This or That

I often find that dopamine and serotonin are used interchangeably, because of their sharing characteristic of producing positive emotions in the brain. Although, they have differing triggers and functions in the body. Here’s how they can be differentiated, and the habits that can be used to regulate them both.

Both of these neurotransmitters perform important everyday functions, dopamine is often released with motivation, reward and pleasure, whereas serotonin is associated with focus, calmness and happiness. Each of these contribute to other bodily functions, such as digestion, sleep and our overall mood. They can also be associated with depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety.

Due to the constantly evolving technology at this point in time, it is no surprise that we tend to carry our phones with us 24/7, whether for convenience, work, or safety purposes. Although, I personally think this is also causing harm to our dopamine receptors. Dopamine causes an excitatory release following a reward, which is where addiction to slot machines and illicit drugs like cocaine comes from. Your brain recognises the rewarding sensation and thus encourages us to repeat the behaviour, the pinnacle of addiction.

Unfortunately, social media encourages the exact same thing, through notifications of likes, comments and shares, alongside its accessibility, we find ourself constantly checking our phone in hopes of another rush. This is contributing to an up-regulation of dopamine. The down side of this is the subsequent come down. Why reach for reading, studying, writing or drawing when you can have a hit of dopamine at your fingertips? In turn, making us less likely to use our creativity on long-term tasks, also as a result of our shortened attention span.

So, as of recently, my main goal is to drop the screen time and let myself be bored. I want to get back into the habits I found enjoyable when I was a kid, not addicted to scrolling. I’ve been filling my spare time with reading, writing, outside walks and organising (a few of my fav hobbies). Now it may be less enjoyable at first, but really, that’s the whole point. You let yourself think, and spend time with yourself (consciously). You’re not mindlessly scrolling in an avoidant manner.

Along with this, you’re more likely to remember the things you have to get done, or been meaning to do, you also find yourself looking for new things to do or try, leading to increased productivity. At the end of last year I had the goal of deleting TikTok for a month, and with that alone I can confidently back what I’m saying to you.

Now, where does serotonin come into this? Although it shares some characteristics with dopamine, it’s not to be confused. It is serotonin that provides focus, calmness, regulates your mood, and brings you a sense of overall fulfilment. In fact, it is low levels of serotonin that is linked with depression, and it is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that are a common form of antidepressants, with their function being to increases the levels of serotonin in the brain.

Here’s a few remedies that can assist in naturally increasing your serotonin levels:

• Increasing sunlight exposure: The term ‘seasonal depression’ is no joke, studies have found that mood disorders, including depression, do tend to worsen during winter. Studies have shown that this can be linked to the decreased sun exposure, as sunlight is used to activate the synthesis of serotonin in the body (Sansone & Sansone, 2013)
• Increasing food intake with tryptophan: Tryptophan is an amino acid in the body that is involved in the synthesis of serotonin. Foods that contain high levels of this include chicken, eggs, salmon, cheese, bananas, oats, and even dark chocolate.
• Exercise: Studies have linked that aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming and running at a level you’re comfortable with demonstrates antidepressant and anxiolytic effects on mood (Young, 2007). Studies also suggest that exercising increases the levels of plasma tryptophan, the amino acid previously mentioned, further, there was also an associated decrease in certain branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) that would typically inhibit the transport of tryptophan to the brain.

Although these strategies are just the tip of the iceberg, it goes to show how even small, daily habits can have such a cardinal impact on our mind, well-being and health. As always, I hope this helps 🙂