Lesson 3 Oh, Happy Days!
The Chemistry of Happiness
____ we ask ourselves what makes us happy, we often think of the circumstances we are in, what we have, or whom we are with.
From a ____ point of view, however, happiness is largely a chemical experience.
____ main brain chemicals are responsible for creating the sensations and emotions we associate with happiness: endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin.
It is good ____ for us that happiness can be controlled.
Even when our lives aren’t exactly what we would like them to be, we ____ improve our mood by engaging in pleasant and healthy activities that increase the amounts of these happiness chemicals.
Let’s ____ a deeper dive into what each of these chemicals does and how we can increase their levels.
Endorphins: The Pain Relievers
____ are natural pain relievers.
They are “feelgood” chemicals because they can make you feel better and put you in a positive ____ of mind.
When our body feels ____ or stress, the brain releases endorphins to block the nerve cells that receive the pain signals.
This essentially turns off your ____, helping you continue functioning,even in painful and stressful situations.
The most well-known ____ to increase endorphins is through slightly challenging exercise which makes you a little short of breath.
Research ____ that about twenty to thirty minutes of exercise can help boost your endorphin levels significantly.
Another way is to ____ a good laugh.
Share ____ videos, tell jokes, and laugh with your friends.
We don’t laugh because we are happy; we are happy because we ____.
Serotonin: The Mood Balancer
Serotonin is another brain chemical that plays a key role in ____ our mood.
It provides feelings of happiness and also helps ____ our worries and concerns.
When you feel happy and all seems right with the world, you are feeling the effects of ____.
Serotonin is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan, which must ____ our body through our diet.
Therefore, eating foods rich in tryptophan like chicken, beans, eggs, and nuts can boost your body’s ____ ability to make serotonin.
Furthermore, good habits like ____ more sunshine and going on short walks can do wonders for boosting your levels of serotonin.
Dopamine: The Reward Chemical
Dopamine is an important chemical for ____.
It is ____ the “reward chemical” because it rewards the brain with happy feelings for meeting goals and achieving things.
We can also feel a dopamine rush when we ____ a future achievement.
In both cases, dopamine gives us feelings of joy and satisfaction, encouraging us to seek out more goals and find new ____.
Choosing food higher in protein can be a good way to increase your dopamine levels naturally, because it can only be made with the amino ____ tyrosine, which is found in many proteins.
Getting regular, high-quality sleep may ____ help keep your dopamine levels balanced and help you feel more alert during the day.
Meditation has ____ been shown to increase dopamine levels.
This, in turn, leads to improved focus and ____.
Oxytocin: The Love Hormone
Oxytocin is often called the “love hormone” because it ____ social bonding and trust.
It is mainly associated with loving ____ and close relationships.
Oxytocin will be released when you are connecting with ____, and it reduces your stress level and calms down your nervous system.
Spending time with friends and loved ones is a great way to raise your ____ levels.
Giving or receiving a massage, shaking hands, or hugging can ____ to higher levels of oxytocin as well.
If you have a pet, ____ can increase oxytocin for both yourself and your pet by hugging your little friend.
You may have ____ the saying “Happiness depends on your attitude, not on what you have.”
Endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin help promote happiness, and you can give these happiness chemicals a natural boost with simple ____.
We cannot always choose the situations we find ourselves in, but we ____ certainly choose what to do for ourselves.
There’s a lot we can do to boost the happiness chemicals in our ____.
This means that we have ____ of our own happiness!