What makes you happy?
Ask yourself the question… what did you come up with? Like most people you probably came up with something like; “my family,” “my favourite jeans,” or “walking in the woods.” So, that means that when you don’t have these things in your life that you’re unhappy?
Well I’ve got good news for you my friend, happiness is a chemical experience. Don’t worry I’m not trying to push a new trendy street drug. You have everything you need already swirling around in your beautiful brain. And the really good news- there are incredibly simple ways you can activate it.
I’ve done a bit of digging for you and I have compiled a list of 15 simple ways that you can activate your brain’s happy chemicals. But first, a little bit of chemistry…
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What happens in your brain when you’re happy?
Well, us humans are basically hard-wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain, this evolved from our survival instincts but has led us to actively seek happiness. There are two types of “chemical messengers” responsible for this behaviour: neurotransmitters and hormones. The brain uses these chemicals to get up to all sorts of mental shenanigans, including regulating your heart rate, breathing, sleep cycles, digestion and appetite, and of course… your mood.
The sole purpose of Neurotransmitters is to carry specific signals between neurons (nerves) and other cells in the body. That’s how your nervous system works.
The hormones (not the Chinese indie band), are similar but are released by glands and work through the blood, and that we call the endocrine system.
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What are the 4 happy chemicals?
There are a lot of neurotransmitters and hormones working in the body, but you want to know about happiness so I’m going to focus on the four that are, in one way or another, responsible for those lovely positive emotions you feel from day to day.
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#1 Serotonin actually does a lot of different stuff in the body but for the purposes of this article let’s call it ‘chemical confidence’. You know that feeling when you’ve achieved something? You feel proud of yourself, a sense of accomplishment. That scene in Star Wars when Dak says “right now I feel like I could take on the whole empire myself” Well that’s serotonin (not midi-chlorians- sigh!).
We also get a serotonin hit when we receive recognition from others and when we feel proud of someone we respect.
Of course, becoming a serotonin junkie could drive you to become an attention seeker or people pleaser, behaviours that often end in depression and feelings of low-self esteem. Instead you focus on your wins to get your serotonin fix and develop your belief in your own worth.
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#2 Endorphins are one of your bodies natural painkillers, similar in structure to opiates like morphine. They evolved to help us push our bodies through discomfort and survive in emergencies, imagine running away from a hungry lion with a broken leg (you not the lion). Without endorphins you’d probably just roll over and get eaten.
As you probably guessed, they are also released during exercise and cause that happy feeling after a good workout or a long run, that includes sex and so explains the feeling of post-coital bliss.
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#3 Dopamine, aka ‘chemical motivation’, is released in response to an anticipated reward. Let me put that in other words- when your brain thinks something good is coming your way, it gives you a squirt of dopamine. It learned to do this in the past when you had positive experiences. So in the long run, dopamine alerts your attention to things that you think you need. Therefore, it motivates you toward your goals and gives you persistence. So in itself, dopamine doesn’t provide you any feelings of ‘happiness’ but it does push you in the right direction.
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#4 Oxytocin is the only hormone on our short-list, so it works through the blood rather than the nerves. Its function is to help build trust and closeness, it drives you (and all mammals) to stick to the herd and form tribes. It’s responsible for feelings of love, friendship and belonging.
The ‘cuddle hormone’ is released, when you have physical contact with others, hence the name. Your also get a dose of oxytocin from social interaction, eye contact and receiving gifts.
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How to activate your brain’s happy chemicals – 15 simple ways
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1. recall your past successes
Your brain can’t really tell the difference between things it is experiencing now and memories. To get a boost of serotonin, think back on your past wins and successes. It doesn’t even have to be a massive win, just remember a time when you felt proud of yourself or someone you care about.
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2. visualise your future successes
Similarly, the brain doesn’t really differentiate between real and imagined experiences. Through visualisation, that means focussing your thoughts on future wins that haven’t even happened yet, you also get the same hit of serotonin as you would if you were actually experiencing victory.
