How to increase endorphins? We offer you six strategies that will make you feel enormous pleasure and satisfaction. Seeing is believing!
Last update: December 14, 2020
Endorphins are substances that are released in the brain at certain times, and that make us feel a feeling of well-being, joy, euphoria and satisfaction. In addition, their effects are considered to be similar to those of opiates, since they act as pain relievers. It is good to know, therefore, some ways to increase endorphins.
On a more technical level, they are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters, that is, they allow communication between neurons. They are produced by the pituitary and hypothalamus in moments of excitement or pleasure.
How to increase endorphins? Can it be done with simple daily actions? The answer is yes. Here are 6 ways to naturally increase these substances.
How to increase endorphins?
We can naturally increase endorphins through various actions. Let's see some of them.
Exercise
Exercising is one of the ways to increase endorphins. You can run, dance, skate, swim, cycle… Or just walk. The list of sports is endless! The important thing is that your body makes an effort to release endorphins.
Eat chocolate to increase endorphins
We can also increase endorphin levels by eating certain foods, such as chocolate. Some studies suggest that chocolate, in addition to favor the release of these substances, offers important antidepressant properties (especially pure cocoa).
A study conducted by University College London reveals that people who eat dark chocolate are less likely to suffer from depression.
“What starts sweet ends sweet. And what starts bitter softens. "
-Anonymous-
Listen to music
Listening to music is another great way to increase endorphins. "Music calms the wild beasts," but it also instills positive emotional states. It all depends on the song you listen to, but it is clear that music has an undeniable power over our emotions and is able to increase the release of endorphins.
If you listen to music in an “active” way, then carefully, paying attention to the lyrics and the melody, the effects can be very powerful.
Let's not forget that there is also a therapy called music therapy that it uses music to improve the health and well-being of the person.
"Music is the mediator between the spiritual life and the sensual life."
-Ludwig van Beethoven-
To smile
Laughing and smiling can also increase endorphins, as positive emotions are related to these substances. Laughing also promotes recovery from some diseases.
There is, in fact, laughter therapy, that is a therapy that aims to generate positive mental states through laughter, and therefore to improve the mood of people. On the other hand, surrounding ourselves with positive people who smile often makes us more positive in turn.
"It's easier to get what you want with a smile than with the tip of the sword."
-William Shakespeare-
Remember happy moments to increase endorphins
Remembering particular times or moments that make us feel satisfied or happy can increase endorphins. This because memory has a huge influence on our emotions, and emotionally charged memories are preserved better than "neutral" memories.
Reliving a happy moment (which generated endorphins at the time) through the memory is almost like reliving it on your skin, as if it were happening again. Given the close link between endorphins and emotions, their release gives us a great feeling of well-being.
According to a study by Hamann (2001), emotions are a powerful filter for our attention: they highlight stimuli and events that can endanger us or promote survival. According to Zajonc (1980), it is precisely for this reason that affective responses are evolutionarily earlier or more elementary than cognitive responses.
Knowing how to relive the past with pleasure is living twice.
-Anonymous-
Having sexual intercourse
We also release endorphins through sexual intercourse, and in large quantities! It is a particularly exciting time, especially during orgasm. According to the National Health Service, in addition to releasing a large amount of endorphins, during sex we use all muscle groups, the heart and lungs work hard and burn about 300 calories per hour. Almost better than playing sports!
To fall in love
Do you want to increase your endorphins? Fall in love! Of course, it is not something that can be done on command, but also when we fall in love, we release a huge amount of these substances. During falling in love, a great hormonal cocktail is produced in the brain that makes us tremble and dull.
A curious fact, found in a study (2020) conducted by Johns Hopkins University and published in the journal Psychological Science, showed that the choice affects future preferences, or so it happens with newborns. The study reveals, in fact, that we fall in love with what we choose (we do not speak exclusively of a couple, but of passion for something).
Conclusions
There are several ways to increase endorphins. Their release is linked to moments of pleasure, enjoyment and excitement. When we carry out activities that involve the release of these substances, we become "addicted", in fact anything that causes pleasure can be addictive.
This is because, in the brain, a series of structures and mechanisms are activated that make us want to repeat the activities in question. Pleasure makes slaves!
"Life is made up of small pleasures."
-Paulo Coelho-
