Ever feel like there's an invisible hand guiding your mood, energy, and how connected you feel to the world around you? That's not fate—it's your hormones guys. These chemical messengers play lead roles in the theater of our minds and bodies, influencing everything from our zest for life to how well we sleep at night.

That's why I thought it would be good to talk about what they are and especially how to optimize them in the aspect of implementing new habits.

Dopamine

This neurotransmitter directs the brain's reward system, influencing motivation, pleasure, and attention. Located primarily in the brain's frontal lobe, dopamine is pivotal in decision-making and risk-taking behaviors.

Influence & Action: Engaging in rewarding activities, like completing a challenging workout or mastering a new skill, can elevate dopamine. Novel experiences are particularly potent, so why not learn a new language or take up a hobby you've always dreamed about?

Serotonin

Serotonin oversees mood, appetite, and sleep, acting across the entire brain but with significant effects in the hippocampus and cortex, which regulate mood and anxiety.

Influence & Action: To nudge your serotonin in the right direction, soak up some sunshine or invest in a light therapy box for darker days. Foods rich in tryptophan (like salmon, eggs, and spinach) also support serotonin production.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin fortifies bonds, trust, and group cohesion. It's most active in the hypothalamus but affects the amygdala, lightening stress and fear.

Influence & Action: Cultivate your relationships through quality time and physical touch. Simple acts of kindness and volunteering also boost oxytocin, enhancing feelings of connectedness.

Endorphins

Endorphins act in the pain and pleasure centers of the brain, notably the pituitary gland, diminishing discomfort and elevating euphoria.

Influence & Action: Regular aerobic exercise, laughter, and even spicy foods can trigger endorphin release. For an extra kick, try a laughter yoga session!

Cortisol

Cortisol, produced in the adrenal gland, manages stress responses but affects brain functions like mood and fear in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Influence & Action: Incorporate stress management techniques like mindfulness, deep breathing, and yoga into your daily routine. A consistent sleep schedule also keeps cortisol at bay.

THE ACTION PLAN

So you may ask yourself what should I do with the stuff above? Well, you know I am a habits guy, and thus we will make a small plan to increase all of the 4 hormones that need to be increased and decrease the one that is better lower than higher. Let's make it as efficient as possible.

20 min Morning Run + 15 min HIIT + 10 min Meditation - Routine

With that routine, you can hit all of the hormones at once.

Dopamine is hit because you woke up for this a little earlier to do your morning routine and finishing this will add 3 little wins to your wins stack pretty early in the morning. Just being outside will probably increase the serotonin levels - especially when you are sitting still in the sun for meditation. If the morning run didn't trigger endorphin levels to increase the 15 min HIIT will do its job. The last step as already mentioned is meditation and this will definitely bring some calmness and decrease cortisol levels so you are ready for the day.

Is this a recipe for everybody? Of course not, this is just an example of how you can implement a very easy way of influencing those hormones in your favor. I forgot to talk about Oxytocin. Well, for that one I don't need to say much - get out there and hug some people and pets.

(reminder: don't forget to only hug people that want to be hugged)

That's it for today! Keep learning, Keep pushing! See you next week!