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3. be grateful
When you express or receive gratitude, you get a double whammy of dopamine and serotonin. By implementing a daily gratitude practice, like a journal where you write down the things you are grateful for, you can feel good more easily and more often.
Some things to be grateful for:
– the people in your life; family, friends, co-workers, employees or your boss
–possessions; everything from your home to your favourite pair of trainers
–situations; the fact that you’re alive and reading this article, your freedom to make choices, safety and security
–development; the opportunity to educate yourself, learning from your mistakes, the wisdom that only comes with age
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4. exercise
Get your bum up off the sofa and go for a walk, run, swim, bike ride, to the gym- whatever your exercise of choice is. Do this for at least 30 minutes, get the endorphins flowing, and you will feel less stressed and more happy.
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5. be generous
Giving and receiving gifts raises the level of oxytocin in your blood. The trick here is not to treat it like a trade, but to genuinely enjoy giving to another person and take vaule in their happiness. Do it unexpectedly, you don’t have to wait for x-mas.
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6. set yourself goals
Embracing a new goal and breaking it down into achievable steps will stimulate the release of dopamine as you anticipate achieving your goals. Creating a series of small wins will keep this flowing and of course trigger the serotonin when you actually achieve the goals.
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7. cuddle
We know that physical and social contact release oxytocin, why not combine the two and give someone a massive squeeze? The great thing about this is the two-way effect, you’re both getting a dose of chemical happiness.
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8. team work and play
Of course, free hugs might not really be suitable for the workplace, depending of course on where you work, in this case getting involved in a team project, eating lunch together with your colleagues or just having an open and honest conversation while really paying attention can supply that oxytocin.
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9. have sex
Sex releases oxytocin and endorphins, which makes sense when you think about it- physical closeness combined with physical activity. If you don’t have someone to do it with just remember what it feels like while you… simulate the physical side, and that dopamine will drive you to find a partner.
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10. get some sunshine
Exposing yourself to sunlight increases your level of serotonin (unless your a vampire, then it turns you to dust… or makes you sparkle depending who you talk to). Even 10-30 minutes of natural sunlight a day can have a massive effect on your mood.
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11. say cheese
This one is so powerful! Seriously. Smiling releases dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. Even faking a smile can have an effect, in fact a fake smile can quickly turn into a real smile. Enough said.
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12. lol
A no-brainer when it comes to boosting happiness. Laughing triggers the release of endorphins. There are a tone of other benefits to laughing, that needs an article all to itself.
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13. take a cold shower
I know it’s shocking but this is also yet another way that you can stimulate the release of endorphins. This can be tough if you’re not used to it so you have to create a habit; start with 30 seconds, then step it up to a minute, then a couple of weeks later 2 minutes, and so on until your doing a Wim Hof and running through the snow in your undies.
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14. give your time
When you volunteer your time or do something good for another person, you feel bloody good about yourself. The Dalai Lama calls this “selfish altruism”, that guy is a riot! Of course he’s right, scientists proved it too, they call it the ‘helper’s high,’ giving to others produces endorphins and probably oxytocin. Win-win!
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15. change your state
Tony Robbins talks about changing your state of mind, literally changing your emotions at will by consciously changing your posture and movement. This could be standing up straight instead of slouching, holding hour head up instead of looking down, smiling or laughing. Doing this tricks the brain into experiencing emotions and, of course, activating your brain’s happy chemicals.
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Disclaimer
I have done a lot of research for this article and I’ve tried to condense my findings in a way that can help you. Of course your brain, your central nervous system, your endocrine system, your feelings and emotions are all incredibly complex and the actual workings of neurotransmitters and hormones are not so black and white. These biological systems evolved over a really long time, in response to environmental and social conditions. It is most likely varying combinations of the chemicals mentioned in this article and others (I’m talking about you cortisol)
Your psychology is different to every other human being on the planet (that’s a lot of people). How you have connected experiences with specific emotional and physical responses will also be very different.
Try the methods I’ve outlined for you in this article and let me know what works for you in the comments below.
