Serotonin vs. Dopamine: Why do we need them & what are they?
Serotonin and dopamine are both neurotransmitters (chemical signals in the brain) that cause us to “feel good”. Everything we do is essentially based on how it makes us feel. We eat tasty foods because it makes us happy, we date the person that makes us happy, etc. Serotonin and dopamine motivate us and can contribute to addiction if we are not careful. If you have heard these terms before but aren’t sure how to increase them or what the difference between serotonin vs. dopamine is then this article is for you.
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Table of Contents
What is the difference between serotonin vs. dopamine?
Both are neurotransmitters as mentioned above and they are how our neurotransmitter communicates positive feel-good feelings. A lack of these two neurotransmitters can cause depression, effect the sleep-wake cycle, and increase your life satisfaction.
Serotonin
Serotonin is our “happy” neurotransmitter that 80%-90% is produced in our gut. Increasing your serotonin production naturally can help reduce the risk of heart disease. This is partly because low levels of serotonin contribute to depression, anxiety and hostility is a risk for coronary heart disease. Whereas a positive mood can reduce your risk for heart disease.
Having a positive mood decreases your chance of struggling with anxiety, depression, and heart disease. Higher levels of serotonin are associated with a better mood.
Tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin production. However, typically SSRIs are recommended if you are shown to have levels of serotonin or show signs of depression.
Low Serotonin Symptoms
Serotonin levels in the body can be low from poor gut health, stress, and other factors. Common Symptoms and Disorders Include:
- ADHD
- Bipolar
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- Anxiety
- Decreased Impulse Control
- Pursuing Short-Term Gratification, despite Long-Term Benefits
- Antisocial Behavior
- Anger
- Uncontrolled Aggression
- Decreased Sensory Gating (Blocking out external things)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Mood Disorders
Conventional Treatments
Prescriptions are written for name-brand drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Lexapro. All three are different SSRIs, rather than just different brand names for one generic drug.
SSRIs may be conventional, but that’s not to say they are not without side effects. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors block the reuptake of serotonin to make it more available and help with low serotonin levels.
How do I increase Serotonin Naturally?
Social support can increase your serotonin, a community of individuals (family and/or friends).
1. Positive Thinking.
Positive thinking can actually alter your brain metabolism, and utilizing therapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy can be helpful to increase your positive thoughts. Another form of therapy is mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps you be more mindful of how your thoughts are impacting you and how to change them.
2. Sunshine
We know that sunshine is important for the production of vitamin D and also helps with depression. However, recent research shows that bright lights from a red light in your home or sunlight can actually increase your serotonin. (Young, 2007)
This is truly incredible because if you are having a bad day, the combination of exercise and sunshine is proven to actually increase your “happy” neurotransmitters!
Vitamin D is needed to activate tryptophan in order to produce serotonin via tryptophan hydroxylase 2.
The sun affects your sleep-wake cycle because serotonin is a precursor for melatonin and when you begin to fall asleep your serotonin increases as well.
3. Exercise
We KNOW that exercise is good for us but if you have symptoms of depression or anxiety, you may not feel like exercising. You may be too tired or too exhausted and have no desire.
Exercise works as a natural antidepressant by increasing serotonin levels, tryptophan & 5-HIAA. A study on aerobic exercise showed that 5-HIAA was increased, 5-HIAA is a way to measure serotonin in the body.
Exercise also increases your tryptophan production, tryptophan is what makes you want to take a nap after eating thanksgiving turkey every year (in combination with the carbs & desserts). Tryptophan helps relax you and can help you sleep therefore, when you sleep well, you feel better as well.
A good point I wanted to make is that our lifestyle has changed dramatically since we were once hunters and gatherers. We spent the majority of our days outside, food was from the ground or an animal, and we received plenty of bright light and exercise.
Depression and anxiety increase every year, and we wonder why. Well, people are working from home, inside, and sitting most of the day.
They say that “sitting is the new smoking” because of the detrimental effects being sedentary has on our mental and physical well-being.
4. Diet
Since 80-90% of our serotonin is produced in the gut, our diet plays a significant role in our serotonin production.
We can take care of our gut health by eating prebiotic and probiotic-rich foods such as kefir, kimchi, pickles, and other fermented foods. It is also beneficial to supplement with the amino acid l-glutamine to decrease intestinal permeability which could cause poor nutrient absorption.
Tryptophan raises serotonin, but research shows that eating large quantities of turkey is not enough actually to increase serotonin levels in the brain.
5. 5-HTP or Tryptophan Supplementation
Purified tryptophan crosses the blood-brain barrier and can be absorbed. Whereas tryptophan consumed in high protein foods causes tryptophan to competing with the more dominant amino acids. Since protein is made up of a combination of amino acids.
Milk contains a protein called ?-Lactalbumin, which contains more tryptophan than most forms of protein. Therefore a cup of warm milk before bed with some manuka honey could boost your immune system while increasing your serotonin!
Tryptophan supplementation is a great way to increase your serotonin levels, allowing it to cross the blood-brain barrier without it competing against stronger amino acids in a protein molecule.
