5 Ways to Boost Serotonin and Feel Your Best

If you’ve been struggling this winter with mental health issues like depression and anxiety—or even with your sleep and focus—there’s one thing I can tell you for sure: 

Turning to pharmaceutical drugs for help is not the answer.  

Sure, a drug can potentially help alleviate your symptoms, but it will never get to the root cause of the problem. 

In reality, there could be a simple deficiency at the root of these problems that you can address with key diet and lifestyle changes. 

Doing so has been shown to have a positive effect on mood and wellbeing, reduce depression and anxiety symptoms, and help you feel your best. 

There’s a chemical in your brain called serotonin that helps stabilize your mood and supports feelings of happiness and well-being.  

And because it helps your brain and nervous system cells to communicate, it also plays a role in things like focus, sleep, and even your digestive system. 

If your body isn’t making enough serotonin, your risk of anxiety and depression increases. 

Low serotonin levels have also been connected to the development of diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Fortunately, there are ways to boost your body’s supply of serotonin. Doing so can help you feel your best. 

It starts with your diet. 

You’d think you should focus on eating more foods that contain serotonin—but that’s not the answer because serotonin can’t cross your blood-brain barrier. 

Instead, your body uses the amino acid tryptophan to make more serotonin, and tryptophan happens to be able to cross the blood-brain barrier. 

The point being… for a boost in serotonin, load up on foods rich in tryptophan. These include sources of animal protein, eggs, nuts and seeds, and milk. 

Also consider adding in a probiotic, since 95 percent of your serotonin is produced in your gut by beneficial bacteria. 

Next, head outside for at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight. 

As you know by now, sunlight boosts vitamin D levels, and vitamin D is necessary for the production and activation of serotonin. 

This could be one reason why sun exposure has been associated with reduced depression. 

And while you’re outside, get moving. 

Physical activity promotes the release of mood-boosting chemicals like serotonin and dopamine—which could explain why exercise helps reduce the risk of depression. 

Finally, take steps to manage your stress, since chronic stress can have a negative impact on your serotonin levels. 

Are you noticing a pattern here? 

The same diet and lifestyle factors that are beneficial for your body are good for your mind and your mood as well.