Neurotransmitters are the brain chemicals that motivate or sedate, focus or frustrate. Their complex interaction is what shifts your mood and changes your mind.
As a neurotransmitter, serotonin helps to relay messages from one area of the brain to another. Serotonin regulates moods, sexual desires and function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature, and some social behavior.
In terms of our body function, serotonin can affect the functioning of our cardiovascular system, muscles, and various elements in the endocrine system.
Lower levels of serotonin can lead to sad moods or depression.
Can diet boost serotonin level?
These foods can boost serotonin levels in the gut, ensuring rapid communication between gut cells. But because serotonin in its complete form cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier, we have to do more than include serotonin-rich foods in our diets.
Foods rich in tryptophan can indirectly lead to increase in serotonin level
Particularly tryptophan-rich foods include:
• turkey
• bananas
• milk
• yogurt
• eggs
• meat
• nuts
• beans
Can Exercise help to increase serotonin level?
Regular exercise can be as effective a treatment for depression as antidepressant medication or psychotherapy.
Deprivation of sleep can lead to reduce levels of serotonin?
An inability to sleep is one of the key signs of clinical depression.
Depression can stem from any sleep disorder that causes chronic-fatigue-syndrome and mood problems. But the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, is most often linked to depression.
