How to Increase Dopamine -- Raising Dopamine Naturally

Dopamine is one of the complex brain chemical messengers known as a neurotransmitter. Learning how to increase dopamine levels in the brain requires a little bit of background knowledge on neurotransmitters and how they're built. So let's talk about that first. A neurotransmitter like dopamine is a chemical messenger that's released into a part of the brain called the synapse, to deliver a specific message to a receptor port. The more dopamine is released, the more of a chance that the message will be relayed successfully. Deficiencies in dopamine levels can result in poor memory recall, depression, lack of motivation, procrastination, and the inability to enjoy things. It's a chemical that you definitely don't want to be deficient in.

When people experience the symptoms of depression and mood or motivation issues, the first thing they generally think of is antidepressant prescription drugs, without really knowing what they do or how they operate. Most antidepressant drugs are classified as SSRI drugs, which in basic terms, increase the effectiveness of the neurotransmitter serotonin which is already present in your brain. They don't help your body to produce more neurotransmitters, and are only effective for however long you're taking them. Once you stop, you can actually be in a worse position than when you began. Not only that, but antidepressant drugs focus primarily on the neurotransmitter serotonin, and not dopamine, which can be equally as effective in dealing with depression.

If you're experiencing depression and other symptoms of dopamine deficiency and want to learn how to increase dopamine levels on a more natural and permanent basis, then there are a few things you can do. Unfortunately, you can't just take dopamine in supplement form, because it's too complex of a compound. The stomach and digestive tract would break it down into its basic elements and it wouldn't enter the bloodstream intact as dopamine. Luckily though, dopamine production can be stimulated powerfully through two factors:

• The Amino Acid L-Tyrosine -- There are a few amino acids that are precursors to dopamine. Amino acids have been called the building blocks of life and for good reason. They're the basic elements for most of the many thousands of compounds the body synthesizes on a daily basis. A deficiency in one or more amino acids can have widespread effects on the body, one of which is neurotransmitter deficiency. The amino acid that best functions as a precursor to dopamine is the amino acid L-Tyrosine, pictured below. Taking L-Tyrosine can be a powerful way of encouraging your body to synthesize more dopamine.

• Exercise -- Exercise is another things that can really boost the production and release of neurotransmitters in the body. If you're suffering from depression, lack of motivation, and mental fogginess type issues, you ought to consider adding at least a moderate level of exercise into your day. Not only can exercise stimulate the production and release of neurotransmitters, it also generally boosts the metabolism as well. Bodies that exercise generally produce more chemicals and have more chemical reactions going on in them than sedentary bodies do. Exercise really can solve a lot of problems with mood and motivation.

Besides the amino acid L-Tyrosine, there are a few other natural compounds that encourage the body to produce more dopamine and other neurotransmitters. These are generally marketed as mood support supplements, like the one pictured to the right. Because it's difficult to tell which neurotransmitter might be deficient in the brain, most mood support formulas try and boost all the neurotransmitters and also have a few compounds that increase mental clarity, motivation, and general brain function. Some compounds you might want to look for in mood support formulas are:

• L-Tyrosine
• L-Dopa
• L-Tryptophan
• 5-HTP
• GABA
• Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids
• Gingko Biloba
• St John's Wort