Dopamine, A Neurotransmitter That Plays A Role In Feeling Pleasure

Illustration of happy smiling woman (Unsplash / Brooke Cagle)

JAKARTA - Doing daily activities will not feel 'full' without the maximum work of dopamine. What is Dopamine? Dopamine is one of 40 neurotransmitters in the human body. In the nervous system of the brain, dopamine serves as a messenger.

Dopamine is also known as the happy hormone, in addition to serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. Launching Healthline, Monday, March 1, dopamine is associated with pleasant sensations, memory, functioning in the motor system, and the learning process.

Although both are related to the sleep cycle, dopamine and serotonin serve different aspects. Dopamine can block norepinephrine and keep you on your toes longer.

Meanwhile, serotonin plays a role in keeping you awake, preventing deep sleep, appetite, digestion which intersects with serotonin's main task, which is to regulate mood.

The main functions of dopamine are the following 6:

Affects memory

Because it works on the nerves of the brain, dopamine also helps improve a person's memory. From memory, a person will also be affected by motivation. If you are not excited or have no motivation, your dopamine levels will drop.

This keeps a person from remembering the things they are attracted to. That is, when the body is deficient in dopamine, the effect will be weak, lackluster, and not interested in doing something, for example completing work.

Control motor functions

A person's motor skills are also influenced by the task of neurotransmitters on the brain. When motor skills decrease, for example in people with Parkinson's, dopamine is at low levels, causing motor problems.

Effect on focus

Low dopamine levels can make a person unfocused. It can also be related to attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit disorder and difficulty focusing. Park Bom, a former member of 2NE1, has experienced ADD and it affects the mood to soar weight.

While working, a person needs dopamine to complete a task. Without this one neurotransmitter hormone, a person will be easily distracted by other things and ultimately make it difficult to concentrate.

Affects mood

Reflecting on Park Bom's experience, dopamine can control mood. If there is a lack of concentration, stress levels increase so that mood control decreases.

When you want to enjoy life, dopamine is the key. Reporting from BBC Good Food, the dopamine diet can be done by eating several types of foods that can trigger the production of happy neurotransmitter hormones.

These include foods containing omega-3s, bananas, almonds, dark chocolate, and cheese or yogurt.

Illustration of working mood (Unsplash / You x ventures)

Affects cognitive abilities

Cognitive abilities are activities that involve the work of the brain including the ability to think, remember, solve problems, and make decisions. Dopamine, which is released in the frontal lobe of the brain, transmits capabilities and information related to cognition.

If the body lacks dopamine, it may be a more dilemma when it comes to deciding, solving problems, and thinking.

Keeps you awake

This is why dopamine affects daily activities. During the daytime, dopamine has the highest levels so that during the morning to evening a person has activities related to cognitive and motor aspects.

Although this sixth function of dopamine can be controlled through the habits of each person, it is very important to be aware of its function and maximize its function as a happy hormone. The effect of not being able to control dopamine production for example can have schizophrenia.

Because patients with schizophrenic disorders have high dopamine levels, it keeps them awake longer.

One natural and healthy way to maintain the body's hormonal balance is to exercise or keep the body active. Instead of increasing dopamine with drugs that will endanger health, make sure you exercise regularly so you can feel the sensation of pleasure.