How would you like to experience a rush of deep happiness? While feeling like this is usually only thought to be achievable through risky decisions like jumping off a cliff or some nefarious-type action like illegal drugs, it doesn’t have to be that way. Intense love is just one way to feel absolutely amazing, though there are certainly other ways to spark the flow of natural endorphins that pump into your blood stream, creating a euphoria-like state.
Endorphins are the natural ‘feel-good’ chemicals released by your brain when you are happy; you feel connected to others and you feel like you could conquer the world. These neurotransmitters produced in the brain work to reduce pain and suffering, says Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.
Read: 5 Scientifically-Supported Tips for Instant Happiness
Natural Ways to Boost Endorphins and Feel Better
Here are 7 natural ways to get an endorphin rush without resorting to drastic measures:
- 1. Smell vanilla or lavender – While doing this won’t give you the exact same feeling as lying in bed with your significant other all day, it will cause the brain to release some of these feel good chemicals to boost your mood. In fact, vanilla is said to be an aphrodisiac to men, and can promote feelings of love and connection. You can add vanilla-extract to recipes or even your morning coffee and inhale deeply. Lavender oil added to a bath can make it absolutely heavenly.
- 2. Laugh – A little laughter can go a long way to boost those feel-good chemicals in your brain. Studies are showing that even ‘fake’ laughter can alter chemical responses in the brain, too. A nOxford professor says it isn’t the intellectual act of laughter but the physical one that makes those endorphins flow. Smiling can do the same for you.
- 3. Partake of Ginseng – This ancient herb Siberian herb has been used since the 6th century BC. It has even been known to help those with schizophrenia to calm their mental terrors. Take a little ginseng to help boost endorphin release by the brain.
- 4. Eat Dark Chocolate – Eating this one food can make your brain’s bliss-creating chemical cocktail go into overdrive. In addition to being an anti-depressant food, dark chocolate is also a natural analgesic, or pain killer – just a few dark chocolate health benefits.
- 5. Participate in Group Fitness – Exercise alone can help you to feel great, but studies are showing that getting physical with a group of people can boost endorphins even more than exercising solo. If you do exercise alone, make it vigorous. A good, hard workout can release more endorphins than a leisurely one.
- 6. Increase your Hot Pepper Use – Spicy foods have been known to release feel-good chemicals. They also naturally reduce the pain response.
- 7. Change Your Thoughts – Changing your thoughts doesn’t necessarily change the outcome of a situation, but it can change the way you feel on a day-to-day basis. Thinking positively can actually help to re-create the chemicals your brain most often creates and disseminates to the blood stream. Even science has proven that the way you think is the cornerstone to happiness and pushing through “negative” events.
Hot, spicy food is a curse for menapausal women and can bring on intense hot flashes. Use sparingly.
I disagree with #7. Positive thoughs/affirmations can change the outcome. Thinking that they won’t, won’t. Ever hear of “What I think, I create”? Ever hear of self-fulfilling prophecies? Ever hear of quantum physics? …Also, here’s a couple more you missed: cuddling with your pets, hugging/, kissing, listening to children’s laughter, taking a walk in nature, spending time with friends, etc., etc.
I disagree with all but 7. Changing one’s thoughts or perspective on life is an excellent way to manage one’s circumstances. It is easily achievable but to do it is like doing physical exercise to improve movement; it takes the same kind of mental effort but its benefits are long-lasting. Rather than viewing life from negative thought processes try to find the positive point of view. Practice becomes habit forming when one’s happiness will increase and be your friend for evermore.
What an interesting conversation you have sparked, Christina! I agree with everything said and more! However, I would like to add my most significant technique BY FAR, which over and over, proves so many things. I have been 100% invested 100% of the time in doing everything I could to turn my body-brain around during this Self-Directed, Alternative Cancer Treatment period I have been in for nearly two years now. While all the suggestions made here were amply supplied in my daily regimen (and more!), nothing made the difference that eliminating existing infections did. What I came to realize, based on actual experience, is that a precursor and ongoing fuel for the various Cancers I have systematically dismantled in my body, is/was/always will be: the by-products of pathogens and the dead cells of these pathogens of any kind, which cause debilitating mood, energy, and pain symptoms. In other words, Candida, Lyme, Mycoplasmas, and any old buried infections you might not realize you are carrying around, not only do they ruin your thoughts, make you hurt all over, and sap your energy to the point of not wanting to live anymore, they will prevent all the good ideas discussed for How To Produce Natural Endorphins! How do I know this? Because when I finally got rid of a majority of the bad bugs, it has been like a veil being removed between me and the world. I wake up feeling clean and mostly pain-free, and my energy goes up every day I focus on staying another day on my favorite Kill The Pathogens Protocol. What is that you say? It has several parts, but it works on EVERYTHING! And every time I do it – every month or two for weeks at a time, everything gets better – Colors/visual acuity is better, skin is decades younger, cravings gone, energy doubles constantly, mood is spiritual and thoughts are serene, but more important – I “know” which Medicine Food to eat that hour because when you get the Foreign Invaders out, your “Animal Instincts” return and you are now truly in the drivers seat of running your body-brain. The proof is in the actual doing of this program, which will also make all the other strategies discussed really kick in – kind of like rocket fuel added to the gas tank. My current Pathogen/Infection Eliminator Intensive Daily Protocol is comprised of 5 facets: #1:High doses of raw garlic multiple times, #2: High Dose Liposomal C with 2 qts antiseptic teas/berry smoothies, #3: high-dose turmeric/black + red pepper, #4: Oil of Oregano (caps), #5: a diet comprised mostly of brightly colored vegetables & cruciferous vegetables, sprouts, & legumes. Please Note: This is a Garlic Cure first and foremost, which benefits from the synergy of the rest of this formula, and your first goal will be to find your way to consume the maximum amount of garlic possible per day. The Endorphin Explosion you will create from your first Garlic Cures will induce you to want to commit to it as a lifestyle change. I believe the primary cause of low endorphins is the metabolic by-products pathogens create when they co-exist inside us, and also the toxic overload of known pain-inducing, mood-destroying, and energy-depleting metabolites of our own body trying to get rid of dead pathogens. On their way out, they destroy both our reserves of Endorphins and our CAPACITY to produce sufficient Endorphins. I believe the secret to being an Endorphin producing machine, like we were intended to be, is eliminating the enemies living inside us.
Incredible! Thank you for your insight. This helps so much.