Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Welcome to the next post in the theme for the A to Z Blogging theme, Improve your Life, Improve your Mind.
Today we’re looking at a topic that I knew nothing about a couple of weeks ago!
Dopamine. Do you Drip or do you Drown?
Part of the brain’s information highway includes chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters. These have different functions that affect the brain and the body. I recently learned that Dopamine is one of the principle “feel good” neurotransmitters. Dopamine improves our motivation and helps us to focus.
As we get older, we lose brain cells that produce neurotransmitters, including dopamine. Protecting our brains help to encourage the neurotransmitter producers which may in turn decrease our risk of age-related memory issues which are often regarded as “normal”.
Low Dopamine Levels
lead to
- depression
- apathy
- a lack of motivation
- and may cause Parkinson’s Disease
How to increase dopamine levels.
According to Dr. Amen, there are two ways we can do this. We can “drip” it into our systems, a little at a time. Or we can “drown” ourselves with it.
Dripping in the dopamine:
In order to help us feel motivated, happy and creative, we want to do activities throughout the day that drip dopamine into our systems. As the series continues we’ll learn more about this, but some ways we can do this is by
- increasing our exercise (see tomorrow’s post)
- cultivate friendships and social interaction with like-minded people
- eat foods rich with dopamine, including turmeric, green tea, fish, lentils, chicken, eggs, broccoli etc. (More on this later under N for Nutrition.)
Drowning in dopamine:
On the other side of the spectrum there are the risks involved in drowning ourselves with dopamine. This involves activities which in themselves cause us to “feel good” initially, but because the dopamine floods into our system, we need, and also crave more. So it becomes addictive.
Examples of ways we can drown ourselves in dopamine are
- drinking alcohol
- doing cocaine or other mind-altering drugs
- participating in extreme sports (the greater the thrill, the greater the adrenaline rush, and the more the desire for more!)
- playing some video games, especially such games that involve mass murders and violent action in a short space of time.
- enjoying a high sugar burst. This is no surprise to parents of young children. We talk about a “Sugar High” – but it is actually an overload of dopamine.
- gambling
<div align=”center”><a title=”Dopamine – Do you Drip or Do you Drown?” href=”https://riseandsoar.com/dopamine“><img style=”border: none; height: auto; width: 200px;” src=“https://riseandsoar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AtoZ-badge-1-e1520605958167.jpg” alt=”Brain”/></a></div> |
Instructions:
Select all code in box above, copy it and past it at the end of your own blog post as HTML (text).
[inlinkz_linkup id=773441 mode=1]
Sweet and informative post! Dripping looks like the obvious and healthy choice. I heard gossip also releases Dopamine for some! Not sure how true it is though 🙂
I can imagine gossip would release Dopamine as it brings a peculiar kind of thrill to some people. Not a healthy way of getting it though!
#AtoZ Challenge: Let’s move on to M – The amazing influence of music upon our lives.
Thank you for visiting my blog Shirley.
Really enjoyed reading this post. At a school conference I’d attended a couple of years ago, the speaker made a passionate case for daily doses of dopamine in the form of exercise etc. to tackle anxiety and depression in teenagers.
I love gardening and my glass of red on the weekends:)
E is for Expresso
Great to hear the promotion for school kids to up their daily dopamine. I’m sure that would stop the drug craziness in its steps too! Fitbit for Improving your Life
I listen to peppy music and dance with it when i am low.
Tongue Twister for E
That’s excellent, Mrs. Dash! I’m going to do that when I get home. (I’m away at present.) Fitbit for Improving your Life
I think I’ll stick to dripping dopamine. Those all seem like fun options.
More fun and definitely safer! Have a great week, Karen.
I look to exercise to help when my mood is low Shirley. I always feel great afterwards. Love your idea of the link up at the end. See you for E tomorrow.
Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
D is for Disconnection – the benefits of unplugging regularly
Thanks, Sue. I wasn’t sure about the month-long link, but I’m away from home and travelling for more of April (and I’m not in advance with my posts, yikes!) so it was the only way I could see to do it. Have a great day. Exercise to Improve your Life, Improve your Mind.
Nice to meet you, Shirley, I am returning your visit (you came to see me in Denver 🙂
Very interesting facts about the dopamine. I am more of a dripper with the occasional glass of wine and piece of cake.
🙂 Hi Tamara! I’m now living in Port Elizabeth, hours round the coast from Cape Town. Good to meet you!
Hmmm… I do tend to get depressed, especially during the winter. The best thing that I can do for me is to take a walk or dance or do zumba. In the warmer weather, when I’m working on people’s gardens, my mood is definitely better and my mind works better, too.
There we go. Funnily enough I had zumba down on my list as well but the post was getting too long! Thanks for the visit.
Very informative and interesting read. I guess I was drowning and need to work on dripping.
Thanks for your visit, Jen. Yes, I realised I was tending to drown too!
I’m lucky to have lovely friends … and a dog! Still drink wine though… but I’m also luckily a happy sort of a person. And i love my job! That helps… V interesting blog. Liz http://www.poetryroundabout.com
Thanks Liz. I’m glad you are surround by happy people!
Im glad to see that Im a drip. I work with Alzheimer’s patients and there are days that I feel in the fog with them.
https://moondustwriter.com/2018/04/04/dance-children-atozchallenge/
Ooh no, Leslie. I didn’t say YOU were a drip! But I’m glad if you’re dripping dopamine into these people’s lives. All the best in your very draining task.
Interesting facts about dopamine, Shirley. Thanks
Natasha
natashamusing
April Anecdotes
Destinys Child
Thanks for visiting, Natasha! Every blessing.
Natasha, there seems to be something wrong with the link. I’d love to read it, but it doesn’t go to the right page.
I have always suffered from depression, that neurological imbalance has always been a swaying scale for me. I did drown it for a long time having grown exhausted of dripping.
Now I am a function dripper…some days it is exhausting, but the next day often starts with a fresh slate so I try to let it go and not grow overwhelmed.
I love the way you have taken the drip and drown terms to mean something in your life! I also love the term, Function Dripper! Wishing you all the best, Jess.
Informative! Just had lentil soup with green tea for lunch, hoping my afternoon work rate will be increased! This is a good challenge. See you later
How healthy is that? Well done, AJ!
I exercise to get my daily dose of dopamine, have a good network of friends, read and write. Yes, but there are still some days when I am pulled under, I don’t know why. Thanks for sharing this, Shirley.
Thanks for sharing, Anshu. I suppose it’s a case of finding balance – and of course we’ll never get perfection will we?
Wow, this was an interesting and informative read. Dopamine sure affects our overall sense of well-being.
Thanks Kala. Sorry for the late response. I’ve just spotted I missed this!
Here’s my complete list of A to Z posts.
This is fascinating about the link between extreme sports and dopamine – perhaps, then, those individuals who like to “live dangerously” are trying to self medicate possibly natural levels of dopamine. In a way, it’s a good alternative to drugs but on the other hand, may be just as deadly.
You’re right, Alana. I hadn’t thought of that. Sorry this is a late response. I’ve just found I hadn’t replied. Here’s my complete list of A to Z posts.
That was interesting. Too much a good thing turns bad.
Yep, interesting. Yet, I suppose we always knew that . . . . too much chocolate . . . ?
Lovely way of addressing dopamine – drip or drown – useful and I will remember it.
that’s a good info
I watched a documentary on sugar consumption on the weekend Shirley – the amount of sugar we eat in processed food is scary – and the addictive affect it has on our brains was also frightening. I think that drip feeding is definitely the way to go!
Leanne | http://www.crestingthehill.com.au
D for Don’t Give Up