Feeling Out Of Sorts Mentally? You Might Be Experiencing This Type Of Imbalance

September 2, 2021 — 1:05 AM

At some point, we’ve all taken stock of our mental health and realized we could benefit from a little boost. That little boost we all seek and crave isn’t so much a salary raise or new relationship itself—it’s the chemicals behind it.  

Whether you’re looking to address your mood changes, sleep patterns, or libido, there’s one place you can start: discovering the difference between dopamine and serotonin, and the profound ways in which they both impact our brain and body.

Dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters, which are “chemical messengers that relay important messages between cells and attach to specific receptors on target cells,” says Aimee Harris-Newton, Psy.D., a double-board certified integrative and interventional psychologist. Specifically, dopamine takes care of neurons that control movement and coordination, and it works highly on the reward system. 

These two crucial neurotransmitters can also affect depression or other mood disorders, and an imbalance in both neurotransmitters can affect bodily functions and can lead to different medical conditions, says Sanam Hafeez, Psy.D., a neuropsychologist and director of Comprehend The Mind. They don’t exist in a vacuum, but rather as part of a larger ecosystem: “Although serotonin and dopamine affect different parts of the brain, they often work together. For example, if serotonin levels decrease, then dopamine levels will increase,” Hafeez says.

According to Alyssa Kirby Horowitz, N.D., a naturopathic doctor, “serotonin and dopamine are not the be-all-end-all of anything, but they play a larger role. In a Broadway theater, they might be the main stars but without the background dancers and lights, it might be the [most underwhelming] product.” She explains that serotonin and dopamine enable our organs to communicate with one another. 

Serotonin and dopamine are often referred to as “happy hormones” because they both play a significant role in regulating mood and emotion, according to Hafeez. As mentioned, though serotonin and dopamine affect different parts of the brain, they often work in unison (meaning if serotonin levels go down, then dopamine levels go up). “Also, both serotonin and dopamine affect appetite and impulsivity while serotonin typically suppresses hunger, whereas dopamine stimulates it, and serotonin inhibits impulsivity, and dopamine enhances it,” she says.

Both serotonin and dopamine are highly impacted by sunlight. Horowitz says that 10 to 20% of our serotonin is made in the pineal gland, which is sensitive to sunlight. If daylight is scarce or we’re stuck indoors, she says the pineal gland will produce the hormone melanin, which suppresses the production of serotonin, thereby causing our mood to take a nosedive. This explains why we get the blues (or seasonal affective disorder) when it gets dark earlier in the fall and winter. Sunlight also triggers the release of dopamine. Horowitz explains that when exposed to outdoor light, specialized eye cells connect to other cells that release dopamine. Additionally, she says that when your skin absorbs sunlight and produces vitamin D, it creates a cycle that triggers the production of dopamine as well as serotonin. 

Finally, they also both play a profound role in digestion. The serotonin made in the gut plays a role in our intestines’ ability to contract, signals pain, prompts nausea, and other digestive issues, which explains why antidepressants can cause digestion-related side effects, according to Horowitz. Similarly, she says 50% of our dopamine is made in the gut, and while it sends signals from the brain, it acts as a messenger to help contract the colon muscles. And of course: food is very much thy medicine. “Our mood affects our nutrition choices just as much as the opposite is true,” says Horowitz. 

While the two neurotransmitters function in similar ways, they do pose significant differences. Harris-Newton says increased amounts of serotonin hinders impulsive behavior while dopamine ramps it up. Hafeez adds that in some cases, low serotonin levels can lead to an overproduction of dopamine—this is because serotonin appears to inhibit dopamine production. Because dopamine enhances reward-seeking behavior, she explains impulsivity might indirectly arise from low serotonin. 

Speaking of impulsive behavior, drugs activate both dopamine and serotonin in our brains in different ways, according to Hafeez. “When people engage in recreational drug use, serotonin levels increase, which makes people feel very good. This high is the primary reason people continue taking them. They want to experience the high again. However, this fluctuation of serotonin also contributes to the depression and anxiety people feel when going through withdrawal.” 

