Releasing more feel-good hormones
Have you ever finished a workout and felt a boost of energy? Or had a few minutes of side-splitting laughter with friends that instantly improves your outlook? You can thank endorphins for these feelings, and they’re a big part of what makes people happy.
Endorphins act as natural painkillers, and have been shown to promote a good mood and increase feelings of happiness. Endorphins are also neurotransmitters, but they’re capable of blocking pain signals from reaching the brain, and can produce a sense of euphoria. Higher levels of endorphins in the body have been shown to inhibit pain, while reduced levels can restrict positive emotions (5).
Your body releases endorphins during:
- Strenuous exercise
- Laughter
- Eating certain foods
- Sex
- Meditation
- Listening to music
Endorphins are one reason that many doctors recommend certain activities for those who experience depression or anxiety. Stimulating endorphins goes hand in hand with a happier mood.
Related: Biohack Your Hormones to Boost Your Mood
Stress as a barrier to happiness
Now that you know a little about what creates happiness, let’s find out what can make it harder to embrace positive emotion.
Today, no one is a stranger to stress, but studies show a strong connection between stress and the ability to feel happy. The human body is perfectly made to handle occasional stress—even pretty severe stress is ok as long as we have a chance to recover and let stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline return to a baseline.
But, cortisol dysfunction over time has been shown to be a marker for depression (6). Cortisol is a key player in the HPA axis, which regulates your stress response. And if this axis becomes dysregulated as a result of chronic, unresolved stress, it can lead to cortisol issues which then interfere with your mood. Abnormal cortisol production has been linked to depression, chronic stress, and anxiety (7). Those with chronic pain also have chronically elevated levels of cortisol.
Individuals with higher levels of “personal growth” and “purpose in life” had lower and more stable levels of salivary cortisol and urinary adrenaline (5). This may make cortisol and adrenaline important predictors of happiness.
Read: The Benefits of Magnesium for Mood & Mental Health
The love hormone
Oxytocin is commonly called the “love hormone” or the “cuddle hormone”, because your body produces oxytocin in response to different kinds of physical and emotional affection.
Oxytocin has a significant effect on your brain, playing a key role in your mood and memory, and even helping to decrease feelings of anxiety by dampening the effects of cortisol (8).
When you engage in physical touch, whether it’s a hug, a touch on the arm, or something more intimate, this stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain to release oxytocin that creates a feeling of trust and empathy. Humans have evolved to crave this feeling on a biological level, and we now know that the sense of touch is the very first one to develop (9).
Learn more: 4 Ways to Increase Oxytocin
Physical health and happiness
If you have good physical health, does that mean you’re likely to be happier? Several studies back up the idea that a positive mood is strongly linked to good physical health.
- Don’t wait to begin proactive testing , prevention, and functional medicine for:
Some people argue that both physical health and happiness have mutually beneficial effects on one another, so it’s not always clear which one comes first. That is, a positive mood makes it easier to make healthy choices, while those healthy choices are more likely to support greater happiness. Happier people also live longer lives, as a general rule (10).
The opposite is typically also true. Those who struggle with chronic illness, pain management, and fibromyalgia typically are at increased risk for depressive disorders and more likely to struggle with negative thoughts (11).
Research suggests happiness also has other health benefits. There’s a strong link between positive emotions and improved health, including (12):
- Lower blood pressure
- Reduced risk for heart disease
- A healthier weight
- Better blood sugar control
People with greater happiness are also less likely to participate in risky behaviors, like substance abuse or heavy alcohol use (13).
Improve your happiness with integrative medicine
The predictors of happiness are complex, but by understanding some of the key factors, we can all work together to support greater happiness in individuals and societies. Your lifestyle and daily routine have a huge impact on your mood, so make sure you’re doing things that make you happy! Eat well, get enough exercise, spend time outdoors and with loved ones, and find ways to reduce stress. And don’t forget to take care of your physical health – it has a big impact on your overall well being. We can all help promote happiness by staying healthy and taking an active role in our own lives. What will you do today to increase your own happiness?
Resources
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20397744/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1913922/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4759319
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16962146/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC444949
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4437603/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15347530/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4120070/
- https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/fetal-development/fetal-touch/
- https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01045.x
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eliseo-Pascual/publication/267007595
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629607001154
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953614003189