Health Mental 30 Natural Ways To Improve Mood By Increasing Our Opioids

30 Natural Ways To Improve Mood By Increasing Our Opioids

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You don’t have to take heroin or painkillers to feel good.  If your life is healthy enough and incorporates enough of these strategies, you should feel good enough with these natural highs.  Of course, taking drugs will have a more pronounced effect, but that’s not the state most of us are looking for.  We just want to feel pretty good.

An Intro To Your Brain’s Opioid System

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The brain opioid systems are known to play an important role in motivation, emotion, attachment behaviour, the response to stress and pain, and the control of food intake (R).

There are four opioid receptors in our brain: mu-opioid (MOR), kappa-opioid (KOR), delta-opioid (DOR) and nociceptin (NOP).  Increasing these receptors or the molecules that bind to them will produce an opioid high.

Mu-Opioid Receptors

Activation of the mu receptor by a substance such as morphine causes sedation, euphoria and decreased respiration (R).

Although morphine increases sedation, it decreases the total amount of deep sleepand rapid eye movement sleep in humans (R).

Individual differences in the function of the mu-receptor system predict personality traits that confer vulnerability to or resiliency against risky behaviors such as the predisposition to develop substance use disorders (R).

Delta-Opioid Receptors

Molecules that bind to delta opioid receptors show robust evidence of both antidepressant effects and also increase of BDNF production in the brain in animal models of depression. (R)

They also protect against heart damage from strokes by preconditioning our heart.(R)  DORs are neuroprotective as well and work in part by reducing TNF (R).

Activation of delta receptors produces some pain relief, although less than that of mu-opioid activators. (R)

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Kappa-Opioid Receptors

Kappa activation actually produces a bad mood (dysphoria), some pain relief (analgesic), urination (diuretic) and in high dosages produce hallucinations (R).

Activation of the KOR opposes many of the effects of the MOR and can prevent addiction to morphine, alcohol, and cocaine. It can cause an appetite increase and is activated by stress (R). KOR activation causes a release of prolactin, a hormone known for its important role in learning, neuronal plasticity and myelination (R). Ketamine, oxycodone, morphine and menthol all bind to KOR.

30 Natural Ways To Get A Drug-Free High

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Implementing these steps can also wean people off of opiate addiction.  Combining many of these will be especially helpful for such individuals.

All of these give us a positive feeling, and at least some of it is because of the opioid system in our body.

The following either increase activation of our receptors, increase endorphins, which naturally activate our mu-opioid receptors, or make our receptors more sensitive.

1) Take a Cold Shower

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If you’ve ever taken a cold shower, you’ll know you feel like a rockstar when you turn the faucet off.  It’s a bitch while you’re in the shower, but after you reap the rewards.

Intermittent swimming in cold water induces pain relief mechanisms that are mediated by our opioid system (R).  This works by acutely increasing stress.

Cold exposure also increases “Heat Shock Inducible Factor”, which increases opioid receptors in experimental rats.  Specifically, mu and delta opioid receptors increase (R, R2), the same receptors that heroin and morphine work on.  By increasing these receptors, our innate opioids are more likely to bind to  receptors and activate them.  Long-term or high-dose use of opioids reduces the number of mu-opioid receptors (R).

2) Exercise More

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Physical exertion can release opioids and is famously called the “runner’s high” (R).

Researchers have found that light-to-moderate weight training or cardiovascular exercise doesn’t produce endorphins, only heavy weights or training that incorporates sprinting or other anaerobic exertion (R).

When your body crosses over from an aerobic state to an anaerobic state, it’s suddenly operating without enough oxygen to satisfy the muscles and cells screaming out for it. This is when the “runner’s high” occurs (R).

Endorphins= (Endogenous morphine).

3) Sleep More

Sleep deprivation decreases mu and delta opioid receptor binding in the rat limbic system, which controls emotions to increase feelings of pleasure (R).  The effect is less of a good mood with the same amount of endorphins that our body produces.

Endorphins= (Endogenous morphine).

4) Binge On Sugar (or don’t if you don’t want to get addicted)

I don’t recommend this because it’s not healthy, but sugar can create somewhat of a high.

Most drugs of abuse increase dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. Under select dietary circumstances, sugar can have effects similar to a drug of abuse (R).

The nucleus accumbens has an important role in pleasure including laughter, reward, and reinforcement learning, as well as fear, aggression, impulsivity, addiction, and the placebo effect (R)

Repeated and excessive intake of sugar mimicked the effect on neurotransmitters in a similar manner to morphine or nicotine (R, R2).

Rats show signs of dopamine sensitization and opioid dependence when given intermittent access to sucrose, such as alterations in dopamine and mu-opioid receptors (R).

