Serotonin is commonly known as the 'happiness hormone'.
Characteristics
Serotonin, or 5-hydroxytryptamine, is a hormone and a neurotransmitter.
It is a substance that helps to transmit information between nerve cells.
It is found in the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, the enteric nervous system and the blood.
Serotonin is quite complex and has many functions in our body, due to the receptors to which it is linked.
Although some of these are still poorly understood, we know that it controls and regulates brain activity, affecting sleep, appetite, mood, anxiety and depression.
Serotonin is found in 95% of our blood and only 5% of our brain.
It is also involved in the functioning of the microbiota, intestinal contraction and digestion.
Its role is therefore twofold.
What does serotonin do in the body?
Because of its complexity, serotonin plays a specific role in the development of feelings of stability, well-being and pleasure.
Depending on the receptor to which this semiochemical binds, it has a "stabilising" effect.
Serotonin stimulates memory and promotes deep sleep.
It acts directly and indirectly on most brain cells:
- Bowel function: it regulates bowel function and bowel movements, and also plays a role in reducing appetite when eating.
- Mood: in the brain, serotonin affects mood levels, motivation, anxiety and happiness.
- Clotting: serotonin is involved in the formation of blood clots.
- Nausea: the gut produces more serotonin to increase transit time and expel whatever is bothering you.
Serotonin can therefore be thought of as a mediator in our body whose function is to pass on information between nerve cells.
What causes serotonin deficiency?
The causes of this serotonin deficiency are many and varied:
- Lack of sunlight: light stimulates the production of serotonin in the brain.
- Stress, which tends to reduce the amount of serotonin produced in the brain.
- Poor diet, resulting in a deficiency of tryptophan, the 'serotonin precursor' amino acid, which is necessary for the production of serotonin.
What are the effects of serotonin deficiency?
There is no shortage of research on serotonin, and a deficiency of this hormone can lead to various symptoms, including depression.
However, we shouldn't assume that depression is necessarily a sign of serotonin deficiency.
Other psychological symptoms of serotonin deficiency can also occur: neuroses, anxiety, increased aggressiveness, unfounded mood swings, panic attacks, nervousness, exhaustion, phobias.
Such a deficiency can have not only the above-mentioned psychological consequences, but also physical ones.
The following symptoms may occur
- Headaches
- Muscle aches
- A reduced sense of satiety
- Concentration problems
- Difficulty sleeping
- Sexual problems, such as premature ejaculation
- Decreased libido
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- High blood pressure
- Cardiovascular disease
How can you increase the production of serotonin?
In cases of deficiency, it is possible to increase serotonin levels through prescribed treatment following a hormonal assessment.
There are many natural ways to stimulate serotonin production in the brain:
- Expose yourself to natural light as much as possible every day: there is a causal relationship between serotonin synthesis and the total number of hours of sunlight in a day.
- Practice meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, massage or any other leisure activity to relieve stress, which tends to reduce the amount of serotonin produced by the body.
- Eat a balanced diet
- Exercise: physical activity increases the amount of tryptophan in the body.