• About

ConnieSelleccaBlog

~ Intelligence for Your Life

ConnieSelleccaBlog

Tag Archives: serotonin

Eat fruit for a mood boost!

10 Wednesday Feb 2021

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

antioxidants, brain chemical, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, eat fruit, fruit, happiness-boost, happiness-boosting compounds, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, mood boost, mood-boosting, serotonin

If you need a mood boost – put down the cookie and pick up a piece of fruit! Research in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition shows that eating fruit will help you feel calmer and happier than if you eat cookies, candy or chips. That’s because fruit stimulates the release of the mood-boosting brain chemical serotonin. Plus, the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in fruit increase activity in the area of the brain that regulates mood. And choose a wide variety of fruit. Because different fruits contain different happiness-boosting compounds – so the more types of fruit you eat, the better you’ll feel.

Follow me on Facebook 

How does soaking in a steamy bath scented with rose, vanilla, jasmine, or lavender essential oils sound?

09 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, jasmine oil, lavender oil, oxytocin, relax, relaxing, rose oil, serotonin, soaking, soaking in bath, steamy bath, vanilla oil

Like heaven, right? Well, doing that will raise blood levels of the feel-good and calming neurotransmitters oxytocin and serotonin… for SIX HOURS afterward! That’s according to research from Brown University. And because the bath itself soothes your brain’s anxiety center – it needs less of that surge of oxytocin and serotonin. So more of those feel-good chemicals will be used to relax the cells in the rest of your body.

Follow me on Facebook  

If you have trouble sleeping and feel tired all day…

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

can't sleep, canned corn, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, corn, eat canned corn, ferulic acid, happy hormone, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, serotonin, tired all day, trouble sleeping, winter blues

…it could be the winter blues! Because less sunlight makes our brain produce less of the “happy” hormone serotonin. The fix? Eat a serving of canned corn a day. Corn contains ferulic acid, which Cornell researchers found increases blood levels of serotonin… and reverses free radical damage in brain areas that manage mood. And canned corn contains 550% MORE ferulic acid than fresh corn or frozen – because more of the nutrient is released by the heat used in the canning process.

Follow me on Facebook

10-minute phone call brain boost!

12 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

brain, brain boost, brain booster, brain health, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, memory, mood boost, phone call, problem solver, serotonin

brain-boost-phone-call-wp

You don’t need to do crossword puzzles or play an instrument to get a brain boost. We can strengthen our neural connections with a 10-minute phone call with a friend. That’s long enough to start releasing the brain chemical, serotonin, which improves our mood and awakens our creative thinking. That’s because, during a conversation, we’re thinking about multiple things – what our friend is saying, what we’re going to say next, and predicting how our friend will respond. That involves both brain hemispheres, making our mind more flexible, and slows down brain aging.
To make it even better?
Have that 10-minute conversation while you’re walking. Talking while exercising lights up even more brain areas, making you a better problem solver, while improving overall cognitive health by increasing blood and oxygen flow to the brain.

Follow me on Facebook

Eat blueberries every day to be happy!

15 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alzheimer's, antioxidant, berries, blueberries, blueberry, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, happiness, happy, heart disease, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, serotonin, stroke

half-cup-blueberries-wp

If you’re looking for a happiness boost: Eat blueberries. According to the journal Pharmacological Research, eating a half-cup of blueberries every day could raise your serotonin levels by 20%. Serotonin is a brain chemical linked to a better mood. It also helps keep your brain cells and arteries running smoothly – decreasing the risk of stroke, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. And we get the serotonin boost from the anthocyanin in blueberries; the antioxidant that gives them their deep color.

Follow me on Facebook

Don’t skip your morning coffee!

22 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

caffeine, coffee, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, depression, dopamine, drink coffee, grumpy, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, moody, noradrenaline, serotonin, skip coffee

skipped-coffee-wp

If skipping your morning coffee makes you feel grumpy, or even depressed, it’s not your imagination. Research from the Harvard School of Public Health found drinking 2 to 4 cups of caffeinated coffee improves mood. It can reduce the risk of depression by 20%, and cuts the risk of suicide in half! The researchers say caffeine acts as a mild antidepressant by boosting production of feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline.

Follow me on Facebook

To be happier, find a ‘hands-on’ hobby.

16 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

be happy, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, dopamine, hands-on, happy, hobbies, hobby, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, serotonin

hands-on-wp

Neuroscientist Dr. Kelly Lambert says that baking, gardening, woodworking and other manual activities release the natural antidepressants serotonin and dopamine. This ‘effort-driven’ reward circuit is a holdover from the days when our ancestors had to use their hands to fill their stomachs. And even though it’s a lot easier to buy bread, you can’t buy that awesome feeling of pulling your own homemade loaves out of the oven.

And that’s why a ‘hands-on’ hobby will make you feel awesome.

Follow me on Facebook

Forget having cereal for breakfast.

28 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bedtime, bedtime snack, breakfast, calcium, calm, cereal, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, eat cereal, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, magnesium, relax, relaxing, serotonin, tryptophan

cereal-before-bed-wp

It makes the perfect bedtime snack. The carbs in cereal increase levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which makes us feel happy and relaxed. And the milk’s tryptophan content converts to serotonin, too. Plus, there’s calcium and magnesium in milk, both of which are calming.

Follow me on Facebook

Got a bad headache?

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bath, bathroom, bathtub, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, headache, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, migraine, recipe, relax, rosemary, rosemary tea, serotonin, Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, tea

tea-in-tub-wp

Make some rosemary tea – but don’t drink it. Pour it in a hot bath and soak in it for 20 minutes. Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, says hot water relaxes muscles that are spasming. And the aromatic oils in rosemary boost production of the neurotransmitter serotonin – which relieves pain.

Sound good? Here’s the recipe: Steep half-a-cup of dried rosemary in boiling water for 10 minutes. Then strain it, add the tea to your bathwater, and climb in.

Follow me on Facebook

Exercise and be happy!

26 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

antidepressant, antidepressants, be happy, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, dopamine, exercise, happy, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, sad, serotonin

antidepressant-exercise-wp

If you take antidepressants and want to make them more effective, exercise. Scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center found that being active every day was as effective as taking a second antidepressant. That’s because being active prompts the body and brain to release more natural antidepressant chemicals, like serotonin and dopamine.

← Older posts

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014

Categories

  • Intelligence for Your Life
  • Photos

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×