When these animals then fasted, they had the same chemical changes as withdrawal effects from addictive drugs, suggesting that the rats had become sugar-dependent.  Specifically, acetylcholine was higher and dopamine was lower in the nucleus accumbens, which causes anxiety and cravings (R, R2).

Sugar-dependent animals have a delayed satiation response (acetylcholine release is delayed), drink more sugar, and release more dopamine than normal rats (R).

 

 

5) Get Some Sun

Subjectively, most of us feel better when we get some sun.   Excessive sun tanning can result in addictive behavior.   Even low-dose UV light exposure increases endorphins in your blood, which are created by your skin (R, R2).

No need to go crazy with it.  A half hour of full body sun will make you ~5% happier without an increase in skin cancer.  If you can’t get sun for whatever reason, then you can use a UVB light, which will also produce vitamin D for you.

UVA doesn’t seem to increase endorphins (R).

6) Fall In Love or Spray Some Oxytocin

Oxytocin (not to be confused with oxycodone) is a significant love and pleasure molecule and it increases prosocial behavior. Oxytocin is often referred to as the “love hormone” because it facilitates trust and attachment between individuals.

According to some studies in animals, oxytocin inhibits the development of tolerance to various addictive drugs (opiates, cocaine, alcohol), and reduces withdrawal symptoms (R).

Oxytocin activates the opioid system to a degree, especially the mu– and the kappa-receptors in the “periaqueductal grey matter.”(retracted study) (R)

In some studies, high levels of plasma oxytocin have been correlated with romantic attachment (R).

You can buy Oxytocin spray or Oxytocin sublingual, which is a natural compound our body produces.   L Reuteri increases oxytocin. (R)

7) Take a Hot Shower/Bath

We all know that a hot shower does wonders for our mood.  Mice who took a short swim in warm water were found to have increased beta endorphins and pain relief (R).

8) Get a Massage

Massage-like stroking induces anti-pain effects, and this is mediated by the love and trust molecule, oxytocin.  Oxytocin interacts with the opioid system, especially the mu– and the kappa-receptors in the “periaqueductal grey matter.” (R)

9) Hang Out With Some Friends

It turns out that the same area for drug addiction in the brain is responsible for positive social interactions.  Is it any wonder why people are addicted to hanging out with people?

A 2011 study found that stimulation of mu-opioid receptors in the nucleus accumbens is an important neural mechanism for the attribution of positive value to social interactions in adolescent rats. (R)

Altered receptor function may underlie social impairments in psychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, or personality disorders. (R)

10) Butyrate

Hi-maize sure does give you a high, but it takes the next day to hit.  To really feel good you need 120g of this stuff or 30g taken 4 times a day.  Resistant starch digests in your large intestine to produce butyrate.

butyrate-derivatives-sodium-butyrate-phenylbutyrate-trybutyrine-butyric-acid-butyrate-prodrugs-butyrate-producing-bacteria/”>Butyrate increases mu-opioid receptors (R).

One study found that resistant starch consistently produces more butyrate than other types of dietary fiber (R).

Butyrate is a powerful HDAC inhibitor, which is the same mechanism as valproic acid/depakote.  HDAC inhibitors uncoil histones and epigenetically express genes.

HDAC Inhibitors are mood stabilizers, anti-epileptic, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. (R)

Butyrate increases the protein CREB, which increases expression of BDNF, a neurotrophic factor.  These mechanisms help in producing an anti-depressant effect.

I use both of these products:

11) Eat Tasty Foods

Studies have shown previously that stimulation of mu-opiate receptors within the ventral striatum increases intake of palatable food.

The over-consumption of readily available and highly palatable foods likely contributes to the growing rates of obesity worldwide. Palatable food is thought to work via the opioid system to create these addictions (R,R2).

Eating a nice juicy steak gives you a good feeling, without the addictive properties.  Stick with whole foods and you should be alright (lectin sensitive people should not eat whole foods mostly) (R).

12) Eat Chocolate

We all are familiar with the feel-good sensations we get from chocolate. Epicatechins in chocolate acts mainly via delta-opioid receptors, which also produce cardiac protection from stroke injury (R).

I recommend 85% Chocolate.

13) Eat Foods with Morphine-Like Characteristics

Make sure you aren’t sensitive to these proteins.

  • Casomorphin (from casein found in milk of mammals, including cows) (R)
  • Gluten exorphin (from gluten found in wheat, rye, barley) (R)
  • Gliadorphin/gluteomorphin (from gluten found in wheat, rye, barley) (R)
  • Soymorphin-5 (from soybean) (R)
  • Rubiscolin (from spinach) (R)
  • Menthol – Found in numerous species of mint, (including peppermint, spearmint, and watermint), the naturally-occurring compound menthol activates the kappa opioid receptor (R)

14) Use Alcohol in Moderation

Drinking alcohol induces opioid release in the nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex, areas of the brain implicated in reward valuation (R).

A drink or two a night is fine and could be used in combination with other opioid increasers.

