Natural antidepressants to improve your mood

Do you suffer from mood swings or are you feeling down? There are many tools and foods that help boost your mood. Discover natural antidepressants to improve your mood.

Serotonin

The natural antidepressant par excellence to improve your mood is serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan. It combats feelings of depression and fights against feelings of anxiety. Additionally, serotonin reduces unnecessary overeating and promotes a healthy diet.

Sunlight

Sunlight is one of the most powerful natural antidepressants to improve your mood. Sunlight stimulates the production of endorphins and dopamine, the 'happy hormones.' In combination with Vitamin D (the vitamin that strengthens your bones and immune system), the sun makes you happy and energetic. So don't lock yourself up and get outside enough! PS: Is it cloudy? That's no reason to stay indoors; even in cloudy weather, your body produces hormones.

Avoid blue light

Make sure you put your electronics away long enough before bed so you can relax. The reason you may feel less sleepy in the evening and sometimes have a harder time falling asleep is that televisions, smartphones, tablets, computers and gaming systems all emit blue light which promotes alertness and mental sharpness. This is great when you wake up in the morning and get a boost of energy from the bright morning sky which also naturally emits blue light, but too much blue light in the evening can keep you awake when your body should be resting. Our eyes aren't the best at blocking out blue light, so it translates directly to the back of your retina and your brain then translates the light into images. Try to avoid using your electronic devices for 30 minutes to an hour before bed.

Find the ideal temperature for sleeping

One of the best sleep tips is to make sure your bedroom is a cool temperature so that you don't toss and turn. Especially now that the weather is starting to get warmer. Because our bodies rely on a decreasing temperature to fall asleep, a warmer bedroom will affect our attempts to fall asleep. It is said that the ideal temperature for falling asleep peacefully is around 18 degrees, so turning down the heating can help regulate your body temperature.

Stop sleeping during the day

If we don't get enough sleep at night, we can sometimes fall into a vicious cycle of taking 20 or 30 minute naps during the day. This in turn will affect your sleep cycle and ability to fall asleep at night. Long naps of around 45 minutes that happen close to your scheduled bedtime can lead to insomnia as a result. By staying awake longer, your desire for sleep increases and your adenosine levels rise. However, if you sleep during the day, your brain will reduce this and as a result, you will have trouble falling asleep at night.

Nootropics

Finally, there are the nootropics. These are substances that stimulate, defend, and protect neurons from damage, leading to increased oxygen circulation. That, in turn, leads to numerous benefits. They boost your mood, give you more energy, and increase your stress resilience. A well-known nootropic is, for example, caffeine. Are you interested in nootropics and want more information? Then discover "The Ultimate Nootropics Guide" here. In this, the basic principles of 100+ different nootropics are explained, giving you a better understanding of how they work.