Friend: “You know I'm very happy today..” Biology student: “No.. You just have high serotonin level today” | Himanshi Verma.
Dear reader, what is happiness for you? Some people believe being happy is about what you have: plenty of money, many cars, expensive properties? While some think it's about who you are. The two sides are not wrong, but as we'll see in this post, having great/small properties, a good/bad environment or be a certain type of person doesn't necessarily define how happy we will be. In this post, we'll start by defining happiness from a psychological and philosophical point of view before diving into the science of happiness and analyze the role of some of our hormones in our overall happiness feeling and how we can hack them to feel more contentment in our daily life. Thanks for joining me.
What is happiness?
The word happiness comes from the Old Norse term happ meaning “luck” or “chance.” It’s also related to the Old English word hæpic meaning “equal.” In psychology, happiness is defined as a state of emotional well-being that a person experiences either in a narrow sense, when good things happen in a specific moment, or more broadly, as a positive evaluation of one’s life and accomplishments overall. Happiness can be distinguished both from negative emotions (such as sadness, fear, and anger) and also from other positive emotions (such as affection, excitement, and interest). This emotion often co-occurs a specific amount of expression such as smile, squeal of joy, excited exclamation or laughter, upright and elevated posture, etc..
In philosophy, happiness is either understood as being about pleasure and fulfillment, which Aristotle defined as (hedonia) and (eudaemonia):
Hedonia: Hedonic happiness is derived from pleasure. It is most often associated with doing what feels good, self-care, fulfilling desires, experiencing enjoyment, and feeling a sense of satisfaction.
Eudaemonia: This type of happiness is derived from seeking virtue and meaning. Important components of eudaemonic well-being including feeling that your life has meaning, value, and purpose. It is associated more with fulfilling responsibilities, investing in long-term goals, concern for the welfare of other people, and living up to personal ideals. For Aristotle, eudaemonia is a full or flourishing life. It is one of moral excellence, duty, and virtue. It might involve or accompany pleasure, but it doesn’t seek it. Eudaemonic happiness means the thriving of the soul and doing what you were meant to do as a human.
Can we measure happiness?
Some of us will measure happiness as being hedonia (pleasure). But that is a temporary, fickle, and unreliable thing. Others will measure happiness as eudaemonic. They will frame it within a meaningful life, or as a life done well. After all, the most meaningful and “happy” days of our lives are often not all that pleasurable at the time. They are the ones in which we work ourselves silly, we overcome a challenge long bothering us, or we know we’ve been the best person we can be. So when wanting to measure someone happiness level, instead of asking the person the standard question: “Are you happy?”, better questions might be: “Are you happy right now?” (which is measuring a more affective, hedonic state) and “Is your life happy?” (which is measuring a more holistic, eudaemonic thing).
Another way to measure happiness level has been shown by a research named the World Happiness Report. This research has been using various algorithms, data sets, and statistical analyses for over 20 years to determine the happiest and unhappiest places on Earth. But how, exactly, do they measure happiness? According to their site, they measure happiness by focusing on Gallup poll data for six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels. Even though half of the categories (like freedom and internal and external corruption) are self-perception-based responses, their overall analysis holds water. Essentially, the World Happiness Report measures happiness in economic and political terms. For them, happiness results from affluence, comfort, opportunity, freedom, justice, and support.
The science of happiness:
“It's not love that you care about, nor religion, nor hobbies, nor philosophy, nor food, nor relationship, nor look, nor money, nor status, nor sex, nor meditation, nor drugs, nor freedom, not even life; but the feeling. Serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine. This is what you really want.” | Walter Müllner.
From a scientifical point of view, happiness is not only shaped by our environment but it also comes from 4 main hormones called the feeling-good hormones. These hormones determine how happy we are no matter our social, financial, or whatever situation. No matter who or where you are, if you lack this 4 neurotransmitter, you will probably have difficulties defining yourself as a happy person. They are:
Dopamine: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (like a chemical messenger) produced in the brain and circulated around the body to affect your heart rate, your blood pressure, and even your experience of pain. Your body releases dopamine like a reward for something great, like when you’ve reached a goal or had an amazing game of your favorite sport. You experience something wonderful and your body rewards you by rushing your body with this feel-good hormone, making you feel happy and fulfilled. A lack of dopamine can lead to procrastination, low self-esteem, lack of motivation or enthusiasm, low energy or fatigue, inability to focus, feeling anxious, feeling hopeless, mood swings.
