Do you feel depressed, anxious, or disconnected? Or maybe you suffer from PMS or PMDD? Low serotonin may be to blame for these symptoms, but you can boost your serotonin naturally through simple daily rituals.
Today I want to share my top 10 tips for how to boost your serotonin naturally on a daily basis.
Symptoms of low serotonin
How do you know you need to work on your serotonin levels? There’s nothing wrong with giving your serotonin a helping hand after all – these tips won’t give you too much serotonin as your body can regulate your levels. But there are some specific symptoms that might indicate you want to boost your serotonin, including:
- Craving sugar and chocolate
- Constipation
- Always eating to feel better (because you feel bored, sad, lonely)
- A feeling of disconnection from others
- Anxiety, overthinking, a constantly chattering mind
- Depression
- Insomnia and waking through the night
- Difficulty relaxing
- Feeling paranoid
You may notice these symptoms are much worse during your luteal phase. You may not experience them in the first half of your cycle, or they may be more subtle. This is common, as the effects of sex hormones on your brain function can throw off serotonin in the second half of the menstrual cycle.
10 steps to boost your serotonin naturally
Visualisation & Affirmation
This is a great way to tap into your brain’s neuroplasticity and train it to feel more positive (and boost serotonin) on a daily basis.
Take some time to visualise happy memories, happy thoughts, or what you aspire to do and achieve. You might be smiling, with people you love, doing the hobbies you enjoy most, whatever it is that makes you feel best. Really picture it so you are telling your brain those things are happening.
Along with your visualising, add in an affirmation. For example, you might say:
I am happy, calm, positive
I will do what I need to do today to achieve my goals and live the life of my dreams
My body is healthy; my mind is brilliant; I am calm
I have been given endless talents which I will utilise today”
Whatever it is that you want and can connect to, put it into a sentence you can speak out loud.
Eat a carbohydrate & fat-based meal by 8am
Carbs help to boost tryptophan and make serotonin more bioavailable. However, protein can inhibit this, so we want to focus on carbohydrates and fats first thing in the morning to boost serotonin.
For example, you might eat:
- Coconut cream bircher muesli
- Avocado on toast
- Potato hash made with lots of butter
- Buttery turmeric rice
We don’t want a lot of sugar in this meal – focus on complex carbohydrates instead of simple sugars. If you have issues with sleep, you might want to have this fat + carb meal in the evening instead to boost melatonin.
30 minutes of daily exercise
Studies show that daily exercise for 30 minutes can increase tryptophan levels, which are essential for serotonin. In fact, it’s believed the tiredness you feel during exercise is because of this increase in tryptophan.
You won’t want to do this when you feel low, so try to start the habit in your follicular phase. That way, you’ve already stuck to it for at least 2 weeks and are more likely to keep it up.
Alternate intense exercise with rest days
Not a big fan of daily exercise? You can opt for more vigorous exercise every second day. Make sure you have a rest day after your intense exercise day, as this is when you get a serotonin boost. If you go intense every day, you’ll end up depleted and fatigued, and your serotonin levels will drop instead of rising.
Massage
This one is a favourite, but it works! Massage can reduce adrenalin, and cortisol, while increasing oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. In fact, studies show that massage can increase serotonin by 28% and dopamine by 31%!
Schedule a regular massage in for the first week of your luteal phase. By getting this boost in the first half, you will feel more positive and supported during the second half of the phase.
Try mindfulness & meditation
These practices can calm the nervous system, reduce cortisol and support feel-good chemicals such as GABA, serotonin and dopamine.
Give meditation a go as a daily practice – even 5-10 minutes a day adds up quickly. Or if you prefer, you can work on mindful practices such as mindful eating or mindful walks. These involve being aware and in the present moment, noticing sensations and experiences.
Sunlight & light therapy
A lot of our feel-good chemicals get a boost when we’re exposed to sunlight. Low sunlight exposure can lead to seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
When possible, you want to spend at least a few minutes outside during the day with no sunglasses on. During winter, the more light exposure you can get in, the better.
But if you can’t get out much or the cold dark weather limits you, you can use light therapy. Light therapy has been found to reduce symptoms of SAD in darker months and support serotonin production. Carex Day-Light Classic Plus is a good option to investigate if you experience SAD.
Cold therapy
Ice baths, cryotherapy and cold showers are popular right now, and for good reason. Cold can activate the nervous system, increasing the release of neurotransmitters in the brain. It supports your heart health and your serotonin levels.
A cold shower or even a blast of cold water at the end of your shower is a great starting point.
Relive happy moments
The brain is malleable – old pathways can light up just from us recalling them. We want to use this to our advantage and remember happy times to boost serotonin production.
Write down 10 happy moments of your life – the ones you can really picture in your mind. Spend time thinking about these moments and events, seeing them in your mind’s eye and reliving them. This will keep igniting those old pathways that stimulate serotonin.
Raise your status
This one is a bit tricky to understand, but bear with me. Serotonin is considered to be a survivor neurotransmitter, one that we produced in relation to our status in the community.
Now we obviously don’t want to rely on ‘status’ to feel good, but we can use this information to our advantage. Some ways to boost your serotonin naturally through this mechanism include:
- Going out of your comfort zone on a regular basis with people
- Talking more with people
- Chatting more with people on social media
- Organising meet-ups
- Going to group meetings
- Joining hobby groups, political groups, drama groups or the like
- Joining a charity or a board
Pick a couple of these rituals and commit to them for 60 days. The more you stick to these habits even when you don’t feel great, the more serotonin you get out of it.
Another big factor when it comes to serotonin is the food that you eat.
Choosing the right foods during your luteal phase can alleviate symptoms and encourage a healthy balance of hormones.
That’s why I’ve created a meal plan that can:
- Balance blood sugars
- Support progesterone production
- Prevent bloating
- Improve your mood
Sound like what you need? Grab my Hormone Support Meal Plan here.
