Analysis: Dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins are dubbed the happy hormones because they boost and regulate our mood every day
Our bodies are full of hormones; chemical messengers that send signals from the brain to the rest of the body about what to feel and how to function. Four of them are known as the 'happy hormones' for their positive role in regulating our mood: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins. These hormones can be boosted naturally with everyday activities, but it helps to understand how and why it that matters.
Dopamine, together with serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins are molecules in our brain and body that are considered both neurotransmitters and hormones. They’re therefore sometimes called neurohormones, explains Dr Stella Vlachou, Associate Professor in Psychology and Director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit of the Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory at DCU. They’ve each got their own nickname that tell us something about why they’re so important to our mood, behaviour and bodily functions.
Dopamine and the brain's reward system
From an evolutionary perspective, the brain’s reward system was developed to ensure our survival. "It is considered a very important system for controlling aspects of behaviour that relates to eating, drinking, survival skills like the fight or flight reaction, and reproduction", explains Vlachou. "However, when dopamine is released in our brain reward system, or if it is heightened in our brain reward system, it's an indication of our engagement with pleasurable, happy and joyful activities or experiences."
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Vlachou has been researching dopamine for nearly two decades now. Like oxytocin, it's often referred to as a "happy" or "feel-good" hormone because it "very largely circulates in areas of the brain that are part of what we have identified as the brain reward system. Dopamine is not the only neurotransmitter in that system but it’s a major contributor."
Together with many other neurotransmitters, it acts "as a chemical messenger between different areas of the brain, as well as between the brain and different areas of the body," says Vlachou. "Dopamine is considered a very important neurotransmitter because it is implicated in many different body functions, most of which are controlled by the central nervous system."
For the main part, dopamine is strongly involved in movement and memory processes. It’s also involved in different aspects of behaviour and recognition, as well as attention, sleep, arousal, and different mood states, she says. But, Vlachou adds, "most importantly, we know dopamine as one of the neurotransmitters that is mainly implicated in pleasure, reward reinforcement and motivation."
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"When we engage in hobbies or in happy activities, exercising or eating, having sex, all of these activities activate the brain reward system and increase levels of dopamine. This is what we call natural rewards. However, we also see intense and severe abnormal activity of the brain reward system under the influence of synthetic rewards such as engagement with substance abuse," she explains.
In general, what we always hope to have is a a good balance between different neurotransmitters in our brain. It's when we don't have this balance, says Vlachou, that’s we can see various different kinds of mental health conditions or neuropsychiatric disorders. One example where low dopamine is involved is Parkinson’s disease, which is why patients are treated with a drug called levodopa, a precursor of dopamine. People diagnosed with different forms of ADHD would also have low levels of dopamine. Conversely, very high levels of dopamine are seen in mania and also in addiction.
Serotonin and your mood
Serotonin plays a very important role in a number of different functions; the most important ones are mood and sleep, anxiety and stress-related aspects, Vlachou explains. "When we have normal levels of serotonin in our body we are a calm, happy, we feel focused, we are also emotionally stable overall.
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"However, when we see lower levels of serotonin in our brain, this is very strongly associated with depression and many times with anxiety. That's why numerous different approved prescription medications that relieve symptoms over different mood disorders, including depression or different anxiety disorders, they try to increase the level of serotonin in the brain." This list also includes OCD, PTSD, and panic attacks.
Interestingly, approximately 90% of serotonin is released in the body, rather than the brain. "The main area where we see serotonin in the body is the gastrointestinal tract. Through there, it is released to the blood circulation and absorbed by the cardiovascular system, circulating all over the body. It's also very strongly involved in bodily functions such as digestion and nausea, and it contributes to the healing of wounds and bone health. And, like dopamine, serotonin is also "very much implicated in sexual desire," she says.
All of these different molecules, from dopamine to serotonin and oxytocin, come from precursors; prior chemicals that combine with each other to create a particular chemical structure. "The direct precursor of serotonin is tryptophan. Tryptophan is a very important amino acid that we can get naturally from different types of foods," says Vlachou. These foods include some nuts, seeds, greens, vegetables, cheese, and fish.
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When it comes to serotonin and its role in sleep, exposure to sunlight helps as well. Serotonin is "a precursor of melatonin, which is the hormone that we release when we start falling asleep. "So our exposure to sunlight very much balances that synthesis cycle of serotonin and melatonin. It positively effects our sleep."
Oxytocin and love
You might have heard of oxytocin as the love or cuddle hormone, says Vlachou. There's a reason for that. Oxytocin is "always there in the picture" because of its very important role in human interaction. "It is implicated in sexual arousal, but it is also implicated in behaviour such as recognition of individuals, formulating trust towards individuals, including even the very early stages of parent-infant bonding. There have been studies done in this area which show higher levels of oxytocin released when the baby is looking at the mom and the mom is looking at the baby. Then it is also very much implicated in sexual love and romantic attachment."
"Oxytocin is a very, very important hormone for both males and females," she says. The hypothalamus synthesises oxytocin and is directly connected with an area of the posterior pituitary gland in the brain, which is responsible for storing oxytocin and releasing it into the bloodstream at times when it's needed, she explains. For example, "oxytocin is considered really important for stimulating uterine contractions during labour, and it also stimulates contractions of the breast tissue to try and help lactation after childbirth. For males, oxytocin seems to play an important role in ejaculation."
Endorphins: the body's natural painkillers
When it comes to endorphins, the answer is right there in the name. "The name endorphin comes from a synthesis of two words; the first one being endogenous, which means internal to our body or the brain, and the second one coming from morphine, the opioid drug," Vlachou explains. "Endorphins are called in this way because one of their main functions is to alleviate pain. They have a very strong analgesic effect, many times stronger than that of morphine."
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Although their main function is to act as a natural painkiller, they are also involved in the improvement of mood and in lowering stress. There are at least 20 different types of endorphins that have been identified in the human body and the ones that are involved in the relief of pain are called beta-endorphins, she says.
Like the other feel-good hormones, endorphins are also involved in relieving symptoms of stress, or depression and anxiety. But also in "enhancing feelings of love, or even feelings of self-love in many cases," she adds. Like oxytocin, endorphins are released at a higher level during childbirth to help relieve the pain.
If you want to release endorphins naturally, it helps to engage in everyday activities. "Exercising and eating healthily, engaging in sexual activity and participating in different types of hobbies are things that would make us happy overall. Any of these any activities can help release endorphins and really help us maintain this overall good state of well-being."
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
