal that exercise can improve a patient's mood, especially with aerobic exercise.

Here are some types of aerobic exercise that can increase your serotonin without the help of drugs:

• Swimming
• Cycling
• On foot

3. Bask in the morning sun

For citizens of countries who experience four seasons, namely spring, summer, autumn, and snow, the hormone serotonin drops dramatically when winter enters.

This is in fact closely related to the insufficient production of the hormone serotonin because it does not get enough sunlight.

According to a study from Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, sunlight has been proven to be a way to increase the serotonin hormone in the body.

This is probably because the sunlight that is absorbed by the skin is synthesized into serotonin.

There are certain strategies so that you can maximize the benefits of sunlight, such as:

• Spend 10-15 minutes outdoors per day.
• Try to get the sun under 10 in the morning.
• Don't forget to use sunscreen when you are outdoors for more than 15 minutes.

However, for those of you who are sensitive to sunlight, try not to sunbathe for too long, especially during the day.

4. Reflexology

Did you know that reflexology can be one way to help increase the serotonin hormone naturally?

As reported from the page Mayo Clinic, doing massage for 60 minutes can actually reduce the hormone cortisol in your body.

The hormone cortisol is a type of hormone that is produced when the body is under stress or under stress.

If there is a decrease in the hormone cortisol, serotonin normally increases and makes mood You become nicer.

This may be because massage relaxes you and increases awareness between your mind and body.

In fact, through massage you can regain the confidence you lost due to a bad mood.

Another reason why massage can change your mood is that the touch others give you caters for human contact needs.

In some people, massage may be a touch that can be interpreted as attention and affection.

Want your mood to change for the better? Try going to a massage parlor or asking someone you care about to relax your mind with a massage for a few minutes.

5. Use essential oils

The use of essential oils to help overcome various health problems has been done for hundreds of years.

In fact, essential oils are supposed to increase the hormone serotonin and make mood You better off.

This is evidenced by a study from Frontiers in Pharmacology. In this study, male rats were treated with lavender and ylang-ylang essential oils.

The result, the two essential oils showed that there was an increase in the hormone serotonin in the mice's brain.

Therefore, it can be concluded that essential oils, especially lavender and ylang-ylang, can change mood You.

However, further research is still needed whether the effect will be the same if applied to humans.

If you have tried the various natural ways above to increase the serotonin hormone but they don't work, you should consult a doctor or an expert.