Author:
Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation:
2 August 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
Endorphins are the body's natural opium produced to reduce stress and increase feelings of satisfaction. Basically, exercise helps to release endorphins - chemicals in the brain that lead to feelings of happiness, even euphoria. However, exercise is not the only way to help the body release endorphins. Smiling, eating certain foods, or even talking can also help release this hormone. Thus, there are many ways to help exploit the natural source of endorphins hormone to help dispel problems in life.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Eat to secrete hormone Endorphin
Bite off a piece of chocolate. Have you ever noticed that eating chocolate helps to boost your mood when you're depressed? That's because eating chocolate releases endorphins that help you relax. Chocolate also contains the endocannabinoid anandamide that "mimics" the effects of cannabis (although the effect is not as good as that of cannabis).
- Choose dark chocolate because dark chocolate contains more real chocolates, less sugar and less substances with no endorphins.
- Satisfy your hunger with small pieces of chocolate. You can carry a chocolate bar with you and take a bite when you need to improve your mood.
Eat hot peppers. Cayenne, Jalapeno, Banana and other hot peppers contain capsaicin, which helps in secreting endorphins. You can try a piece of raw chili. When the initial burning sensation subsides, you will feel euphoria. If you do not like the burning sensation caused by capsaicin, you can sprinkle a little cayenne pepper in food to improve your mood slowly.
Eat soothing foods. Eating a bowl of pasta with cheese, ice cream or other carbohydrate-rich snacks can help release endorphins. We often like to eat our favorite snacks in times of stress because they actually make you feel better.- You can eat soothing snacks without disrupting your diet. For example, you can eat a traditional bowl of oats mixed with some honey and milk, or enjoy a bowl of red beans mixed with rice. This way, you can get the benefits of carbohydrates without worrying about the consequences of consuming refined carbohydrates.
- You can combine two factors that stimulate the secretion of endorphins. For example, add some chocolate chips to a bowl of oats, or add cayenne pepper to a pasta dish.
Eat ginseng. This herb has been shown to improve the body's secretion of endorphins. This is a favorite choice of many athletes who want to make the most of the endorphins in the body released during exercise. You can combine taking ginseng supplements daily.
Smell the vanilla extract. The scent of vanilla has been shown to stimulate the production of endorphins. You can drip a drop of vanilla in your cup of coffee, or stir it into yogurt. Take a deep breath, because it is not the taste, but the scent of the vanilla that increases the secretion of endorphins.
- You will also boost your spirits when you smell a vanilla-scented candle, lotion or essential oil.
- Lavender has similar properties and is also known to stimulate the production of endorphins.
Method 2 of 3: Socializing to help release endorphins
Find a reason to laugh out loud. This is an immediate and simple way you can do it every day to help your body increase its endorphins. Laughter stimulates the production of endorphins and makes you feel happier instantly. Laughter also relieves stress and has many other benefits for both physical and mental health.
- Laughter has so much therapeutic benefits that many people try to practice "laughter therapy" as much as possible.
- Sharing a joke with a friend or finding something really funny is the best way to laugh out loud. If possible, smile so much that your whole body vibrates.
Smile, a real smile. Real smiles (Duchenne smiles) help produce endorphins to improve mood. A Duchenne smile is when you use your entire face, including the eyes when you smile. This smile is rarely fake as it will only appear when you are truly happy.
- Just smiling with your mouth and not smiling with your eyes won't give you the same benefit.
- To improve your mood with a smile, look at pictures that make you smile or talk to someone who makes you happy.
"Eight stories". Research has shown that "talking" also stimulates the satisfaction center in the brain and secretes endorphins. Scientists believe that because humans are social animals and "gossip" is a way to stay connected. They believe that "talking" will help improve the mental state. Therefore, you should practice getting along with others and regularly chatting with friends and family.
- Remember that "gossip" is the act of talking about another person, but not in a negative tone. You should just talk about harmless stories like how your brother / sister got a new hairstyle or dad / mom met something funny for the day. This will both help bond family members and help you improve your mood.
Open your heart to love. The feeling when someone you love comes along is the result of the release of endorphins. Adding a little "spice" of love to your life is a great way to feel happier. Love doesn't happen right away, it will take a while to "bloom", but once you are ready to develop a stronger relationship, you are bound to be happy. This is true for both romantic love and pure ideal love.
- Have more sex. “Having sex” with other people releases endorphins that make you feel better. You will both feel love and feel the benefits of physical touch and increase endorphins during orgasm. Having sex quickly increases feelings of happiness.
- Help yourself to orgasm. When you have an orgasm, endorphins are released into your bloodstream and instantly improve your mood.
Method 3 of 3: Exercise to release the hormone endorphins
Do any exercise. This is a fast, effective, long-term way to increase the production of endorphins. All forms of exercise help release endorphins into the bloodstream and significantly improve mood. Although the feeling of euphoria and high endorphins released when running fast are attractive goals, you don't have to run too fast to feel better. Instead, you can still help increase the secretion of endorphins with the following activities:
- Walk, rock climbing, jogging, biking or swimming
- Participate in team sports such as basketball, soccer, and softball
- Cleaning gardens, houses
Try a group exercise class. Combining physical activity with social interaction can help increase the secretion of endorphins. When doing something in a group, the energy source goes higher and the endorphins release more. You can try to enroll in the following classes:
- Dancing (any genre)
- Zumba dance
- Kickboxing, karate or other martial arts
- Do Pilates or Yoga
Try adventurous activities. To increase endorphins secretion even more, you can try activities that trigger a "fight or flight" response. While it's not practical to take part in a challenge activity if you want to improve your daily mood, it is also worth considering when trying out an exciting new activity. Here are some of the more challenging activities that dramatically increase endorphins secretion:
- Parachute
- Bungee jump
- Kite glider
- Roller coaster
Advice
- There is no limit to the need to be happy. Simply smiling can make you feel happier.
- Do good work; Instead of wasting time "gnawing" on your sadness, do something for your family to be proud of. This way, you can both help yourself and make others happy.
- Try a luxurious restaurant and treat yourself to a new treat.
- Sunlight is another factor that increases endorphins production.
Warning
- Remember to use all of the above in moderation for yourself to avoid accidental accident instead of increasing the secretion of endorphins.
- If you have a dysfunction in the secretion of endorphins, attempts to increase the body's natural endorphins may not work, and could even cause depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or increases anxiety and anger. See your doctor if you think you have a dysfunction.
