Key Takeaways
- Get enough sleep to help maintain your dopamine levels.
- Listen to music you find enjoyable to boost dopamine in your brain.
- Eating healthy foods, especially those rich in tyrosine, can increase dopamine levels.
Dopamine, a chemical messenger in your brain that governs motivation, mood, movement, memory, sleep, and behavior regulation, is central to the brain’s reward system. It rewards you with a euphoric feeling whenever you engage in a beneficial behavior, which motivates you to repeat the behavior.
Read on to find out the symptoms of low dopamine levels, and discover ways to increase your dopamine levels naturally.
Dopamine: Too High or Too Low?
Every time we do something enjoyable, like eating a nice meal, having a positive social experience, going for a run, or having sex, a little bit of dopamine is released in our brain. However, engaging in vices like alcohol or recreational drugs also causes dopamine to be released into the brain. This is why the chemical messenger has been closely linked to addiction.
Having a balance in the synthesis, availability, and receptors for dopamine is the key. When levels are too low or too high, we experience changes in our mood, thoughts, and behavior.
High levels of dopamine activity in certain parts of the brain are implicated in manic episodes (in bipolar disorder), as well as psychotic episodes where someone may experience hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and unusual motor activity (in schizophrenia).
Using various substances can cause a dopamine rush that creates feelings of euphoria as well as feelings of detachment and dissociation. Excess dopamine from substance abuse has been associated with “bad trips” and can trigger transient or permanent psychotic disorders.
Low dopamine levels have been linked to several medical conditions like depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, addiction, and Parkinson’s disease. Low dopamine levels can make you feel less motivated, apathetic, and listless and affect your ability to concentrate.
Some symptoms of low dopamine levels include:
- Low libido
- Muscle stiffness and cramps
- Tremors
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Insomnia
- Low Energy
- Fatigue
- Lack of motivation
- Inattention
- Apathy
- Boredom
- Listlessness
- Constipation
- Lack of feelings of pleasure in activities you once enjoyed
How Dopamine Works
Most of the dopamine produced by your body is made in the midbrain after which it is distributed to different areas in your brain. Despite decades of research, scientists are still baffled by the exact mechanism of dopamine in the brain.
There are four major pathways for dopamine in your brain. Each one controls a different process in your body. Three of these pathways are your rewards pathways, known as the mesocortical, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal pathways, and their function is to release dopamine into different parts of your brain when you engage in a rewarding activity.
What Causes Low Dopamine Levels?
Many things could cause low dopamine levels. Some of them include:
- Medical conditions: Some medical conditions have been linked to low dopamine levels. Conditions like Parkinson’s disease, major depression, and substance abuse are common culprits of low dopamine levels.
- Poor diet: Eating a diet that doesn’t contain adequate nutrients for optimal brain health could cause low dopamine levels—especially a diet that’s lacking in tyrosine.
- Substance abuse: Abuse of alcohol and recreational drug use can, in the long term, cause your body to reduce its natural production of dopamine. This, in turn, causes you to rely on the substance you are abusing.
- Certain medications: Some medications like antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs work by binding to dopamine receptors. This blocks the natural activity of dopamine in your brain.
Treatment for Low Dopamine Levels
Treating dopamine loss aims to cause the production of more dopamine, slow down the breakdown of dopamine that is being produced, create more dopamine receptors, and repair existing dopamine receptors so that they can work better.
There are several supplements and medications, known as dopamine agonists, available for people who have low dopamine levels. Medication is often used in cases where your depleted dopamine levels are caused by a condition such as depression or Parkinson’s.
However, there are some techniques you could also use to increase your dopamine levels naturally.
How to Increase Your Dopamine Levels Naturally
Get Enough Sleep
Getting an adequate amount of sleep every night is necessary for maintaining our health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults get an average of seven or more hours of sleep every night.
When you don’t get enough sleep, dopamine receptors in your body can be adversely affected. Research has linked sleep deprivation to the suppression of some dopamine receptors in your body.
Listen to Some Music
Make a playlist of some of your favorite music and listen to it when you are feeling listless, unmotivated, or experiencing other symptoms that indicate your dopamine levels are low. Imagine yourself driving down the road, with your windows down, your hair blowing in the wind, and your favorite tunes playing loudly. Just thinking about it might make you smile.
In a 2011 study, researchers found that when you listen to music you find pleasurable it can lead to a release of dopamine in your brain.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
Eating a healthy diet has several benefits for both your body and mind and increasing your dopamine levels is part of this. Foods that are rich in tyrosine like almonds, eggs, fish, and chicken are especially good for boosting dopamine levels.
Tyrosine is an amino acid that is naturally produced by the body. Dopamine is made from this amino acid and can be found in protein-rich foods. Foods that contain natural probiotics such as yogurt and kefir may also increase dopamine production.
Drinks like coffee also boost your dopamine, but keep in mind that as your dopamine levels drop after drinking it, this could cause a caffeine addiction.
Exercise More
Exercising regularly has been proven to be very important for your brain’s health. It can also help you boost your dopamine levels. Whenever you exercise your brain releases some dopamine.
While more research needs to be conducted into the exact mechanism that leads the brain to produce dopamine when we exercise, you are probably familiar with the feeling you get after a workout.
Frequent runners also report experiencing something called a runner’s high. This is described as a feeling of relaxation and elation and is a result of the release of dopamine by the brain.
Increase Social Activity
Humans are social creatures and low dopamine levels are associated with social isolation. Stay connected to friends and family who are a positive source of support in your life. Seeking out new friendships and social activities are also good for brain health and the release of those “feel good” chemicals.
Meditate
Meditating has a positive effect on a host of mental health conditions. Research also shows that meditation has the ability to increase your dopamine levels.
Cut Down on Processed Sugars
Consuming processed sugars like candy and soda have the ability to increase your dopamine levels, but this increase is only temporary and artificial. Like with alcohol and recreational drugs, sugar can give you temporary boosts of dopamine while affecting the rate at which your body produces it naturally.
When you consume a large amount of sugar in a short time, you may notice that you feel a rush of elation. This is a sugar high. It is typically very temporary and followed by a crash that leaves you feeling down.
Remove Stressors From Your Life
Stress is a precursor to many medical conditions, it also causes low dopamine levels. We aren’t always in control of the things that bring stress into our lives, but you can eliminate stressors that you have some control over.
For instance, if a long commute to work is causing stress, you might consider moving closer to work. You may need to step away from toxic relationships and eliminate drama. You can also engage in activities that reduce stress like meditating, exercising, or getting a massage.
Recap
Ways to increase dopamine levels naturally
- Get sufficient sleep regularly.
- Listen to music.
- Eat healthfully.
- Exercise.
- Increase positive social interactions.
- Relax by practicing mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, massage, etc.
- Limit your intake of processed foods.
- Try to minimize stress.
