Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that controls your feelings of motivation and reward. Too much or too little dopamine causes immediate imbalances in your health and mood. Long-term, a dopamine imbalance can raise your risk for diseases. As you age, your brain’s ability to uptake dopamine can diminish, causing an age-related dopamine deficiency. You can promote balanced dopamine levels naturally by sticking to the right lifestyle choices and habits. [2]

Figure 1. Increase Your Dopamine Levels Naturally

Figure 1 shows Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and a hormone. It communicates chemical messages between nerve cells in your brain or between your brain and the rest of your body. It plays an important role in many of your body’s functions, including memory, motivation, learning, reward and movement.

Dopamine deficiency means having a low level of dopamine. Low dopamine levels are linked with certain health conditions like Parkinson’s disease or depression. It may also make you more susceptible to taking risks or developing addictions. [1]

Role of dopamine in my body:

As a neurotransmitter, dopamine is involved in:

• Movement.
• Memory.
• Pleasurable reward and motivation.
• Behavior and cognition.
• Attention.
• Sleep and arousal.
• Mood.
• Learning.
• Lactation.

As a hormone, dopamine is released into your bloodstream. It plays a small role in the “fight-or-flight” syndrome. The fight-or-flight response refers to your body’s response to a perceived or real stressful situation, such as needing to escape danger. [3]

Symptoms of dopamine deficiency:

The symptoms of a dopamine deficiency depend on the underlying cause. For example, a person with Parkinson’s disease will experience very different symptoms from someone with low dopamine levels due to drug use.

Some general signs and symptoms that may indicate low dopamine include:

• tiredness
• feeling less motivated
• difficulty thinking, or “brain fog”
• sadness or apathy
• cold hands and feet

However, it is worth noting that these symptoms can be due to many conditions. [4]

References:

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22588-dopamine-deficiency
2. https://scitechdaily.com/how-to-increase-your-dopamine-levels-naturally/
3. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22581-dopamine
4. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320637#symptoms

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Increase Your Dopamine Levels Naturally, Anatechmaz, pp.186