What is serotonin and what is it for?

It is curious to think how something so small can influence our psychological well-being so much.

The great advances in scientific research have discovered a new element indispensable for human happiness: serotonin. This hormone produced by the nervous system is considered the biological basis of happiness, it is capable of transmit information to our brain to make us feel all kinds of emotions related to joy and wellness. In addition, it also modulates other types of feelings such as aggressiveness or anxiety.

You want to know what is serotonin and what is it for? Then we recommend that you continue reading this article on Psychology-Online. In addition, in this article you will find the relationship between serotonin and depression.

Index

1. What is serotonin?: Definition
2. Effects and function of serotonin
3. Relationship between serotonin and depression
4. Natural serotonin and medications

To learn what is serotonin and what is it for

Definition of serotonin

We can define this substance as a hormone that our body produces (more specifically, it is produced in the intestines and in the brain) with the aim of maintaining an emotional balance and a certain level of well-being psychological. This hormone is a neurotransmitter whose chemical composition is 5-HT, that means that the signals it sends go directly to our nervous system and there the message is transcribed.

Serotonin - what is it?

Many scientists claim that serotonin is the hormone that regulates and modulates human emotions. It is considered the hormone of happiness for its effect on our mental states. Together with other substances such as dopamine or adrenaline, it is responsible for balancing our mood. Serotonin is not only the hormone of happiness, it also fulfills the functions of controlling appetite, regulating sleep and intervening in the levels of libido and sexual desire.

Being considered a neurotransmitter, We understand that serotonin will have its main effect on the central nervous system. Scientific studies show that there is a profound relationship between low serotonin levels and mental disorders such as depression or stress. In addition, appropriately high levels of this hormone produce pleasant feelings of psychological well-being.

Serotonin function

Broadly speaking, we can affirm that the main function of serotonin is to regulate the well-being and psychological stability through the chemistry of our brain. For this, the important thing is to maintain good levels of serotonin avoiding depression (serotonin baha) or serotonin syndrome (too much serotonin). In addition, it also intervenes in intestinal function through the enteric nervous system.

Serotonin and anxiety

One of the most curious effects that serotonin produces in our body is anxiety. Indeed, excessively high levels of this substance are related to the appearance of social anxiety disorder or social phobia. On the other hand, there are numerous investigations that affirm that having the low serotonin may be the cause of a generalized anxiety disorder.

• How do we explain this phenomenon? At first glance, they seem like contradictory data. However, these investigations only affirm that any imbalance in serotonin levels produces an imbalance in the mental states of agitation and nervousness, either due to excess or lack of this hormone.

Does serotonin regulate sleep?

Another of the effects of serotonin in our body is the regulation of sleep. When we are awake, serotonin levels rise to keep us in a state of attention, when we enter the more deep sleep, serotonin in the brain drops considerably to allow our body and mind to rest correctly.

There is a hormone that, together with serotonin, regulates the sleep-wake cycle of our body. This hormone is known as melatonin and we can find it both in the body itself and outside of it, in foods or in specific medications.

Having good sleep habits helps us maintain a correct balance between the production of serotonin and melatonin. As a consequence of this balance, we experience more pleasant emotions and obtain a high level of psychological well-being.

As we have been commenting throughout this article, the main function of serotonin in our body is to mood regulation. The levels of this hormone must be maintained in normal values ​​to be able to experience balanced emotions.

If serotonin production suffers some kind of imbalance, we can experience discomfort, anger, irritability, risky behaviors... many of these symptoms coincide with depression, therefore, we can affirm that low levels of serotonin are related to the appearance of this disorder of the state of cheer up.

This relationship between serotonin and depression can occur in both directions: it may be that, due to bad external experiences, we begin to suffer from depression and this decreases serotonin levels (exogenous depression) or, conversely, our brain produces less happiness hormones and that leads us to suffer from a mental disorder known as endogenous depression.

Now that we know what is serotonin and what is it for. We may want to learn how to increase our serotonin levels naturally in order to achieve psychological well-being and emotional stability. To do this, we offer the following tips:

• Keep a balanced diet and rich in carbohydrates. The nutrients of this family such as bread, whole wheat pasta or legumes contain an element called tryptophan. This substance helps our body to produce more serotonin. Some of the foods that also increase our serotonin levels naturally are: pineapple, mango, chicken, soy, chocolate, strawberries, papaya ...
• Do a little bit of exercise Every day, you will not only increase your levels of endorphins (the hormone of pleasure and relaxation), in the long term you will feel better about yourself and you will learn to strengthen your self-esteem.
• Enjoy the little ones life pleasures like watching a new movie, reading a good book, or savoring your favorite plate of food. These little pleasures help us to live under positive emotions.
• Connect with others: Attachment bonds are very important for the psychological growth of a person. In addition, having good friends diminishes the feeling of loneliness and makes us feel loved. Establishing a good social network of support can also prevent many ailments and mental health problems.

Psychopharmaceuticals to increase serotonin

There are numerous medications that base their function on altering the levels of serotonin in our body. The process to increase serotonin has evolved and today SSRIs predominate in the drug market. SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are prescribed to treat a multitude of problems such as borderline personality disorder or depression. These drugs should only be taken under the prescription of a doctor and without misusing them.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is serotonin and what is it for?, we recommend that you enter our category of Neuropsychology.

• Gratacós, M. Serotonin: Function, Structure and Production.