How to keep the dopamine flowing when things are not getting done?
January 31, 2018 9:04 AM Subscribe
Looking for recent books, articles, websites, and suggestions that will tell me how I can naturally stimulate the production of brain chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.
Just came from a workshop that dealt peripherally with brain chemicals. From it I self diagnosed that I suffer from chronically low levels of dopamine and serotonin. I would like to boost my own natural production of these hormones. Please help me.
Just came from a workshop that dealt peripherally with brain chemicals. From it I self diagnosed that I suffer from chronically low levels of dopamine and serotonin. I would like to boost my own natural production of these hormones. Please help me.
Definitely exercise.
The book "Spark! How exercise improve the performance of your brain" will tell you all about it.
posted by aniola at 9:47 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
The book "Spark! How exercise improve the performance of your brain" will tell you all about it.
posted by aniola at 9:47 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
L-Tyrosine, an amino acid readily available from health food stores will naturally stimulate the body's production of dopamine.
I have also used modafinil. It is available in the US by prescription (or can be obtained under the brand name modalert and shipped from overseas without a prescription. Not sure if this is legal but it's done. ).
Personally, I prefer modafinil to L-Tyrosine. For me it feels cleaner and I find that the correct dosage is easier to manage. Either way, I suggest starting with low doses and slowly working your way up to what works for you.
The only side effect I have noticed is that I must take these very early in the morning, otherwise it will be hard to get to sleep in the evening.
I have experimented with these on my own and used them occasionally and sporadically. However, if you are convinced that your dopamine levels are low, you could start with your physician. I tend to read on my own and experiment for myself, but that's probably not the best approach for many people.
posted by elf27 at 9:56 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have also used modafinil. It is available in the US by prescription (or can be obtained under the brand name modalert and shipped from overseas without a prescription. Not sure if this is legal but it's done. ).
Personally, I prefer modafinil to L-Tyrosine. For me it feels cleaner and I find that the correct dosage is easier to manage. Either way, I suggest starting with low doses and slowly working your way up to what works for you.
The only side effect I have noticed is that I must take these very early in the morning, otherwise it will be hard to get to sleep in the evening.
I have experimented with these on my own and used them occasionally and sporadically. However, if you are convinced that your dopamine levels are low, you could start with your physician. I tend to read on my own and experiment for myself, but that's probably not the best approach for many people.
posted by elf27 at 9:56 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
I also have messy relationships with these brain chemicals.
Here are some of the things I do that feel to me like they boost endorphins, dopamine, etc:
Get a really long hug from my partner - a therapist colleague shared with me that it takes like 20 seconds of hugging for the oxytocin to kick in - we used to hug and say, wait for it, wait for it -- AH there it is!
Exercise is the bomb dot com for this -- often I am super low and hate the idea of exercising, but drag myself to my workout and 100% of the time I feel better after working out, like my mood is brighter, I'm more motivated to do the rest of my day.
Play the cat game (Neko Atsume) - I named all my cats after people that I love, so every time I see my friend's lil cat butt sticking out of the cardboard train I feel so happy
Some sort of spiritual practice or meditation - I have been doing my own "witchwork" as I call it, and the difference in my mood/state of regulation in the nervous system after I do it as opposed to before is dramatic. I feel more grounded, safer in myself, peaceful, uplifted.
Making something - for me this is card-making, painting decor for my apartment, or weaving. It's tangibly satisfying and feels meditative to me and I always feel better after doing it.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 10:02 AM on January 31, 2018 [13 favorites]
Here are some of the things I do that feel to me like they boost endorphins, dopamine, etc:
Get a really long hug from my partner - a therapist colleague shared with me that it takes like 20 seconds of hugging for the oxytocin to kick in - we used to hug and say, wait for it, wait for it -- AH there it is!
Exercise is the bomb dot com for this -- often I am super low and hate the idea of exercising, but drag myself to my workout and 100% of the time I feel better after working out, like my mood is brighter, I'm more motivated to do the rest of my day.
Play the cat game (Neko Atsume) - I named all my cats after people that I love, so every time I see my friend's lil cat butt sticking out of the cardboard train I feel so happy
Some sort of spiritual practice or meditation - I have been doing my own "witchwork" as I call it, and the difference in my mood/state of regulation in the nervous system after I do it as opposed to before is dramatic. I feel more grounded, safer in myself, peaceful, uplifted.
