Happy Hormones Boosting Ways
Happy hormones positively affect the human body and improve physical and mental well-being. Learn all about its types and how to improve their secretion.
Written by Dr Sonia Bhatt
Last updated on 3rd Jul, 2025
The happy hormones dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin are responsible for the emotional and physical well-being of human beings. These ‘feel-good’ hormones directly regulate and impact various physiological processes of the human body, starting from mood, stress, heartbeat, etc. Acting as natural reward systems, they promote balance and positivity. However, the lack of these hormones can equally disrupt bodily functions, damaging the mental and physical health of the affected individuals. Therefore, knowing more about these hormones will help individuals combat everyday stressors, promote positivity, and maintain a balanced lifestyle.
Types of Happy Hormones
There are four types of happy hormones:
- Dopamine: Commonly known as ’the reward hormone’, it delivers that feel-good rush when individuals achieve something significant, or treats themselves with a reward. Additionally, it has significant roles in maintaining the body functions such as heart rate, sleep blood vessel function, and kidney function.
- Serotonin: Commonly known as a mood stabiliser, serotonin is key for regulating emotion, sleep, and appetite. It promotes positive feelings and happiness. A balanced amount of serotonin can maintain the mood and temper.
- Endorphins: Endorphins help the body to relieve pain, reduce stress and create euphoria that increases mood, and ultimately improves mental health. The level of endorphins increases significantly when someone engages in intense physical activity offering a state of relief afterwards like the one known as ‘runner’s high’.
- Oxytocin: Also known as the ‘love hormone’, oxytocin is essential for emotional bonding, increasing trust, and strengthening relationships. It is vital to establish close connections and emotional attachments, particularly with people whom individuals care about. These lovable and happy moments release oxytocin, helping people feel warm and trusted.
Natural Ways to Boost Dopamine Levels
Dopamine makes people feel motivated and satisfied. Here are some simple ways to give it a healthy boost:
- Get Moving: Regular exercise not only improves the body but also acts as a natural dopamine pill. Exercise—be it walking, running, or taking a dance class—releases this reward hormone.
- Eat the Right Foods: Avocados, bananas, almonds, and dark chocolate are foods that help produce dopamine. Protein and healthy fats also help.
- Pursue New Challenges: Learning something new, setting up goals, and achieving it, helps in dopamine production. For instance, individuals can try something easy like cooking a new recipe or more complex activities like learning a new skill.
- Supplements: Some supplements such as tyrosine, L-theanine, vitamin D, B6, and B5 help to boost the level of dopamine.
Natural Ways to Enhance Serotonin Levels
Serotonin is the secret to a calm, content and peaceful mind. Here’s how to naturally increase it:
- Soak up the Sun: Sunlight is a natural source of serotonin. Even 15 to 20 minutes spent outside each day can be helpful.
- Eat Foods Rich in Tryptophan: Tryptophan is an amino acid that the body converts to serotonin. Things such as turkey, eggs, cheese, and nuts are very good sources of it.
- Practice Meditation: Practices like meditation and deep breathing exercises can lower stress and lead to natural elevations of serotonin in the body.
- Mood Induction: The level of serotonin increases when individuals think about something that makes them feel good. For instance, they can think about a positive experience, look at photos that make them happy, or visualise happy memories.
Strategies to Increase Endorphins
These endorphins create a sense of euphoria and boost the mood, making them natural stress and pain fighters. Here is how to tap into them:
- Regular Exercise: Activities such as running, biking, or even yoga can evoke the body to release endorphins. But remember, consistency is key here.
- Laugh and Socialise: Laughter is the easiest and the most natural way to boost endorphins. So, individuals can focus on sharing quality time and laughter with loved ones to increase the production of this hormone.
- Do Good For Others: Individuals can experience the feel-good factor inside and out by performing acts of kindness like volunteering, helping someone in distress, or talking about an endorphin rush.
- Musical Performance: A 2012 research shows that musical performance can boost the level of endorphins. Also, listening to music proves to be extremely helpful in this matter.
Methods to Boost Oxytocin
Oxytocin is all about connection and love. Here's how to encourage its release:
- Share a Hug: Different types of touch, such as hugs, pat on the back, and holding hands, increase the synthesis of this hormone. These interactions go a long way in releasing this hormone within the body.
- Build Strong Relationships: Spending time with friends, family or a partner and connecting with them on a deeper level are the best ways to get the oxytocin flowing.
- Spending Quality Time Together: Whether through open conversation or watching a movie, or spending time with family and friends can help boost oxytocin levels.
- Yoga: Yoga can boost the quality of life, reduce stress, and anxiety. As a result, it also increases the level of oxytocin.
Role of Lifestyle Choices in Happy Hormone Levels
Improving lifestyle choices plays a huge role in maintaining a healthy balance of happy hormones. Here's how:
- Prioritise Sleep: Optimum hormone regulation requires a good night's sleep. Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
- Manage Stress: Chronic stress can disrupt normal hormone secretion and regulation. So, add stress-relief activities, such as journaling, yoga or spending time outdoors, to your daily routine.
- Eat a Balanced Diet: A balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats is essential to maintain hormone levels. A healthy diet includes nutrients to support the production of happy hormones.
Challenges and Considerations
Genetics, age, and environmental factors can all influence how much hormone a human body can produce. In the case of happy hormones, mood-boosting activities such as exercise, reading, cooking, and spending time with loved ones play a key role.
However, everyone's body is unique. What works for one person might not work for another. One should be patient and find the habit that suits them. For instance, some individuals become better at cognitive and socio-emotional abilities as they age. But other older people face difficulties in these abilities by the time they are older. So, it provides clear evidence that the level of hormones differs from person to person.
Conclusion
Whether it be dopamine's motivational boost or oxytocin's warm fuzzies, happy hormones are the key to feeling good. Discovering what they are, how they work, and how to increase them naturally can change a person’s health. To put a few of these strategies into practice, it is vital to spend more time outdoors and with loved ones; eating the right food and getting enough sleep can help. Maintaining the level of happy hormones helps individuals stay healthy and in an excellent psychological condition, improving their quality of life.
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