How to Boost Your Happy Hormones Ep. 29

After sharing my story on Depression with Celiac Disease in last week's Podcast, I thought it was important to share some simple ways to increase your Happy Hormones.

Tune in to this episode to learn some ways you can improve your mental health. This episode is important for everyone to listen to, as mental health issues can happen to anyone.
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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

So here in Australia, it is mental health awareness week. And after I shared my story with you guys last week, about my journey with depression, I thought I'd touch on this week about the hormones that actually affect our mental health and the main one being serotonin. So the four main hormones that actually promote positive feelings include dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and of course serotonin. So I'm going to chat with you guys today, mostly about serotonin because it's actually one of the main happy hormones and why I think it's really important for us with celiac disease is it is mostly produced in our gut. So therein lies a very important factor for that, for those of us with celiac disease, because I truly believe that what is going on in our guts can actually affect our mental health. So when we talk about serotonin, it's actually a neurotransmitter. So it's a chemical that relays messages in the body between the nerves. So what it does is it actually controls many of the different areas of our life. And after getting depression, I can totally get this. I totally understand now how important it is to have a perfect balance of serotonin in your body. So basically serotonin it, it can, it can affect our appetite. It can affect the way that we sleep. It can affect our sexual desire and function. It obviously affects our mood. It can affect our memory and our learning ability. It can even affect our temperature and our social behavior. So it's very, very important to look at now, if you think about times when you have, perhaps in our spent time, we've, um, say a loved one or friends, or maybe even your pets, you normally feel great afterwards, don't you or the hops, you've eaten an amazing meal that you just loved and you feel amazing afterwards that right there is serotonin at work. It is the happy hormone working. Now, the thing is when we have low serotonin, those things are even more important because that's what increases our serotonin levels is to be experiencing those important times with other people without animals. And I'm going to talk with you today about, um, some ways that we can improve our levels of serotonin. So the majority of serotonin is actually made up in our gut and it's approximately, or even 90%. So most of our life can basically be controlled by our serotonin levels. And I truly, truly believe that it can, it can kind of be single float, like to look back on the past, you know, experience of myself, living with depression. I can see very clearly now how I got to the point that I did. And I understand now what's really important to improve my happy hormones and to make sure that I don't get to that point again. So I wanted to share with you guys a little bit today on what we need to be focusing on to improve our hormone health and to talk about the main areas that we need to look at. So the first one is diet very, very important. The second one is exercise. The third one is daylight and sleep and the fourth is happy or positive thinking. And then the fifth area is massage and physical touch. So let's dive straight on in guys. So diet. So if you don't know my story, I got depression not long after my, um, third child was born and around the same time, gluten had actually snuck back into my diet. And I believe that that played a massive part in my downfall of going through all the hurdles that I went through and was then diagnosed with depression. So I, I feel that for us, with celiac disease, gluten plays a massive role in our diet and what it does to us. Obviously we know that affects so many areas of our health, but to think about the mental health side of things is huge. So it's definitely something that we need to keep an eye on and we need to be looking out for. Um, I've been, you know, it was a massive slap in the face for me to find out that gluten was in my diet because I am very, very strict with my diet. And the thing was, I got complacent. So what happened was my butcher had changed the supplier of their bacon. And I just assumed that that was still supplying their own bike. And I didn't realize that they'd got in a new supplier and that bacon was injected with a wheat liquid. And that was making me slowly, slowly over time, more and more ill. And we didn't know what was going on. So I have talked about that in some previous episodes. So anyway, so back to back to diet, so how we can improve our diet is looking at some foods that have got high levels of serotonin in them. So there's actual foods that we can eat that improve our levels of serotonin. So some of these include walnuts, um, pineapples, bananas, Kiwi fruit, tomatoes dates. So the more of these foods that we can introduce into our regular diet that can actually improve our serotonin levels, which is fantastic. Now, the thing with these foods that actually help you boost your levels of serotonin is they, they basically, um, boost the serotonin in the gut. The because serotonin can not pass your blood brain barrier. You must also consume foods that contain tryptofan. So basically that causes a chemical