Making something - for me this is card-making, painting decor for my apartment, or weaving. It's tangibly satisfying and feels meditative to me and I always feel better after doing it.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 10:02 AM on January 31, 2018 [13 favorites]
Get your vitamin D tested. Obtain 50,000 IU prescription once a week megadose. Exercise, drink water, eat real food that grows in dirt, mostly plants. Avoid alcohol, try cannabis.
Vitamin D is apparently crucial to neurotransmitter production.
I'm on week three of being back on it and it's amazing how much better and clearer I feel. The first two weeks felt like watching a time lapse of heavy fog burning off in the sun. Suddenly things were sparkly again, I had emotions and they weren't a taxing chore and I had plenty of dopamine to play with.
posted by loquacious at 10:04 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
Vitamin D is apparently crucial to neurotransmitter production.
I'm on week three of being back on it and it's amazing how much better and clearer I feel. The first two weeks felt like watching a time lapse of heavy fog burning off in the sun. Suddenly things were sparkly again, I had emotions and they weren't a taxing chore and I had plenty of dopamine to play with.
posted by loquacious at 10:04 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
Kundalini yoga is a combination of breathing techniques and exercises I find HIGHLY effective for this in ways other exercise (I used to do triathlons, sea kayaking, cycling, dance, walking and wilderness backpacking) never worked for me.
L-Tyrosine, 5-HTP, L-Theanine are supposed to help for a quick "fix." I'll take L-Tyrosine for a few days when I start falling apart now and then, I SWEAR BY IT. Seriously.
Also, when I need help thinking and being productive, Ginko Biloba is my jam. It seems to help, I don't know that it's the slam dunk on mood and performance that L-Tyrosine is, but it seems to help.
posted by jbenben at 10:14 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
L-Tyrosine, 5-HTP, L-Theanine are supposed to help for a quick "fix." I'll take L-Tyrosine for a few days when I start falling apart now and then, I SWEAR BY IT. Seriously.
Also, when I need help thinking and being productive, Ginko Biloba is my jam. It seems to help, I don't know that it's the slam dunk on mood and performance that L-Tyrosine is, but it seems to help.
posted by jbenben at 10:14 AM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
Smile. It stimulates the serotonin.
Stand up straight and tall with your shoulders back. It reduces your cortisol level.
Get a massage. It raises your oxytocin level.
Sleep in the dark. Absolute pitch dark is best.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:45 AM on January 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
Stand up straight and tall with your shoulders back. It reduces your cortisol level.
Get a massage. It raises your oxytocin level.
Sleep in the dark. Absolute pitch dark is best.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:45 AM on January 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
Orgasm.
posted by basalganglia at 11:32 AM on January 31, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 11:32 AM on January 31, 2018 [4 favorites]
If you've not been tested for MTHFR, MAO and COMT mutations, you may want to ask your doctor for a referral to a geneticist and/or a blood test. These are genes that affect the body's methylation cycle. Some naturally occurring variants impair the cycle, mildly to severely, and are being implicated in a whole host of serious conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, infertility, elevated stroke risk, and more.
It's a very complicated and emerging area of medical research, and there's quite a lot of woo woo supplementation advice alongside the legitimate science & med literature, so I'd recommend searching for studies concerning those specific genes at the NCBI database before you do any Googling.
If you can't/won't do the testing and suspect you may have a variant in those genes pre-disposing you towards poor mental health, one supplement that may help a bit is L5-methylfolate. This is the bio available form of dietary folate/synthetic folic acid, a vitamin that is not efficiently converted in the bodies of people who carry these problematic variants. (And that is a necessary component of a host of biochemical processes.) Small doses of L5-methylfolate are not likely to be harmful and if not needed by the body, are excreted in the urine. As with anything you'd put in your mouth, don't over do it, and consult your physician if you have questions or concerns. This is not medical advice and I'm not a doctor, not even on tv.
My personal experience with L5-methylfolate was positive. (Note: I was actually tested for the variant(s).) Within 12 hours of the first capsule I felt as though I'd stepped out from 30+ years of shadows and into the sunlight. It was...surreal.
There are other dietary changes & supplements/treatments that are being utilized for MTHFR/MAO/COMT issues, but these are best trialed under medical supervision. Nutrigenomics is an experimental science at the moment and there is a lot of bs internet advice that's potentially harmful.
posted by muirne81 at 11:43 AM on January 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's a very complicated and emerging area of medical research, and there's quite a lot of woo woo supplementation advice alongside the legitimate science & med literature, so I'd recommend searching for studies concerning those specific genes at the NCBI database before you do any Googling.