Serotonin: Serotonin is another neurotransmitter created in the brain and in the intestines, which circulates in our blood throughout our central nervous system. Serotonin is a big part of the science of happiness and is often known as the “happiness chemical”, because the more serotonin you feel, the greater your feeling of confidence and well-being. On the flip side, people who have low levels of serotonin circulating in their bodies are more likely to report low mood and even depression. A lack of serotonin can lead to low self-esteem, being overly sensitive and emotional, anxiety and panic attacks, mood swings, depression and feeling hopeless, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorders and insomnia.
Oxytocin: Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter that’s released when you experience positive physical or emotional contact with another human being and fills you with feelings of calm, trust, and security. It’s the hormone that’s vital to parent-child relationships, particularly in breastfeeding, childbirth and early bonding, but it can also be experienced between friends and when you fall in love. An oxytocin deficiency is manifested by loneliness or stress feeling, lack of motivation or enthusiasm, low energy or fatigue, a feeling of disconnect from your relationships, feeling anxious, insomnia.
Endorphins: Endorphins are the body’s natural pain relievers and are produced in the pituitary glands and the central nervous system. Endorphins also increase your experience of pleasure. Just like dopamine, they’re released when you’ve experienced something nice, like playing a great game or eating a delicious cake. When you do sport, you get a rush of endorphins which can make you feel a great sense of well-being. An endorphins deficiency can lead to anxiety, depression, mood swings, aches and pains, insomnia, impulsive behavior.
How to get your daily D.O.S.E of happiness:
That being said, how can we help our body to produce a sufficient level of these neurotransmitters? Here are simple ways to 'hack' your feeling-good hormones and get your daily D.O.S.E (Dopamine Oxytocin Serotonin Endorphin) of happiness:
D: meditate regularly (increases dopamine by 65%); make a daily to-do list & long-term goals; eating foods that are rich in L-Tyrosine (avocados, fish, eggs, banana..); exercise regularly; creating something such as writing, music, art & crafts, celebrating the little wins in daily life; engaging in self care; listening to feel good music; finishing a task or project you started.
O: physical touch, cuddling, hugging, making eye contact, and even shaking hands; socializing (connecting or talking with friends and family reduces cortisol and stimulates your vagus nerve); touching your pet (research shows it lowers blood pressure); getting a massage (reduces stress hormones); acupuncture (elevates oxytocin concentrations); listening to music (has a calming effect on the brain, slow-tempo music has also been shown to increase oxytocin); exercise (stimulates the vagus nerve); cold showers (stimulates the vagus nerve); meditate.
S: exercise (increases serotonin and dopamine, but also helps balance them); cold showers (2-3 mins of cold showers can be unpleasant but offer great benefits that have longer-lasting effects than compared to caffeine); getting some sun (10-15 minutes of sunlight a day can increase serotonin and vitamin D); eating foods such as banana, eggs, omega-3 fish, nuts and seeds, leafy greens, and probiotics; getting a massage (increases serotonin and decreases cortisol).
E: laughing with friends or watching/listening to comedy; creating music or art; eating dark chocolate and spicy foods; exercise or stretching; high-intensity interval training; burning essential oils like lavender, citrus, rosemary and frankincense; getting a massage; meditate.. and having sex.
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How we define happiness can vary from one person to another. Sure, hacking your hormones can help you feel more contentment, but these are not the only parameters to consider when you aspire to a happy life. Your environment and your life purpose also play a great role. Now that you know almost all the ingredients to live a happy life, I hope you will make a great cocktail. Sure, we can't be happy all the time, but we can feel more enjoyment in our daily life. Thank you for reading! May God bless you, be happy.
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