How to Release Endorphins

Endorphins are a group of peptide hormones that occur naturally in the brain that, when released, increase your body's threshold for pain and affect the way you feel emotionally. Endorphins are chemically very much like morphine. There are a few things you can do to possibly release endorphins and increase your mood.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Exercise
• Soothing music
• Spicy food
• Sunlight
• Healthy sex life
• Laughter
• Tears
• Sweets

1. Exercise hard. Most athletes will tell you of a "runner's high" that they sometimes feel when they push their bodies to the limit. Endorphins are released when you are involved in strenuous exercise that allows your body to go beyond physical pain and its limitations and it may leave you with a euphoric high.
2. Listen to soothing music such as classical and instrumental selections. It has been found that thirty minutes of listening to this kind of music has released endorphins that have an effect equal to that of the muscle relaxer pill known as Valium.
3. Eat some spicy food. Spicy food can trigger the brain to release endorphins because it thinks the mouth is on fire and needs chemical relief to the brain.
4. Spend some time in the sun. Overexposure to light can also cause a release of endorphins.
5. Have a healthy sex life. Intense pleasure causes the same effect as intense pain when it comes to endorphins.
6. Laugh and cry. Some people claim that laughing hard for ten minutes can give at least two hours of pain-free sleep to those affected by painful illnesses. Some researchers claim that the body releases endorphins to release pain while experiencing the emotion that causes tears.
7. Eat something sweet or have something chocolate. These items stimulate your brain's pleasure pathways and cause the release of endorphins. Unfortunately when the short-lived sugar rush is over, so is the effect of endorphins and you will be left feeling tired and worn out.

Tips & Warnings

• In addition to a change in mood, some scientists say that endorphins make our immune system stronger, lower blood pressure and could even slow down our body's aging process.
• Sometimes the release of endorphins can change your mood, but sometimes it has no affect at all.