reaction and these foods are basically needed in order to support that serotonin. So some foods that are high in tryptofan include things like Turkey, um, dairy products, eggs, nuts, beans, fish, even cheese. And it's really interesting that over the years, you've probably heard so many people say to drink warm milk before bed. And it's true. It's because tryptophan is in milk and it's said to help you sleep because it releases that serotonin. So it's very interesting when we listen to the foods that we feel like we need, because it's often our body looking for that support. So when you're feeling down and you feel like you need a bit of a boost, you might reach for something like, um, cheese or some pasta or chocolate or something to actually boost the way that you feel and it's normal. So we need to listen to our body and we need to listen to why we are craving these things, because it simply our body reaching for what we need. So when we listen, we can make a big difference to our mental health, as well as our physical health, by doing the right thing by ourself. Now, when, when we do get down and we reach for foods that are supporting us, that can have that opposite effect. So we need to be making sure that we are looking at our diet and we adding in foods that support us. All right, the next topic is exercise. So exercise definitely helps increase your serotonin levels and it can be, you know, it can be moderate exercise, or it can be as simple as yoga, which I personally love. I find so much reward from doing yoga. Um, and, and it's not just the mental side. It it's the physical side of it. So when we choose to focus on exercise that nourishes our body, it has such a positive flow on effect. Whereas when we feel like we punish our bodies and have to go to the gym and have to work out and do all these things, because we think we should, it's very different to focusing on doing exercise that we enjoy and we love, and we look forward to doing so that's definitely something worth figuring out and looking into. And I've, I don't know if I've mentioned this in any of my other episodes, but this is one of the main areas that I would work on with my clients as well, is helping them find the exercise that works for them, their personality, their lifestyle, and their goals. All right. So when you work out your body and you are physically active and your muscles actually help get a greater level of tryptophan reaching your brain, which is super important as well. So people that have regular exercise regularly, sorry, have much higher levels of serotonin to start with. And for me, I know that when I was going downhill fast, I had no time to exercise. And I've always hated that, excuse. I've always thought that's one of the worst excuses, because we all have the same amount of time in the day, but I was struggling with a child that never wanted to sleep and screamed and was just a nightmare. So looking back, I didn't focus on exercise because I was so tired and I was so withdrawn from having any time to myself whatsoever. The exercise was put at the bottom of the pile, whereas now it's a main priority for me. And I know that it helps my mental health so much and it's so important. All right, the next topic is daylight and sleep. So two different things here really, but in the same topic. So it's really important that we get natural sunlight. So when we have that natural, beautiful vitamin D coming into our skin from sunlight, it actually helps us. It, it boosts us. It makes us feel good. It's increasing that beautiful feeling within our body, and it plays a part in serotonin production. So it's very important to get some trine. And this is why people say that they get the blues in winter. And I feel down in winter than not getting out in the sunshine enough. And for some people in some countries, it's almost impossible to get out in the sunshine. So I get that. I get that that's, that can be hard. And this is where we talked about previously, where it's important to take a vitamin D supplement. If you're not able to get enough, vitamin D naturally from the sun. Now serotonin is, is a big one for sleep. So if we I'm not getting enough serotonin, then that's not helping with our melatonin production. So they kind of work hand in hand because if you're not having enough serotonin in your body, you're not, you know, creating enough melatonin. And the melatonin is what helps us sleep. And again, you can get supplements for melatonin. If, if that's something that you need to look into, speak to your doctor, because that's something that can support you if you need that support as well. So light can decrease melatonin production. And this is why it's so important to be off of our screens at night and why it's important to sleep in a dark room. So the darker you can have your room, the better you can sleep as well. So you can reach that deeper level of sleep. And I've talked about this as well. Um, on a previous episode of having that restorative sleep. So it's very different to have restorative sleep to just slight, you know, I sleep very differently when my husband's home to when he's not, when he's away with work. So when he's away with work, I do not sleep as deep as when he's home, because I'm not as I guess, safe. I don't feel as safe when he's not home. So I don't have as much restorative sleep when he's not here, but when he's home, oh my God, I sleep like a log. It pretty much sleep through anything. So the big difference with having that really deep restorative sleep, so do everything that you can to get