What Is the Function of Serotonin?
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Always Enough
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A "feel good" mood is the result of serotonin doing its job correctly. Like the scales of justice, the central nervous system depends upon balanced levels of serotonin to allow the body to function at its optimal efficiency. This is important when the goal is avoidance of medical situations such as depression, anxiety/panic, bipolar disorder and migraine headaches.
Assisted by the amino acid tryptophan, serotonin levels rise and fall in the brain. This hormone is a chemical credited with maintaining the "happy feeling" because it helps to keep our moods on a steady path. It calms anxiety, relieves feelings of depression and helps us to have a good night's sleep.
Hormone and Chemical
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As a neurotransmitter, it directs nerve impulses between the brain and other locations in the body and back again to the brain. The concentrations of serotonin are higher in critical places along the central nervous system, such as the basal ganglia and the hypothalamus. This natural hormone is also in cells, peripheral tissue and carcinoid tumors.
If the serotonin hormone is naturally in low supply, doctors will sometimes prescribe 5-hydroxytryptamine to ease the mild symptoms of depression that affect some people. Science, once again, makes its contribution. This time it is to produce the feeling of calmness.
Humans are creatures of patterned living. They have circadian rhythm patterns linked to waking and sleeping periods. It is important to avoid long days and late hours if you wish to maintain healthy levels of serotonin, which replenishes during periods of sleep just as it drains with abnormal periods of wakefulness. Getting up very early does not help much, either.
More Serotonin Please
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Some recreational drugs affect the level of serotonin that is available to maintain our "happy feeling" and ecstasy is one of the newer ones on the street. Ecstasy mixes the messages that serotonin sends along the nerve pathways by releasing amounts that are beyond the needs of the body.
The huge release of serotonin increases emotional awareness, confidence and intimacy because it explodes in one big, energetic burst that noticeably depletes the amount available for normal use. Fortunately, the brain can replenish its storehouse of serotonin.
Much More ... And Fast
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The brain can speed up the production of serotonin if you lay low, rest the following day, drink plenty of milk and eat bananas. The brain will react much faster to the request your body is making for more serotonin.
Milk and bananas are a source food for tryptophan, which triggers the production of serotonin. Adding milk and bananas to this trigger enhances the process in order to maintain a balanced mood and restore energy levels to the body.
In addition to performing the important process of making more serotonin, milk and bananas are "comfort" foods that do not usually upset the stomach. Much more important is the fact that they are able to give out that "feel good" mood by the time you finish enjoying them. Of course, natural-born pill poppers are likely to appreciate the availability of natural tryptophan obtainable at health food stores.
Self-diagnosis Could Be Harmful to Your Health
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Even if you know exactly what is wrong with you, if depression is striking more frequently, you should see your doctor. The health food clerk does not have a license to diagnose or prescribe anything. One more element may play a part in your feelings of depression.
Serotonin comes from tryptophan, which is present in the bloodstream. In turn, serotonin makes a substance called melatonin. Delayed sleep or very early waking is traceable to low levels of melatonin. The physician can determine what is missing or in low supply: tryptophan, serotonin or melatonin. The doctor who has the license to diagnose and treat can properly prescribe the appropriate fix-it remedy.
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