7 Daily Tips to Improve Mood

1. Increase Positivity

• 3 Gratitudes: Write down 3 new things each day (for at least 21 days), which teaches the brain to scan the world for the positive first, not the negative.
• Journaling: Writing about 1 positive experience you’ve experienced in the past 24 hours allows your brain to relive it.
• Random acts of kindness: When you open your inbox to your email, write 1 positive email praising or thanking someone.You can also call or write to someone.

When the brain is positive, dopamine increases in the brain, making us happier.  Dopamine also turns on the learning centers in the brain, allowing us not only to learn, but also to improve our focus and concentration.

2. Meditation

• Allows the brain to overcome the cultural inattention we’ve created by trying to do multiple tasks at once, allowing the brain to focus on one task at a time.This helps to balance the norepinephrine levels and increase serotonin levels.

Norepinephrine is the brain messenger responsible for controlling attention and response.

3. Engaging in activities that revitalize you

• Listen to music, visit a museum, theater, symphony, watch TV or movies, engage in long, deep conversations with people you love or whatever makes you feel good.
• Pleasurable activities naturally increase serotonin levels.

4. Exercise

• Moderate exercise done 4 consecutive days in a row increase serotonin levels.

5. Light Therapy

• Exposure to UVB light designed for people with seasonal affective disorder in the morning and evening increases vitamin D, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine levels.

Dopamine is the brain messenger involved in behavior and cognition, voluntary movement, motivation and reward, sleep, mood, attention and learning.  It is involved in allowing us to develop new behaviors because a main role of dopamine is the “reward” system.

6. Maintain a Regular Wake-Sleep Cycle

• The production of serotonin for the next day requires at least 7 hours of sound, high quality sleep the night before.

7. Nutrition

• Eat protein high in tryptophan, which is required for serotonin production: Chicken, white flakey fish, lean cuts of pork, veal, cottage cheese, lamb, low fat cheeses, low fat milk and dairy products and legumes.