Whereas serotonin and drug use elicits euphoria, dopamine and drug use reinforces the reward-seeking behavior, says Hafeez, which increases the likelihood of repeating the activity and as a result, addiction and painful withdrawal symptoms. 

While they both affect appetite, they do so in contrasting ways: low dopamine levels are said to boost appetite thanks to the release of the appetite stimulant ghrelin, while low serotonin levels reduce appetite thanks to the release of the appetite suppressant leptin (this may explain uncharacteristically extreme eating patterns in those with depression—low dopamine may lead to overeating, while low serotonin makes it tough to stomach a full meal).  

What *doesn’t* dopamine do for the body? Hafeez says it’s released every time you anticipate or experience pleasure. “For example, if you love brownies, your dopamine levels will most likely increase simply from the smell while they bake in the oven. When you finally eat the brownie, the release of dopamine reinforces your love for brownies and encourages you to continue to crave brownies,” she says. If the balance of dopamine in the body is level, Hafeez says you’re likely to feel focused, happy, and motivated. If dopamine levels are too low, you’re likely to feel the opposite: distracted, depressed, and indifferent.

Low dopamine famously plays a role in mood changes. “We see it as the chemical that’s in charge of our motivation, so if any of those pathways are deficient, compromised, or dysfunctional, you’ll have a huge decrease in motivation, which is a symptom of depression,” says Horowitz. 

In addition to balancing mood, serotonin assists in digestion, metabolism, sleeping and waking, appetite, hormonal activity, libido, blood clotting, and regulating body temperature, according to Harris-Newton. While serotonin is present in the brain, 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the gut, she says. (You can read more about the connection between gut and brain health here.)

 “Our digestive tract is filled with an entire ecosystem of bacteria, and we’re learning that the more quantity and diversity of bacteria, the less you’re likely to experience illness,” says Horowitz. “If our gut bacteria’s balance is disturbed, not only does our digestion suffer, but so does our mood. One theory is that a lack of bacteria and bacteria diversity leads to a decrease in the production of serotonin. When your gut health is poor, your body is less capable of converting amino acids from food into the neurotransmitters in your brain.”

Serotonin is also associated with our body’s digestion process by decreasing our appetite as we eat, explains Hafeez. “Without serotonin, we would struggle to identify when we are full and should stop eating. Additionally, when we eat something toxic to our bodies, serotonin levels increase, which causes the irritating food to expel from our body quickly.”

If psychiatric medication isn’t part of your mental health care plan, there’s lots you can do to boost your serotonin levels naturally: Horowitz says tryptophan, found in foods like milk, turkey, fish, spinach, seeds, and eggs, can help boost your serotonin levels by making 5HTP, an amino acid that boosts the neurotransmitter’s production. Vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, and vitamin B3, B9, and C can also facilitate that building of serotonin, she says.

That “runner’s high” isn’t an old wives tale, either: just 30 to 45 minutes of sustained aerobic activity boosts serotonin, giving you that natural post-cardio relaxed, unstoppable feeling. 

Although Hafeez says research has not confirmed that low levels of serotonin causes depression or anxiety, we do know that SSRIs help treat symptoms of both. “SSRIs prevent serotonin from being reabsorbed, so more serotonin remains present in the brain, which causes people’s moods to increase,” she says.

Although dopamine most closely associated with reward and pleasure like food, sex, gambling, and shopping, Hafeez says it can also affect other bodily functions such as sleep, memory, motor control, and digestion, and even play a role in the development of Parkinson’s disease.

And of course, recreational drugs that artificially spike the release of dopamine, like cocaine, can lead to addiction, since they fool the brain into thinking it’s at its baseline level. “Recreational drug use significantly affects dopamine levels, which contributes to addiction and withdrawal,” says Hafeez. “ It can produce feelings of euphoria, however, these are only temporary while the drugs remain in the system.”