Dopamine is a chemical found naturally in the human body. Dopamine plays a part in controlling a person’s movements, as well as their emotional response. The proper balance of dopamine is important for physical and mental health. This post will refer to some common causes of low dopamine.
Contents
Common Causes of Low Dopamine
Sleep deprivation
Besides your morning coffee, dopamine is one of the explanations you’re feeling refreshed and alert most mornings. This wakefulness is promoted by dopamine receptors, specifically the D2 receptor. These receptors help to mediate the functions of dopamine within the body.
However, sleep deprivation can reduce the quantity of D2 receptors in important parts of the brain. Where this happens, the transmission and production of dopamine are impacted.
In fact, with a condition like a brain disorder that sustains low dopamine levels, the general public feels excessive daytime sleepiness.
Obesity
Obesity has been linked to a variety of health conditions, but one less known effect is that the role it plays in downregulating or reducing the number of dopamine within the brain.
Like the results of sleep deprivation, obesity can cause a discount in D2 receptors within the brain.14 This becomes especially obvious when comparisons are made with the number of receptors in those who aren’t obese.
Drug abuse
During early usage, certain drugs may contribute to a rise in dopamine. Cocaine is one drug that has been known to supply euphoria and increased dopamine levels following usage.
However, long-term use of those drugs is for certain to supply diminishing returns, especially where dopamine production is worried.
Because of the sustained increase in dopamine production following drug use, the brain intervenes to scale back the number of dopamine receptors available.
Stress
There are only a few things stress is sweet for, and maintaining optimal dopamine levels isn’t one amongst them. once you are constantly exposed to stressors like financial difficulty, relationship troubles, workplace stress, and more, this may affect your body’s production of dopamine. Over time, this might also result in a deficiency of the neurotransmitter within the body.
How to Treat Low Dopamine Levels
Exercise
Working up a sweat by running, swimming, dancing, or other sorts of movement, can help with increasing dopamine levels within the body. Studies dole out on animals have shown that certain portions of the brain are flushed with dopamine during physical activity. It’s why exercising may sometimes produce a high.
Natural sources
Your body’s supply of dopamine is also supported by external sources. Natural sources like bananas, plantain, and avocado are found to contain high levels of dopamine. Apples, eggplant, spinach, and tomatoes have also been recognized as dopamine sources. Proteins are notable components within the dopamine production process.
Probiotics
Probiotics may be of more attention in promoting gut health, but this bacterium is not only an important part of the body’s microbiota but can also be helpful for the production of dopamine and other substances.
Music
It’s not 100% certain how music affects the brain, but there’s a reason why certain songs offer you chills, cause you to mellow, and extremely notably, have the facility to invigorate you while listening.
The last potential could also be thanks to the flexibility of music to stimulate dopamine production within the brain. This leaves you with feelings of enjoyment and excitement when taking note of music, and may help to extend dwindling dopamine levels.
Conditions Linked With Dopamine Deficiency
Major depressive disorder
Major depressive disorder is one of the foremost severe mental and behavioral disorders. it’s characterized by prolonged depressive moods or an absence of interest in activities that may ordinarily be appealing.
However, beyond a loss of interest, anhedonia is additionally associated with a pause within the mind’s reward process. The standard anticipation, motivation, and decision-making stages involved within the reward system are greatly affected. This alteration has been linked to dysfunctions within the dopamine system.
Schizophrenia
This disorder is linked with an abnormal interpretation of reality. Schizophrenia could be a severe psychological state condition that will affect a person’s ability to think, act, or express themselves.
Typically diagnosable by symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and abnormal physical gaits, these signs may be attributed to an imbalance of dopamine within the body.
Lower levels of dopamine are linked to other signs like anhedonia, an inability to finish tasks, and demotivation to interact in social interactions.
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s could be a disorder of the system. it’s identifiable by tremors which can begin as barely noticeable, before progressing into obvious quivers, muscle stiffness, or delayed movement. This disorder may additionally cause problems with balance during motion.
Parkinson’s disease is that the result of a variety of things, one in all which could be a reduction in the production of dopamine within the brain. When there’s a dopamine deficit, this will cause distinct movement difficulties related to this condition.