If you can't/won't do the testing and suspect you may have a variant in those genes pre-disposing you towards poor mental health, one supplement that may help a bit is L5-methylfolate. This is the bio available form of dietary folate/synthetic folic acid, a vitamin that is not efficiently converted in the bodies of people who carry these problematic variants. (And that is a necessary component of a host of biochemical processes.) Small doses of L5-methylfolate are not likely to be harmful and if not needed by the body, are excreted in the urine. As with anything you'd put in your mouth, don't over do it, and consult your physician if you have questions or concerns. This is not medical advice and I'm not a doctor, not even on tv.
My personal experience with L5-methylfolate was positive. (Note: I was actually tested for the variant(s).) Within 12 hours of the first capsule I felt as though I'd stepped out from 30+ years of shadows and into the sunlight. It was...surreal.
There are other dietary changes & supplements/treatments that are being utilized for MTHFR/MAO/COMT issues, but these are best trialed under medical supervision. Nutrigenomics is an experimental science at the moment and there is a lot of bs internet advice that's potentially harmful.
posted by muirne81 at 11:43 AM on January 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
I learned a lot about oxytocin while pregnant and trying to get things started. Even looking at pictures of babies, human and other mammal babies, stimulates oxytocin. Dark Chocolate. Petting a dog or cat. Lovemaking: skin-to-skin contact, kissing, intercourse, and particularly, orgasm. Light Touch Massage, and any other form of massage, or pleasurable physical contact. Nipple Stimulation. This can be done during lovemaking or light touch massage. Melatonin is produced in dim lighting, and melatonin helps make your body more sensitive and responsive to oxytocin. Music.
Fear release: Stress hormones can slow the production of oxytocin.
The term to search for with dopamine is dopaminergic. I searched dopaminergic food.
Increasing Serotonin. St. John's Wort is a plant that naturally preserves or promotes serotonin, but it has drug interactions, so use it like a drug.
Brain chemistry is often quite subtle and sometimes paradoxical. I think of it like the color slider tool to pick Red, Green, and Blue to make a full palette of colors. Even small changes in one component produce significant changes in outcome. And with brain chemistry, there are many more components, so it's vastly more complex.
I just cited Robert Sapolsky in a different context. He has written a lot about brain chemistry. His Intro to Neuroscience lectures at Stanford are on youtube and I recommend them very highly. His newest book, Behave, is a review of how brain chemistry works and then his thoughts on things like free will. It's fairly academic, but there's no test, so plow on, because you will learn a lot about how the brain works and the roles of various neurotransmitters. I also recommend Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers and Primates Memoir.
You can tweak your neurotransmitters a bit. There are people who take Prozac because they feel more confident on it, or use Propanolol(Inderal) for anxiety, etc. Your place in your hierarchies, pecking order, dominance roles, makes a huge difference (Women are more likely to be depressed, wonder why?). Your environment and the way you were nurtured matter a lot. There are some common recommendations that seem to work: Exercise regularly, both cardio and strength. Get outside in nature and sunshine. Have a healthy diet, limiting sugar. Be cautious with caffeine, alcohol and other drugs. Build healthy relationships. Have plenty of positive physical touch. Use reward systems to encourage healthy behaviors. Get adequate sleep, but not too much. Keep a regular routine. Meditate. Talk therapy with a mental health professional or coffee with a friend.
posted by theora55 at 12:01 PM on January 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
Fear release: Stress hormones can slow the production of oxytocin.
The term to search for with dopamine is dopaminergic. I searched dopaminergic food.
Increasing Serotonin. St. John's Wort is a plant that naturally preserves or promotes serotonin, but it has drug interactions, so use it like a drug.
Brain chemistry is often quite subtle and sometimes paradoxical. I think of it like the color slider tool to pick Red, Green, and Blue to make a full palette of colors. Even small changes in one component produce significant changes in outcome. And with brain chemistry, there are many more components, so it's vastly more complex.
I just cited Robert Sapolsky in a different context. He has written a lot about brain chemistry. His Intro to Neuroscience lectures at Stanford are on youtube and I recommend them very highly. His newest book, Behave, is a review of how brain chemistry works and then his thoughts on things like free will. It's fairly academic, but there's no test, so plow on, because you will learn a lot about how the brain works and the roles of various neurotransmitters. I also recommend Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers and Primates Memoir.
