The brain has its own team of hormones to “stimulate” us, naturally improving mood and energy.
The brain has its own
ideal team of hormones to naturally improve mood and energy. You just need to know how to stimulate them. Here’s how.
Simona Gouchan
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With the arrival of winter, it can sometimes be hard to keep up. Luckily, a few simple steps are all it takes to regain vitality and joy. British neuroscientist TJ Power, a prominent figure on social media (with nearly 900,000 Instagram followers), shows in his book “The Right Dose” (a clever acronym for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins), published by Marabout, how to stimulate the happiness hormones.
American psychiatrist Georgia Ede, a Harvard-trained specialist in nutrition and metabolism, reminds us in “Nourish Your Brain, Heal Your Mind” (published by Thierry Souccar) that food remains fundamental to psychological well-being. Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, attention or memory problems… brain chemistry is based on food choices. Providing essential nutrients, avoiding those that cause stress, and, metabolically, maintaining healthy blood sugar and insulin levels are crucial. Between simple routines and balanced menus, these two complementary
Regain your motivation and energy with dopamine.
Notifications, likes, endless videos… the brain runs on dopamine, the molecule of vitality and motivation. But, constantly bombarded with stimuli for everything, the dopaminergic circuits become depleted. The result: we get bored easily, procrastinate, and feel exhausted. Contrary to popular belief, dopamine is not the pleasure molecule, but rather the one that drives us to act, learn, and create. For our ancestors, every effort (hunting, lighting a fire, building a shelter…) brought a slow but lasting reward, emphasizes TJ Power. Today, a simple click or a like is enough to trigger a small dopamine surge, a fleeting pleasure that, in the long run, diminishes the desire to act.
Neuroscientists call it “evolutionary mismatch”: our brains, calibrated for sustained, tangible effort, are trapped in a world where everything is at our fingertips, where rewards are instant, an endless “dopamine land.” The remedy? A reboot. TJ Power, a former notification addict, suggests retraining the brain to achieve genuine satisfaction through basic habits: taking a cold shower, tidying the house, reading, or even watching TV… but without your phone. These small actions, which require a bit of self-discipline, reactivate the natural dopamine cycle: effort followed by true pleasure.
“We need to allow ourselves moments without our mobile phones during the day.”
Avoiding your phone upon waking and organizing your morning is the first thing you should do. Diving into notifications within minutes of waking blocks the energy boost built up overnight, when the brain regenerates its resources. Then, making your bed, brushing your teeth, or taking a cold shower sends a clear signal to your brain: “I’m taking control of my day.” And, to limit unnecessary dopamine rushes, TJ Power recommends intermittent phone-free time: reserving periods throughout the day without your phone and scheduling specific times to check social media. He only allows himself three time slots: 10:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m., appointments he looks forward to.
