Dopamine: How this neurotransmitter affects your life

Dopamine is an essential substance for the body, however, it is linked to addictive and even harmful behaviors for health.

Whether due to social media or exercise routines, there is a lot of talk about dopamine. However, more than a medical term used for exhaustion to talk about the pleasure mechanisms of the brain, this substance has functions much more important than imagined.

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF DOPAMINE?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter belonging to the catecholamine family. It is released in various parts of the brain and performs various functions. For example, it carries information from one neuron to another, regulating mood, feelings of pleasure, compensation, and regulating some endocrinological functions, such as appetite.

“Dopamine is related to the so-called reward system, which is a neuronal circuit in the brain that directly influences our emotions,” explains the Dr. Paola Pires , SBEM endocrinologist. ‘This system provides motivation to perform certain activities, such as feeling happy when eating when hungry. When neurons in this system fire, they release dopamine in specific brain regions, causing an increase in the feeling of pleasure.’

Indeed, it is thanks to this mechanism that social networks have become the phenomenon they are today: we become addicted to likes, drugs and even high-calorie foods due to the reward system triggered by dopamine.

WHEN IS DOPAMINE RELEASED?

But what stimulates the production of dopamine? Just the pleasant moments we live. It can be the joy of getting a like on a new photo you posted, the feeling you get when you eat a delicious cake, even the pleasure you get when you have sex with someone or during masturbation.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see why dopamine is directly linked to our brain’s reward system. Listening to music you enjoy, manual labor and even the smell of a cake you are baking in the oven can trigger the release of this important substance, which has numerous functions in our body, such as increasing motivation, focus and concentration .

FOOD X DOPAMINE

Incidentally, dopamine’s connection to food goes beyond high-calorie foods. In fact, there are a number of elements that can contribute to our feeling of well-being generated by the release of this neurotransmitter in the body. Do you know, for example, which fruit has the most dopamine? Avocados and bananas. See below where to find dopamine with a list of other foods rich in tyrosine, which helps increase the levels of this neurotransmitter in the body:

• Egg
• Fish
• Meat
• Bean
• Soy
• pumpkin seeds
• Sesame
• Dairy products, such as milk, cheese and yogurt
• Avocado
• bananas

IS THERE AN EXCESS OF DOPAMINE?

An important question: is it possible to suffer from an excess of dopamine? And the answer is yes.” “Schizophrenia is related to dopamine levels in the brain,” explains Dr. Paola. “This disorder is likely due to elevated or otherwise deregulated levels of dopamine in the brain. That said, treatment for schizophrenia includes drugs that block dopamine receptors.”

We all like to experience pleasure and have a fun time, however, excess dopamine can lead to conditions like the one described above or even can trigger a variety of behaviors that, in the long run, are detrimental to someone’s life.

Here are some symptoms of excess dopamine:

1. Always look for activities that trigger pleasure: that is, you have a tendency to addiction
2. be very outgoing
3. Having moments of intense agitation, both in speech and in thoughts
4. Constantly feeling suspicious of people or paranoid
5. They tend to have very exaggerated reactions to everyday situations
6. You are often constipated
7. “Eating your feelings”, that is, eating high-calorie foods due to your emotional state
8. trouble sleeping

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.