You can tweak your neurotransmitters a bit. There are people who take Prozac because they feel more confident on it, or use Propanolol(Inderal) for anxiety, etc. Your place in your hierarchies, pecking order, dominance roles, makes a huge difference (Women are more likely to be depressed, wonder why?). Your environment and the way you were nurtured matter a lot. There are some common recommendations that seem to work: Exercise regularly, both cardio and strength. Get outside in nature and sunshine. Have a healthy diet, limiting sugar. Be cautious with caffeine, alcohol and other drugs. Build healthy relationships. Have plenty of positive physical touch. Use reward systems to encourage healthy behaviors. Get adequate sleep, but not too much. Keep a regular routine. Meditate. Talk therapy with a mental health professional or coffee with a friend.
posted by theora55 at 12:01 PM on January 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: What great comments! Thank you. Keep them coming. You are increasing my dopamine with each one.
posted by Xurando at 12:31 PM on January 31, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Xurando at 12:31 PM on January 31, 2018 [4 favorites]
Neuroscience-y person here. Just putting it out there that with neurotransmitters it’s not just a matter of “more” but right amount in right place at right time plus a bazillion other not well understood factors. The effects of dopamine and oxytocin have been really badly mischaracterized by “pop science” coverage.
https://mindhacks.com/2010/03/09/a-man-with-virtually-no-serotonin-or-dopamine/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/03/dopamine-the-unsexy-truth
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/11/the-weak-science-of-the-wrongly-named-moral-molecule/415581/
https://www.nature.com/news/neuroscience-the-hard-science-of-oxytocin-1.17813
posted by forkisbetter at 1:34 PM on January 31, 2018 [9 favorites]
https://mindhacks.com/2010/03/09/a-man-with-virtually-no-serotonin-or-dopamine/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/03/dopamine-the-unsexy-truth
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/11/the-weak-science-of-the-wrongly-named-moral-molecule/415581/
https://www.nature.com/news/neuroscience-the-hard-science-of-oxytocin-1.17813
posted by forkisbetter at 1:34 PM on January 31, 2018 [9 favorites]
Spicy-hot foods trigger the release of endorphins and dopamine.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:34 PM on January 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:34 PM on January 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have the MTHFR mutation and my MD made sure was taking methylfolate. I then did a little research and found that you should also take methyl-B12. There's a supplement available that has both.
posted by elsietheeel at 7:44 PM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by elsietheeel at 7:44 PM on January 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
SAMe is also helpful.... but personally I find it quite potent so start low dose
Having a good cry helps too... nothing like a good old fashioned Thai commercial for that one.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:21 PM on January 31, 2018
Having a good cry helps too... nothing like a good old fashioned Thai commercial for that one.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:21 PM on January 31, 2018
The Mood Cure is a useful book for sorting this stuff out, especially around amino acids and other precursors to neurotransmitters. (I used the protocol in this book to good effect, but had some unpleasant side effects. My naturopath was able to help me fine tune it so it worked without the side effects.)
There are also a lot of physicians trained in helping you fine tune this stuff with or without medication. Depending on where you are in the world you might be able to see a naturopathic physician or someone trained in orthomolecular psychiatry.
posted by faethverity at 10:57 AM on February 1, 2018
There are also a lot of physicians trained in helping you fine tune this stuff with or without medication. Depending on where you are in the world you might be able to see a naturopathic physician or someone trained in orthomolecular psychiatry.
posted by faethverity at 10:57 AM on February 1, 2018
Oh I'll second SAM-e. I've never had luck with SSRIs, but SAM-e is helpful as an adjunct to other drugs. I'm currently on Abilify, Seroquel, and Adderall, but nothing that's serotonin-specific so I've added SAM-e.
I've also had luck with l-tyrosine and 5HTP, but because of my screwy ADHD brain they worked a bit differently for me than most people find they do.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:15 PM on February 1, 2018
I've also had luck with l-tyrosine and 5HTP, but because of my screwy ADHD brain they worked a bit differently for me than most people find they do.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:15 PM on February 1, 2018
"I self diagnosed"
You're putting an artificial (and possibly inaccurate) step in the middle of this one.
What's the actual goal? Be happier? Have more energy? Live longer? Smile more? Be more resilient?
posted by talldean at 2:22 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
You're putting an artificial (and possibly inaccurate) step in the middle of this one.
What's the actual goal? Be happier? Have more energy? Live longer? Smile more? Be more resilient?
posted by talldean at 2:22 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
When Tara Brach says, "tap into your inner smile" in a guided meditation, it's like someone turned the light on in my heart. YMMV.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:07 PM on February 4, 2018
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:07 PM on February 4, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Less sciency, I think eating well and being social also help in this area. But boy, I am excited to see what else people write here.
posted by Kalmya at 9:43 AM on January 31, 2018