Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in regulating mood, motivation, and pleasure. Low levels of dopamine have been linked to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Fortunately, there are several natural ways to increase your dopamine levels and improve your overall well-being.
Here are 25 ways to naturally increase your dopamine levels and get you started on your well-being journey!
Feeling unmotivated and not content with your life? Check out this post, How to Find Your Purpose in Life When You Feel Lost and start living a life you love.
Disclaimer: I am not a health professional or doctor. The information in this post is for informational purposes only. Be sure to speak a professional for any questions or concerns.
Recommended Reads:
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What is Dopamine?
Dopamine is neurotransmitter — a chemical that sends messages through the body — that plays an important role in the pleasure/reward system in our bodies which motivates people to repeat certain behaviors.
It is also known as the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. It is really important for overall health, wellness and happiness.
Generally, if you live a fairly balanced lifestyle, your body does a good job at regulating your dopamine levels naturally. However, there are some things you can do to increase those levels and improve your wellness.
How to tell if you have low dopamine levels?
Dopamine is considered your “feel-good” neurotransmitter because it communicates with the brain and tells it to act in an excited, pleasurable way.
It is also associated with a craving for something. For example, if you seek thrilling activities such as skydiving, it is because when you do that action, it increases your dopamine a lot. Those feelings makes you want to do it again and again.
A lack of dopamine, on the other hand, causes some unpleasurable symptoms and can affect your overall well-being, if it is not managed.
Some symptoms include:
- Lack motivation
- Tired
- Can’t concentrate
- Moody
- Don’t feel pleasure from activities you use to
- Depression
- Low sex drive
- Trouble sleeping
Although your body typically does a good job at regulating your dopamine levels, injuries to the dopamine production area of the brain, problems with your nerve cell receptors, and other health conditions can lower your dopamine levels.
Several other factors can contribute to lower dopamine levels including genetics, chronic stress, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise, drug abuse, and medications.
If you think you may have a dopamine deficiency, it is best to speak with a health-care provider.
25 Ways to Increase Your Dopamine Levels
1. Exercise. Physical activity helps to increase dopamine levels in addition to boosting your mood, improving quality of life and lowering your risk of many health conditions. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily.
2. Eat a balanced diet. Eating a healthy diet can go a long way in increasing your the natural production of your body’s dopamine. Specially, foods that are high in Vitamin B, leafy greens, and proteins.
3. Reduce sugars and saturated fats. Foods that are processed or sugary may seem like that perfect thing to boost your mood. However, these foods lead to a dopamine crash and may leave you feeling worse than before.
4. Get enough sleep. Sleep is really important for the brain and body function. Getting enough sleep helps your body naturally balance the concentration of neurotransmitters, including dopamine.
5. Spend time in the sun. When your skin absorbs sunlight and produces vitamin D, this cycle triggers the production of dopamine and serotonin. However, it is important to follow the proper safety procedures with sun exposure which include wearing sunscreen and limiting exposure during peak sun hours.
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6. Listen to music. Listening to music, specifically calming music, gives a feeling of pleasure, improved mood and reduction of stress. A study showed that these feelings occur because of the increase in dopamine.
7. Play with animals. Playing with a dog, cat or other domesticated pet can help to increase dopamine and serotonin levels which can calm and relax your mind.
8. Meditation. A study found that 1 hour of meditation increased dopamine production by 65%.
9. Consume probiotics. There has been many studies that suggest gut health affects dopamine levels. It has been shown that probiotic supplements improve anxiety and mood from an increased dopamine production.
10. Eat lots of protein. Foods that are high in protein are essential for dopamine production. Check out this post for 7 effective tips to increase your protein intake.
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11. Watch a movie. When you engage in an activity that you like, your brain releases dopamine. Therefore, if you enjoy watching a movie, this could be a potentially great way to increase dopamine levels and relax at the same time.
12. Consume foods high in tyrosine. Dopamine is made from tyrosine, a nonessential amino acid, therefore an increase in tyrosine-rich foods help to boost dopamine levels and may improve memory and mental performance. High tyrosine foods include chicken, dairy foods, avocados, soy, bananas, and pumpkin seeds.
13. Get a message. Research found that message therapy can increase dopamine levels by 30% while decreasing cortisol, the stress hormone.
14. Go shopping. Ever heard of a shopping addiction? That addiction comes from the reward system from dopamine production. When you make a purchase, your dopamine levels increase.
15. Smell cookies baking. There may be nothing better than the smell of cookies baking in the oven. This is because that smell can cause a dopamine rush and increase your levels.
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16. Sex. Sexual intimacy causes the release of mood-boosting chemicals, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin. It is no secret that this act can increase your dopamine levels.
17. Drink coffee. Although this might not be for everyone, research shows that coffee increases the release of dopamine to the brain and enhances dopamine signaling.
18. Cold exposure. A study showed that dopamine levels can increase by 250% from cold water immersion. Therefore, taking a cold shower or ice bath can greatly affect your dopamine levels. There are many other benefits of cold water immersion as well.
19. Smelling scented candles and oils. A study suggests that scented candles and oil can reduce anxiety and stress, boost your mood, and increase your dopamine levels.
20. Spend time in nature. Many studies have shown that spending time in nature helps to restore focus and attention, relieve stress, reduces heart rate and cortisol levels and increases dopamine production.
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21. Engage in creative activities. Creative activities such as painting, drawing, and writing may increase dopamine and support other cognitive benefits such as memory.
22. Standing. Researchers have found that sitting down for too long leads to fatigue and lowers dopamine levels. If your job or any other responsibility requires prolong sitting, make sure to stand up and walk around for a few minutes each hour.
23. Increase iron. Iron a mineral that is found in every living cell of your body and carries oxygen throughout your body. It was found that iron deficiency leads to level dopamine levels. Some excellent sources of iron include dark chocolate, lean meats, seafood, spinach, beans, oats, and more.
24. Drink tea. Green and black tea both contain an amino acid called theanine, which significantly increases the release of dopamine.
25. Cook with rosemary. It has been reported that the common herb, rosemary, increases dopamine levels and stimulates certain dopamine receptors.
How Fast can you Reset Your Dopamine Levels?
Resetting your brain’s dopamine levels takes time. It is not a one and done fix. You must be consistently and actively working on increasing your dopamine levels.
Most people find that their dopamine levels and mood may return to normal after about 90 days, however, it depends on the cause of lower levels.
Remember that the best way to ensure your dopamine levels are maintained is to live an active and healthy lifestyle including exercise, diet, and mental stimulation.
And that is it!
I hope this post has helped and feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!
I’ve been reading up about dopamine lately. This is great information!
Great post! I like to read it, spend time outside, an exercise, whenever possible to increase my happiness levels.
I love all these ways to naturally increase dopamine levels. I’m always happy when I’m outside enjoying the sunshine. I’m excited to see the sun is on the list!
I would love to try some of these! I’ll be referencing this list to some friends as well.
Really helpful and interesting post. As a huge coffee lover and drinker and I’m glad to see that tip make the list. My simple cup of coffee always puts a smile on my face, so glad it does something naturally speaking for my dopamine levels too!
Thanks for sharing. As someone who struggles with anxiety and depression these are great tips to try.
Thanks for sharing these tips!!
Love all of these suggestions!! A little 5min dance party changes everything 😉