Increasing tryptophan levels can help with impulse control and decreased aggression. (Zamoscik et. al., 2021)
Low tryptophan levels increase the chances of an individual pursuing decisions with a less probable outcome as well as a lack of impulse control and they get easily distracted by short-term gratification versus long-term benefits. (Patrick & Ames, 2015)
5-HTP is a product of tryptophan and it can be taken with other proteins and amino acids and it does not compete. This makes it better absorbed and a great option to take as a precursor for serotonin. (Birdsall, 1998)
Tryptophan or 5-HTP supplementation has been shown to reduce symptoms of social anxiety.
- 5-HTP supports the production of serotonin in the brain and central nervous system; serotonin can impact sleep, mood, appetite, and body temperature.
- 5-HTP is the intermediate metabolite between the amino acid L-tryptophan and serotonin.
6. Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Omega 3s particularly EPA and DHA help increase serotonin and dopamine levels both.
“EPA increases serotonin release from presynaptic neurons by reducing E2 series prostaglandins and DHA influences serotonin receptor action by increasing cell membrane fluidity in postsynaptic neurons.”
– (Patrick & Ames, 2015)
7. Magnesium
There are many benefits of magnesium including the use of magnesium for anxiety, depression, sleep, and much more. Magnesium is a mineral and an electrolyte that has been shown to be effectively similar to a strong antidepressant.
The way that magnesium plays a role is because when magnesium levels are low, it causes “N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) coupled calcium channels to be biased towards the opening, causing neuronal injury and neurological dysfunction, which may appear to humans as major depression.” (Eby, 2010)
In a research study done in 2008 Magnesium was shown to be as effective as a tricyclic drug brand name Tofranil (imipramine), not to mention it did not cause any side effects.
Side Effects of Prozac include:
- Blurred Vision
- Eye pain
- Racing Heartbeat
- Shortness of Breath
- Low sodium levels cause dehydration and headaches, vomiting, and severe weakness
- Decreased sex drive
- Insomnia
- Drowsiness
- Headache
Another side effect listed under certain SSRI medications included increased suicide ideation or increased chances of suicide.
Dopamine
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in addiction. It is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in motivation, motor function, and even reproductive behaviors. Dopamine plays a role in cognitive function, hence why conditions such as Parkinson’s cause a decrease in motor function due to lowered dopamine levels. Environmental factors like social defeat can contribute to lowered dopamine.
Dopamine helps your brain to decide if a mental task or stressor is worth the effort. In the research study in a game that provided higher rewards for more challenging tasks was less desirable for people who had lower levels of dopamine. So essentially, having higher levels of dopamine allows being more confident in pursuing more challenging and possibly more rewarding tasks.
Symptoms of Low Dopamine
Stress and environmental factors can cause lowered levels of dopamine, causing the following:
- Psychosis
- Susceptibility to Addiction
- ADHD
- Schizophrenia
- Depression or Major Depressive Disorder
- Substance Use Disorder
Conventional Treatments
Conventional treatments for drug addictions tend to be therapy and self-help groups like narcotics anonymous or alcoholics anonymous.
However, lower dopamine treatments contribute to anxiety or depression as shown in the image above, showing us that the need for both serotonin and dopamine is very important.
Levodopa is used in Parkinson’s patients to increase their dopamine levels.
- Hallucinations
- Aggression
- Unusual Thoughts or Behavior
- Paranoia
- Confusion
- Increased sexual urges
- Unusual urges to gamble
How do I increase Dopamine Naturally?
1. Meditation
Research shows that dopamine can be increased through meditation, giving us a sense of pleasure and calmness. (Young, 2007)
Meditation and deep breathing can help us slow our heart rate down and decrease our adverse reaction to an event.
2. Exercise
Aerobic exercise has been shown to increase dopamine release in the body. (Sacheli et al., 2019)
Dopamine is lower in individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disorder and exercising is an important way to naturally boost dopamine levels. Exercise works by improving the plasticity of the cortical striatum, the cortical striatum affects motor control, decision-making, and motivation.
3. Social Interactions
Social isolation can cause an increase in aggressive behavior, and therefore, aggressive behaviors are lessened by increased social interactions.
4. Accomplishing Your To-do List
Set small goals throughout the day like “making my kids smile” or “do a two-minute meditation” and check it off. It could even be a small chore or self-care task but write as many small things you do daily on paper and then check them off.
This will increase your motivation because you can see all of the little things you have accomplished and it will raise your dopamine levels. This is why I like to use a planner that I write at the beginning and end of the week, and in the mornings, I make my realistic list and then give myself credit as I do them.
This is the planner I use to have something to show myself what I have accomplished for the day and how it adds up over time!
5. Healthy Childhood
This one may sound confusing, but childhood trauma can affect presynaptic dopamine function. (Howes et al., 2017) Research shows that child abuse or childhood trauma can cause schizophrenia.
Lower levels of dopamine can be from acute stress.
6. Omega 3s
Polyunsaturated fatty acids such as Omega 3s help increase dopamine levels. Omega 3s also decrease overall brain inflammation, which contributes to depression and anxiety.