that deep restorative sleep. Cause it makes a major, major difference to our mental health and to how much serotonin release we are obtaining. So let's move on to the next one, which is happy thoughts. Now I look at this and I think, wow, no wonder in the past year and a bit, there's been so many people struggling with mental health issues. There's been so many suicides. There's been so many issues with this. So, so many people are so focused on the negative aspects of what's going on in the world right now that it's, it's taking up their whole mindset. Their whole thoughts are just focused on the negative, the negative, the negative, rather than what's right in front of them. You know, if you've got children, focus on them, focus on the beautiful outdoors. If you can focus on the things that you love to do, focus on your partner, focus on all the things that make your life wonderful rather than focusing on the negative. And the thing with being unhappy is it can get worse if you don't do something about it. Now, someone actually reached out to me this week after I shared my story on depression. And he told me that he knows someone that has had depression for something like 45 years and is miserable and has a miserable life. And hasn't done anything about it and has, you know, not many people around her. So it's not a good place to be. So if it, if it's something that you're struggling with or, you know, someone that's struggling with it, then it's important to get out of that dark place and, and be focusing on the positive, be focusing on those happy thoughts. Now, one of the things that I've been doing is I have been filling out a gratitude journal and I fill out three things a day that I'm grateful for every night before bed. I sit down with my gratitude journal and I write down three things that I'm grateful for. And then there's a box in my Gretta, in my gratitude journal that says happy moments. And I write down something that happened that day. And it could be as simple as I sat and played Lego with my son on the floor today, or, you know, I laughed at one of the comments that my daughter made or, you know, we were dancing in the lounge room to some stupid song. Like it could be anything, but it makes me smile and it makes me feel good before I go to bed. So that might be something that you could look at doing as well. All right, the next one is massage and physical touch. I don't know if you know much about the difference in babies when they're touched. So babies love being touched. It makes them feel safe. It makes them feel comfortable. It makes them feel very loved. And we as adults are really no different when, when we have someone that can, can nurture us and give us a big warm hug, or just, just be there in that physical presence, it can make a huge difference to our serotonin levels and the way that we feel now, you might not like hugging people, but you might have a cat or a dog and just giving them a snuggle can make you feel better. It's amazing. It can be one of those things that can just be that little step forward. So just having a hug, make a big difference. And with all the social distancing that's been going on, people aren't doing this enough anymore. And I've even heard of some places encouraging our own families to stay away from each other. And I'm not talking about aunties and uncles, I'm talking about under the same roof. So if people are so scared to hug their parents or have their own children, that's a very scary place to be. We need to love each other. We need to hug each other. It's so important for our mental health. It's it just blows my mind that we're being encouraged not to do that. So give it a go, try and get more hugs into life. Um, something that I do is I, if my kids are feeling down, they've had a rough day or, you know, they're just, just having a moment. I'll grab them. And I'm like, right. I mean, hug. And I will make them hear me on for a minute. And it it's almost like this weight is lifted off their shoulders and that hug is over and they are a different person. They are so much happier. They're relaxed. And it is seriously amazing to say the difference in my kids after a minute hog and my son who, who also hugs all the time, he's a snuggler. He loves these hugs. And, and sometimes if he's having a moment, it's just enough to snap him out of it and just make him feel balanced and, and back on track with these days. So, yeah, give it a go. And a couple of last things that I wanted to mention is breathing. So it's important to breathe and do deep breathing meditation, deep breath, calming ourselves. Stan can make a big difference to our stress levels and releasing that healthy, happy hormone and always follow your gut. Your gut is so important. It sends you so many powerful messages. You wouldn't believe how many times I've listened to my gut and it's kept me safe. And I've taught my teenage daughter this to always listen to her gut. And there's been situations that she's also been in. That's kept her safe, and we truly have a lot to learn from our own bodies. And I hope that you will learn and listen to your own body and the messages that it's telling you. And if you start to feel down and you start to feel like you're going on a journey that you don't want to be going, I hope you come back to these, these tips and can use them to improve your life. Because I truly believe that it can make a big difference to the way that we feel and the future that we get to live. So thank you so much for listening and I will talk with you again next week. Take care.