Endorphins are your body’s natural pain medication. In the human brain endorphins are produced in response to stress and depression to help you cope better. If you have anxiety, stress, depression or physical pain in your body endorphins can help to alleviate and reduce these symptoms. Endorphins are known as a ‘natural morphine’ in your body.
Thankfully we are biologically enabled with endorphins and all we have to do is align our body with what produces endorphins so we can benefit from their effects. You can better cope with stress, feel lighter and happier as well as reduce pain. Who wouldn’t want that? With enough consistency you may be able to get off pain meds with enough endorphins flowing through your body.
7 Ways To Boost Endorphins:
Smell Vanilla Or Lavender:
The scent of vanilla helps to reduce anxiety which naturally helps to reduce anxiety which is commonly linked to depression. Organic vanilla extract is less than 7 bucks on amazon and you can use it not only for smelling but to make delicious food! One study found that patients undergoing MRI’s who breathed vanilla-scented air reported 63 percent less anxiety than those who breathed unscented air. You can add vanilla essential oil to your candles or bathwater or use vanilla essential oil to your coffee or tea.
Eat Dark Chocolate:
I’m the type of person that will take any excuse in the book to eat dark chocolate. Not only is cacao (the bean used to produce dark chocolate) one of the richest food sources of magnesium (a mineral for improving sleep and reducing stress) on the planet but it’s also great for boosting endorphins because it includes chemicals that cause this reaction in the brain which then reduce pain, anxiety, stress and improve mental happiness.
Hot & Spicy Foods Are Good:
Believe it or not the hot and spicy taste from foods is more than a taste. That taste includes a compound known as capsaicin in some cases which binds to protein based pain receptors in the nerve cells of the the mucous membranes in the nose and mouth. This then creates an impulse to your brain through the trigeminal nerve to the brain. The brain then response to the body’s reaction of ‘pain’ to react and produce endorphins naturally.
Sex is Good:
Stanford university found that by simply being touched your stress levels can be reduced as well as benefit by alleviating pain and helping to heal injuries, all by simply being touched. A good healthy sexual experience with plenty of touch and intimate connection can boost endorphins and help you heal faster. Simply cuddling can be just as beneficial also.
Just Laugh Baby!:
Laughter is the best medicine! how many times have you heard that? It’s also the cheapest, it’s free! Laughter has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, boost immune function and strength, as well as reduce stress hormones. Not only that but laughter triggers a release in endorphins as well. This helps you reduce pain, better cope with stress and feel happier! (laughter = more happiness… this seems obvious right?) Believe it or not the anticipation or expectation of laughter alone can release endorphins in the body!
Exercise More Often:
Researchers found that exercise is one way to release endorphins in the brain. When you hear the term “runners high” that is simply the body releasing endorphins. Interestingly enough researchers also found that college crews who rowed in unison with each other had a higher release of endorhpins than those who rowed alone. This tells us that exercising with a group of people has a more positive effect on the release of endorphins to reduce pain and increase happiness levels. This also leads me to believe personally that there may also be correlation to the actual effectiveness of the exercise when exercising with a group as opposed to solely alone. Hopefully research will be done on this some day.
Eat Vitamin C Rich Foods:
Vitamin C directly aids in the production of endorphins in the body. Eating foods that are rich in vitamin c will help this process. Foods such as camu camu berry, peppers, limes, lemons and strawberries will help your body have more available endorphins.
Endorphin Boosting Resources: Vanilla Extract, Dark Chocolate, Camu Camu (a potent vitamin C food).
Image: pixabay
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