4 natural ways to boost serotonin for improving your mood

Serotonin is a “feel-good” hormone, or neurotransmitter, that plays an important role in your mental and emotional well-being, including facilitating positive feelings, stabilizing your mood, and promoting happiness.

But this naturally occurring hormone isn’t only involved in affecting your feelings and mindset, it also helps regulate sleep, digestion, bone density, appetite, and even memory. Since serotonin has such a huge impact on the body and overall health, it’s no surprise that many people seek out strategies for an easy, prescription-free serotonin boost.

References to serotonin and serotonin-boosting habits, activities, and even foods are common in today’s social media-based mental health discourse. But is improved happiness and well-being as simple as trying to increase your supply of this one single neurotransmitter?

In truth, not everyone can benefit from a serotonin boost—in fact, too much serotonin in your body can actually make you feel worse (although serotonin toxicity is often a reaction to medication). On the other end, not enough serotonin is linked to mood disorders, sleep troubles, and more health effects.

How Serotonin Works

To break down the science behind this happiness hormone, serotonin is essentially produced in the brain by neurons and travels to different receptor sites throughout the body to influence processes like sleep and digestion.

There’s an ongoing debate in the medical community about whether or not low serotonin contributes to depression, but experimental research is showing a promising link between serotonin and emotion regulation, which is why there could be a connection to happiness or feeling good.

Get regular exercise.

Exercising is one of the best and most effective ways to improve your serotonin levels, Dr. Seitz says, since it’s believed that physical activity triggers a release of serotonin that can elevate your mood. Studies show that the serotonin released by physical activity can actually control fatigue as well, so a combination of working out and the serotonin release that follows can actually kick tiredness to the curb, helping you feel better and more energetic overall.

Eat foods rich in tryptophan.

There’s a reason why people say eating turkey makes you sleepy. Turkey is one of several foods high in tryptophan, a naturally occuring amino acid found in some foods that can help raise serotonin levels by synthesizing, or creating, the neurotransmitter. Other foods that are high in tryptophan include oats, bananas, nuts, eggs, salmon, and tofu.

Enjoy a healthy, balanced diet.

Since consuming more tryptophan isn’t sufficient on its own. Eating a balanced diet (high-tryptophan foods included!) is important for regulating your serotonin levels, too. Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as lean proteins can ensure that your body gets the essential nutrients it needs.

Maintain an active social life.

Spending time with friends and family can help to increase serotonin levels naturally. Engaging in meaningful conversations, activities or hobbies with those close to us can provide a sense of purpose and happiness that will boost our moods. How? These healthy interactions have the power to encourage your brain to release a number of feel-good hormones, including serotonin.

Source: Realsimple.com

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