Raising Serotonin Levels

Serotonin is a very important brain chemical. One of the ways that we see serotonin in use is inour moods and especially in the way that we think. Think of serotonin in your brain as a funnel that just slowly drains goodness, if you have stress, don’t get our enough, get sick, then your serotonin production in your body will drop until that funnel has nothing to give your brain. This is bad. This is what causes depression in many people and there are ways to stop depression causing low serotonin levels.

Basiclally what you need to increase the creation of serotonin in your body is diet change, exercise, exposure to bright sunlight and if all else fails then SSRI antidepressent drugs.

The dietary supplement 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP) is promoted as a treatment for insomnia, depression, migraine, obesity and attention deficit disorder in children. It is a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan and, in fact, the body makes it from the tryptophan present in foods such as beef, chicken, fish, dairy products and other high protein foods. I have found a lot of evidence that people swear by supplementing their diet with 5-HTP so this is something that you can try.

Exercise increases serotonin. We all know how important exercise is for improving our physical health and concentration as well as mood and it is the endorphin creation that fuels higher serotonin levels. Get exercise everyday.

Bright light increases serotonin and in winter a lack of serotonin may be one of the reasons behind Seasonal Affective disorder. Getting out in bright sunlight, especially in Winter when it is much tougher often to find is important. Taking a walk on a cold sunny day in the Winter is great but even in Summer some people just do not get out enough to help raise those levels of serotonin.

If all of these things fail then it is a good idea to talk to your doctor. Antidepressant drugs like Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain by stopping one part of your brain synapses from absorbing all serotonin and instead making it available for the parts that do need it. This will help you to be able to pop out of that depression in as little as a few days to a couple of weeks. The key to using these drugs to me though is that you need to do all of the right things. Do not rely on the drugs when you can instead rely on outdoor exercise and a better diet.

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

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