Dopamine - Friend or Foe?
We all know something happens when you exercise or use stimulants. What exactly is it? Well, even though it is basically tough and/ or pointless to label the formless, we can, for discussion purposes.
Dopamine is what happens. It is released into the brain.
Immediate Benefits:
Some benefits of physical activity on brain health happen right after a session. Benefits can included improved thinking or cognition for children and adults, and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.
Considerations: addiction~ people can often look for the next reward, and they will take a lot of risks to get the next shot, fake, establishes tendencies that will never lead to fulfillment or lend to the achievement of goals= low density feelings and body.
'What is happening in the body and brain during exercise? As your heart rate increases during exercise, blood flow to the brain increases. As blood flow increases, your brain is exposed to more oxygen and nutrients. Exercise also induces the release of beneficial proteins in the brain. These nourishing proteins keep brain cells (also known as neurons) healthy, and promote the growth of new neurons. Neurons are the working building blocks of the brain. As a result, individual neuron health is important to overall brain health.
Exercise boosts your mood and reduces stress
Immediate Benefits Some benefits of physical activity on brain health happen right after a session. Benefits can included improved thinking or cognition for children and adults, and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.
When you exercise, your body releases chemicals such as dopamine (pronounced doh-pa-meen) and endorphins (en-door-fins) in your brain that make you feel happy. Not only is your brain dumping out feel-good chemicals, but exercise also helps your brain get rid of chemicals that make you feel stressed and anxious. People who exercise tend to be happier and less stressed than those who don’t exercise. Regular exercise can also help you control your emotions when you do feel angry or upset." ~ https://www.dana.org/.../how-does-exercise-affect-the.../....
Natural sources: exercise, meditation, yoga, massage, playing with a pet, walking in nature or reading a book
Other sources: In the modern world, though, dopamine has an unnatural side.
Substances that lead to dopamine release include coffee, cocaine, video games, and social media and that is where the happy path gets slippery.
The rabbit hole is deep my friends.. for example: https://www.labroots.com/.../brain-s-dopamine-good-bad-ugly
My take: it's important to check in with your self constantly, and the children, and make an achievable goal(s) as well as focus on what you want to create
My belief: Blessed are the free of suffering.
What about you? What dopamine experience and go-to's do you have to share?
