Serotonin: what it is and how to increase it

Serotonin, also known as the happiness hormone, is extremely important for our health. Do you know, after all, what is serotonin?

Knowing what its function is for our body and how to increase its production will help you take better care of yourself and feel happier.

In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about serotonin and how you can raise serotonin levels with simple practices.

What is serotonin?

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that works in the brain by establishing connections between nerve cells, one of which is related to our feeling of well-being and good mood. This neurotransmitter is also found in the digestive system and blood platelets, affecting appetite and sleep.

What is serotonin for?

Serotonin acts in different ways on our organism, but, without a doubt, the main function of serotonin is to make us feel good, in the broadest sense of the term, maintaining the full functioning of our organism. Thus, serotonin regulates our sleep, appetite, heart rate, body temperature, mood, memory and cognitive functions.

When these functions are out of balance, due to low serotonin, diseases such as anxiety and depression can manifest. That's why maintaining the serotonin rate is so important for the whole body to function well and for us to feel the happiness resulting from this good functioning.

Serotonin and happiness

When our body is healthy, the feeling of well-being is a natural consequence of this state of fullness in which we feel that our entire organism is functioning in an integrated way.

Serotonin ended up being known as the happiness hormone, although it is a neurotransmitter, because it directly affects the regulation of our mood. It turns out that, once the other functions are adequate, the good mood “appears”. It's not that serotonin is a miracle drug that makes people feel happy; are good practices that lead to its production and the consequent effect it produces.

Low serotonin symptoms

If a good level of serotonin causes well-being, the drop in the neurotransmitter causes several symptoms to manifest. According to psychiatrist Adiel Rios, a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, as explained to the Viva Bem channel on the UOL website, when found in low concentration, serotonin causes bad mood, insomnia, lack of appetite or binge eating, loss of focus and libido, anxiety and, it was believed, even depression.

However, the study “The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence”, which has just been published in the scientific journal “Nature”, challenges this hypothesis about the relationship between the cause of depression and low serotonin in the body.

According to the researchers, who carried out a systematic review of other investigations, not all patients with depression have a low level of serotonin, which indicates that the depressive condition is related to other factors, as reported by Folha de S. Paulo in an article of the day 20/07/2022.

What causes low concentration or what causes a lack of serotonin in the body is the lack of the amino acid tryptophan, obtained through food. Here is a list of some of these foods to include in your diet to increase serotonin production:

• Chocolate 70% cocoa or more;
• This;
• Banana;
• Pineapple;
• Tomato;
• Lean, low-fat meats such as fish and chicken
• Milk and dairy products;
• Whole grains;
• legumes;
• Vegetables;
• Spinach;
• Asparagus.

What happens when serotonin is high?

Is there a problem with “being too happy”? Excess serotonin in the body is indeed harmful. The condition, known as serotonin syndrome, causes symptoms similar to those of euphoria: muscle stiffness, chills, sweating, high blood pressure and fever, as neurologist Gabriel Novaes Batistella explained to UOL's Viva Bem channel.

For the treatment of depression, for example, a medication is used that makes serotonin act longer in neuronal synapses, in addition to increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain. Therefore, it is essential that the treatment is prescribed and monitored by a psychiatrist.

After all, how to increase serotonin?

Are there ways to increase serotonin naturally? The answer is yes. As already seen, there are foods rich in tryptophan that increase serotonin, which you should include in your diet.

However, it's not just tryptophan that helps produce more serotonin. How, then, to increase serotonin naturally in other ways? Including good habits in your daily life, such as regular physical activity, having a hobby and a moment of your own to relax, meditate, manage stress and sunbathe to produce vitamin D. Another simple way to increase serotonin is to remember happy moments. , as indicated by neuroscientist Alex Korb to G1, in an article about how to trigger the happiness hormones endorphin, oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin.

You might also like:

• Use natural techniques to increase serotonin levels
• Take care of your well-being by practicing the right attitudes
• Improve your mental health with 30 must-have tips

Serotonin is in a virtuous circle: through attitudes that are good for our health, we produce serotonin, which puts us back in a good mood. Therefore, having a balanced life with doses of physical activity, healthy eating, moments of relaxation and positive thinking help to maintain serotonin and, as a result, to have a happier life.