7. Green Oat Extract
Green Oat Extract has been shown to decrease the active stress in rats, it is recommended to take at least 800 mg of green oat extract to avoid dopamine decline with age. Green Oat Extract works by suppressing MAO-B which is an enzyme that decreases dopamine in the body.
- Promotes youthful brain dopamine levels with a wild green oat extract
- Encourages mental acuity measurable using standardized cognitive testing
- Supports cerebral artery dilation for healthy brain blood flow
Food Addictions
Research shows that dopamine plays a role in binge eating and bulimia. The same pathways that respond to addictive drugs respond to sugar as well. Since sugar releases dopamine and opioids, it makes it more addictive.
Addiction is not as simple as “just stop using or doing that.” Addiction can come in many forms, and you can be physically and mentally dependent on the substance that gives you dopamine and serotonin. This is why we should always empathize with people and ask questions before judging.
The fact that someone is overweight is maybe because they do not prioritize their health, or maybe they do, but they have been traumatized, abused, or severely hurt, and they are craving that dopamine and serotonin hit.
This is why this article is very important to me because we do not realize how much anxiety and depression can affect someone and their everyday decisions.
That’s why I created my anxiety course because I wanted to share what has helped me along with the research I have done on how to cope with anxiety naturally.
- -How to Learn relaxation techniques you can do anywhere.
- -Identify anxiety in yourself and others.
- -Learn how to better react to situations and set a firm foundation for dealing with stressful situations.
- Use Natural Supplements, Dietary, and Lifestyle changes to help you feel less anxious sooner.
- I am a Counselor in Training, so I share what I learn through my education and experience and the price will go up shortly--- However! You will get all of the free updates I make to the course at no additional charge to you! As I learn through research, my education, and personal experimentation of new supplement regimens I will share them with you!
Dopamine and Addiction
Dopamine plays a role in addiction, as mentioned above, especially drug addiction. That is because addictive drugs raise dopamine levels due to the increased feeling of “pleasure.”
Not only are drugs addicting, but also food, exercise, alcohol, sex, and believe it or not stress can be addicting. This is because these behaviors have been reinforced by hits of dopamine.
You eat food that makes you feel good, and gives you dopamine and serotonin-like in a sugary dessert. The dopamine and serotonin, both, in this case, contribute to addiction to sugary foods.
Dopamine reinforces addiction to drugs or food by increasing your motivation to obtain those substances and receiving the dopamine after receiving them reinforces that behavior. Hence the reason why addiction can be difficult to deal with.
When stressed, we have low levels of dopamine and serotonin, which is why people often turn to substance use or food as ways to make them feel better.
Unfortunately, these only temporarily increase your dopamine, and your body can become dependent on sugar or drugs. This is all part of the “dopamine motive system.”
Dopamine is what gives us a sense of pleasure which is one of the main differences between dopamine vs serotonin. Dopamine is also part of what makes a substance or habit addicting. Some recreational drugs that increase dopamine include crack cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, LSD, marijuana, and more.
Therefore people get addicted to that hit of dopamine that they are getting from that drug or behavior. Food can be addicting; sugar, in particular, gives you a false boost of serotonin,, making you happy and feel good.
We pursue things that we believe will make us feel good or give us that feeling of dopamine or serotonin we are craving.
References:
Birdsall T. C. (1998). 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor. Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic, 3(4), 271–280.
Eby, G. A., 3rd, & Eby, K. L. (2010). Magnesium for treatment-resistant depression: a review and hypothesis. Medical hypotheses, 74(4), 649–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2009.10.051
Howes, O. D., McCutcheon, R., Owen, M. J., & Murray, R. M. (2017). The Role of Genes, Stress, and Dopamine in the Development of Schizophrenia. Biological psychiatry, 81(1), 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.07.014
Patrick, R. P., & Ames, B. N. (2015). Vitamin D and the omega?3 fatty acids control serotonin synthesis and action, part 2: Relevance for ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior. The FASEB Journal, 29(6), 2207–2222. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.14-268342
Sacheli, M. A., Neva, J. L., Lakhani, B., Murray, D. K., Vafai, N., Shahinfard, E., English, C., McCormick, S., Dinelle, K., Neilson, N., McKenzie, J., Schulzer, M., McKenzie, D. C., Appel-Cresswell, S., McKeown, M. J., Boyd, L. A., Sossi, V., & Stoessl, A. J. (2019). Exercise increases caudate dopamine release and ventral striatal activation in Parkinson’s disease. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, 34(12), 1891–1900. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.27865
Young S. N. (2007). How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN, 32(6), 394–399.
Zamoscik, V., Schmidt, S., Bravo, R., Ugartemendia, L., Plieger, T., Rodríguez, A. B., Reuter, M., & Kirsch, P. (2021). Tryptophan-enriched diet or 5-hydroxytryptophan supplementation given in a randomized controlled trial impacts social cognition on a neural and behavioral level. Scientific reports, 11(1), 21637. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01164-y
Originally posted 2022-03-20 05:52:17.
Megan Santiago
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