In my last article, I talked about the difference between pleasure and contentment and how dopamine (pleasure) down-regulates serotonin (contentment). I now want to share what Dr. Robert Lustig says are the four C's to raising serotonin levels and reaching contentment.
1. Connect
Interpersonal connection.
Eye to eye conversation generates empathy. Social media actually sews unhappiness-- there is no serotonin rise but a dopamine rise every time you get a like or notification. This causes you to want more likes and more notifications and ends up leading to depression.
2. Contribute
Not to your own self or bank account, but contribute outside of yourself. This can mean making your office a better place for your coworkers, volunteering, service work, cooking for your neighbors, etc.
3. Cope
In order to reduce stress and improve serotonin receptors, you need sleep, exercise, and mindfulness.
Get off of your screen at night-- it affects your sleep. Get your exercise; it increases serotonin and levels out dopamine. Mindfulness can be achieved with meditation, but it also has to do with not having too much on your plate. Everyone thinks they can multitask but really, only 2.5% of the population can do two things at once. When you take on too much, you decrease your serotonin and end up being stressed and unhappy.
4. Cook
There are two things you need to eat more of to be content-- tryptophan and omega 3. Tryptophan is the amino acid that builds up serotonin. It is really rare in American diets but can be found in fish and flax. Omega 3 is also found in fish and algae and provides stability so that neurons don't die as often. Additionally, sugar should be avoided. It actually drives dopamine up and serotonin down.
