I was fortunate enough to recently attend a session titled “The science and practice of daily mental health and wellbeing” in which the presenters outlined the relationship between our daily actions and how we feel.

This post contains my notes from the session.

A basic principle

Our brains react automatically and beyond our immediate conscious control to things that go on around us. Our five senses act as input devices without any filters and our brains react in a matter of milliseconds by releasing a cocktail of neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters

Cortisol - the stress chemical

Cortisol is released when we face threat or danger. It triggers a series of actions that are useful when facing threat but it also suppresses those things we don’t immediately need - including our immune system. For this reason we are more susceptible to infection when we are under stress.

Adrenaline - our energy hormone

Adrenaline increases blood circulation and prepares our muscles for exertion. It is also involved in fight or flight mechanism and suppresses our ability to feel pain. When we can’t burn up adrenaline it can make us feel a bit jittery, affect sleep and - over a long period of time - impact heart health.

Dopamine - reward and pleasure

Dopamine is involved with motivation and arousal. It works on a feedback loop system: when we set a goal we get a shot of dopamine; completing the goal provides another. Dopamine is associated with cycles of addiction and - in low levels - with Parkinson’s Disease.

Oxytocin - bonding neurotransmitter

Oxytocin is involved in psychological stability and loyalty. We get this whenever we engage in a hug or a kiss. When we are deprived of human contact our oxytocin levels plummet. We know that loneliness kills as many people each year as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Serotonin

Serotonin is associated with self-esteem, mood and fear. Drops in serotonin are linked with the onset of depression and anxiety. We can boost levels of serotonin through exposure to sunlight, drinking water and by recalling happy events.

Endorphins

Endorphins are our body’s natural analgesia. It works with the brain’s pain receptors. When we are hurt our body floods itself with endorphins to act as a pain reliever. We can boost endorphins through strenuous exercise, orgasm and laughter.

GABA - the anti-anxiety neurotransmitter

GABA slows down the firing of our neurones. It has a calming effect and aids restful sleep. We can boost our levels of GABA by engaging in things like yoga, mindfulness and meditation.

What we need to do

By engaging in techniques to actively manage the neurotransmitters we can improve our daily mental health and wellbeing. Specifically, we need to:

  • Stimulate and enhance dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins, GABA
  • Manage and control cortisol and adrenaline

There are interrelationships between these. For example, high levels of cortisol will suppress oxytocin.

How we do this - neuro nourishment

Small changes we can weave into our daily lives can make a big difference.

Starting right - you can’t rationalise upon waking

The speakers advocated for avoiding digital devices for the first 45 minutes after waking. As soon as we wake up our amygdala is looking for problems but our pre-frontal cortex takes about 45 minutes to wake up. This means we cannot rationalise things properly for the first 45 minutes of the day. My take on this is to have only good, positive stuff for the first 45 minutes of the day.

Starting right - daylight

Start the day in the right way. As Robin Sharma says:

“The way you start your day determines how well you live your day”

Get natural daylight early (and frequently throughout the day). This will release more serotonin. Here’s a comparison:

  • In a well lit office you get about 400 lux
  • As soon as you step outside you get 10,000 lux (even on a cloudy day).
  • On a sunny beach you can get 100,000 lux

Starting right - mindfulness

Practice mindfulness in the morning. This will stimulate GABA, serotonin and dopamine, and reduce cortisol. You can incorporate it into just two minutes of your day by having a mindful:

  • Shower
  • Teeth brushing session
  • Cup of tea

In my case deliberate guitar practice is an excellent opportunity to practice mindfulness.

Starting right - get active, get moving, get some exercise

Exercise is brilliant. It burns up cortisol and decreases our levels of adrenaline while simultaneously boosting all the others.

Throughout the day

  • Take regular breaks
  • Cherish your lunch breaks
  • Stay well hydrated

Why mental hygiene

We can’t change the way we feel, but we can change the way we behave and the way we think. All of this is cyclical:

  • The way we feel affects our thinking and behaviors
  • We way we behave affects our feelings and our thinking
  • The way the think affects our behaviours and our feelings

It’s our neurochemicals that influence how we feel. But through the way we think and the way we behave we can influence our neurochemicals.

The good thing about it being cyclical is we can create virtuous circles.