How to release endorphins and what they are

If you’ve ever received an award, finished a long workout, or been praised for a project, you’ve probably felt endorphins. These hormones are part of the brain’s chemical reward system. It’s that flush of pleasure we feel when we accomplish something significant or overcome pain. 

Endorphin-boosting activities, like going on a run, listening to music, or spending time with loved ones, can help you feel better and focus on your goals. 

Learn more about how to release endorphins to find a natural boost when you need a pick-me-up.

What are endorphins, and what do they do?

Endorphins are a group of brain chemicals in the pituitary gland, sometimes referred to as hormones or neurotransmitters. They’re a type of opioid that our bodies naturally produce, not to be confused with narcotics or anesthetic opioids. 

Endorphins are our bodies’ natural pain relievers and part of the reward system. We release endorphins during pleasurable activities, like eating, working out, or getting a massage.

This release causes runner’s high, a feeling of euphoria many runners experience after a workout. Other forms of activity can give this rush, too, like dancing or walking around a beautiful place. 

Researchers Schoenfeld and Swanson of Belmont University found that a healthy level of endorphins in the brain promotes neurogenesis — the formation of new neurons. Their study suggests that high-impact aerobic exercise, like running or HIIT workouts, release endorphins that promote this new formation, contributing to a healthy brain.

The different happy hormones

Endorphin function is a vital part of our well-being because they help regulate emotions, making us feel happy and calm. If you’re familiar with endorphins, you’ve probably also heard of other happy hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, all of which improve our mood.

Let’s take a look at endorphins versus dopamine and other chemicals such as serotonin and oxytocin.

• Dopamine: Our bodies release this reward chemical when we accomplish something. It motivates us to keep performing and excelling. Pleasurable activities like listening to music increase dopamine.

• Serotonin: A mood stabilizer and cognitive regulator, serotonin keeps you calm, collected, and sharp. Its long list of responsibilities includes memory function, physiological processes, and reward responses.

  Serotonin’s partially influenced by gut health and is a key player in the relationship between nutrition and mental health.

• Oxytocin: Also known as the “love hormone,” our bodies release oxytocin in situations that produce affection and connection, like seeing friends and family. Human connection also reduces stress hormones like cortisol to improve mental health. 

While each of these chemicals plays a vital role in our daily well-being, releasing too many can cause imbalances, negatively affecting your mood. Like most things related to our physical and mental health systems, balance is vital. 

Benefits of endorphins

Apart from relieving pain and providing pleasure, endorphins perform many vital functions, including:

• Reducing stress, anxiety, and depression: Endorphins help us manage our psychological reactions to emotional distress and discomfort.

• Regulating mood: Endorphins keep us from going through mood swings — like those caused by hormone imbalances — without reason.

• Improving self-esteem: By managing the negative emotions caused by physical and emotional pain, endorphins help us feel better, even when things aren’t going well.

• Assisting immune response: Endorphins strengthen our natural reactions to foreign bodies, a vital part of our physical health. They keep us from getting sick and manage the discomfort when we do.

• Streamlining cognitive processes: Endorphins also contribute to peak cognitive performance, modulating brain processes and helping us take in information.

The dangers of low endorphin levels

Like low levels of some hormones, low endorphins can sometimes have adverse effects, such as:

• Depression and anxiety: Abnormal endorphin levels appear in patients with depression and anxiety. Lower endorphin levels are also associated with substance abuse. Endorphins comprise part of the brain’s reward system, and people with inconsistent supply sometimes experience mental illness as a consequence.

• Sleep problems: A lack of endorphins can produce aches and pains throughout the body, and these pains often impact our sleep. Maintaining a regular sleep cycle is vital to mental health. Endorphins help us relax and sleep well.

• Mood swings and impulsiveness: Endorphin deficiency can affect our decision-making skills and lead us to act in the heat of the moment without considering the consequences.

How to release endorphins

Most people can benefit from more endorphins, even when big-picture things in life are going smoothly. If you’re feeling down or just need a boost, try some of these practices to stimulate natural endorphin production.

1. Run

More studies appear every year touting the benefits of exercise for mental health. Endorphins, acting as natural pain relievers, soothe exercise-related discomfort and spur runners (or other athletes) to faster speeds. 

That said, although running and endorphins are historically connected, research shows that runners' high might not be endorphin-specific. Endocannabinoids — with similar effects to cannabis — also appear in our brains after a long run, which could contribute to exercise-induced euphoria.

Either way, exercise can improve your mood. 

2. Dance

Running isn’t the only form of exercise with health benefits. Other physical practices, like dancing, increase endorphin production.

Dancing might be an easier way to move your body and encourage your brain to give you an endorphin boost. In fact, dance movement therapy (DMT) has been found to increase happy hormones and stabilize the nervous system.

Your kitchen or living room is a great place to put on some music and dance, either alone or with a friend or family member. If you’re not a fan of regulated exercise, some free-form dance might do the trick to ground yourself and brighten the mood. It’s okay to feel silly at first — that’s part of the experience.

3. Eat your favorite food

A healthy diet contributes to positive mental health. Eating food with special memories attached to it or that you haven’t had for a long time is a quick way to spur endorphin production and make you feel happier. Feeding your cravings increases feelings of pleasure and releases feel-good hormones.

One surefire way to release endorphins with food is to eat something spicy. Spicy foods like peppers contain a chemical called capsaicin, which makes your body think you’re in pain. And when your body responds to that pain, it releases endorphins.

4. Meditate

As a practice, meditation is both mental and physical. Relaxation techniques like meditation or mindfulness are all about reducing excessive brain activity and making you feel calm and elated.

But even though you’re not moving your body while meditating, you’re still using it for a physical process, and it releases endorphins. Meditation helps you relax, recover from burnout, and alleviate stress.

5. Listen to music

Like eating a favorite food, listening to music releases endorphins. Music evokes a range of emotions, many of which spur the pituitary gland to give an endorphin rush and relieve stress. If you’re creative, making music is also a great form of self-expression to engage your brain and manage your emotions.

6. Laugh

You may have heard of strange ways to “trick” your brain into feeling happy, like forcing yourself to smile even when you’re sad. Although it may sound (and feel) silly, there’s hard science backing up this practice. Laughter therapy reduces stress and anxiety with endorphins.

If you’re feeling down, do things that make you smile and laugh, like seeing a friend who makes you happy or watching a funny TV show. Even small moments of joy can help you overcome adversity and feel better when times are tough.

It might seem difficult when you’re in a rut but try. You might surprise yourself.

7. Try acupuncture

If you like to try new methods and practices to improve mental and physical health, acupuncture is a great option. Acupuncture relieves pain by increasing both endorphin and serotonin levels. The slight prick of needles in this holistic wellness practice produces a corresponding shot of endorphins.

It might seem intimidating, but it’s a good option if you’re not afraid of a pinprick.

8. Spend time with loved ones

Find quality time with people who calm you and give you a boost when you’re feeling down. Talk to them about how you’re feeling and get the negative things off your chest. That way, you can make space for more positive practices and social health.

And sometimes, just knowing there are people out there who care about us is enough to encourage positive chemical production.

Endorphins and you

Endorphins are an essential part of our everyday mental and physical function. We often don’t realize when we’re releasing them during small achievements and positive actions — and on the same note, we might not realize when we’re lacking them. 

Learning how to release endorphins improves your mood and concentration, and the tips above can help you manage these hormones in a healthy way. Practice emotional regulation for a more balanced life, and above all, do things that make you happy.