The research on whether alcohol is healthy is all over the map, but a drink is likely healthy for most healthy people.  My guess is that our genes determine if alcohol is healthy for us, so listen to your body to know if it works for you.

15) Take Magnesium

Studies show that magnesium amplifies the analgesic effect of low-dose morphine in conditions of sustained pain (R, R2).  So while this one won’t give you a high directly, it’ll allow our natural opioids to be more effective.

Magnesium is your body’s form of “special K” or ketamine.  Both act via antagonizing NMDA receptors.

You can either take a Magnesium pill or just eat lots of plant-based foods, which have adequate magnesium.

16) Stress

I always noticed that when I was stressed I was more anxious, but I was never in an unhappy mood during stress.

It turns out that stress acts in the short term like morphine.  Depending on the nature of stressors, different pain relief mechanisms can be activated (R).

This kind of makes sense from an evolutionary point of view.  Do you want to be feeling pain from that sprained ankle while running away from a lion?

It’s important to keep in mind that stress can also lead to depression by increasing dynorphins (R).  But a little stress can go a long way, as long as it’s only for short durations.

17) Acupuncture

Our innate opioids play an important role in acupuncture effects. In general, acupuncture activates our opioid system by influencing the release and synthesis of opioids, and regulating the function and expression of their  receptors (R).

18) Take Low Dose Naltrexone

Ok, this one isn’t natural, but there’s pretty much no side effects.

The current theory behind Low dose naltrexone’s mechanism of action is that by inhibiting opioid receptors, it causes the body to increase production of endorphins and enkephalins in order to compensate for the blocked receptors. These increased levels of endogenous opioids persist after the naltrexone has been eliminated from the body. Thus, regular doses of low-dose naltrexone can be used to increase a patient’s endorphin and enkephalin levels (R).

I use this Low dose naltrexone.

19) Don’t Sleep With The Lights On

Mu-opioid receptors show a circadian rhythm.  When we disrupt this rhythm chronically, usually the systems that it controls get disrupted as well and don’t function the way they’re supposed to (R).

Experimental animals exposed to constant white fluorescent light had a significant decrease of tissue content of opioids (enkephalins, which bind to delta opioid receptors) during the dark-phase of the 24-h circadian rhythm (R).

I use these Glasses at night to block blue/green light at night.

20) Wear Red Glasses or Take Melatonin

Melatonin exerts its analgesic actions by increasing the release of beta-endorphins (R).  The effect of melatonin is surely weak, but it’s more than nothing.

We used to get more of this hormone since we used to be exposed to more darkness before the advent of modern lights.

Light blocks melatonin production.  You can use red Glasses to produce melatonin 2 hours before bed or take Melatonin pills.

21) Get Zapped With tDCS

tDCS is meant for the serious biohackers.  I don’t recommend this unless you have a condition that this can be helped by such as a mood disorder or if you just have a low IQ.

A study in 2012 showed an increase of endogenous ?-opioid release during acute motor cortex neuromodulation with tDCS (R).

I’ve zapped my brain with this probably a dozen times, though I don’t have a need for it currently.   It does put me in a good mood, though, so I can see how that happens.

22) Hold Your Breath (or don’t)

Ok, I don’t actually recommend this, but chronic intermittent hypoxia decreases pain sensitivity and increases the expression of Heat shock Inducible Factor, which increases opioid receptors in experimental rats.  Specifically, mu and delta opioid receptors increase (R).

23) Kratom

Kratom is a plant widely used in Thailand.  Some estimates say 70% of the males chew on this plant.

I don’t recommend using this unless you use painkillers or other morphine-like substances.

Kratom activates the mu-opioid receptors like morphine but is less addictive than traditionally abused opioid drugs.  Its effects differ significantly from those of opiates.  Kratom does not appear to have significant adverse effects, and in particular appears not to cause the hypoventilation typical of other opioids (R).

I took 1g and I felt sedated, but that’s probably because I have a low tolerance.  I’d recommend 500mg as a supplement to a healthy lifestyle, BUT ONLY IF YOU NEED IT.  This means, if you’re someone who’s ready to go on painkillers, then this is a better option.  I don’t use it for myself.

24) Use LLLT

Low-level laser therapy has many therapeutic benefits, one of which is pain relief.  It has been found part of the pain-relief mechanism is because LLLT increases our body’s natural opioids (R).

I’ve used this on my brain and it has a sedating and mood enhancing effect, which feels a bit like opioids.  Read the linked post on where to buy it and how to use it.

I use this LLLT device.

25) Pregnenolone

Pregnenolone is the best mood enhancer.  One of its products, estrogen, increases beta-endorphins. (R)   However, pregnenolone and almost all of its breakdown products increase mood in some way or another.

26) Probiotics: Acidophilus

Acidophilus is capable of increasing the expression of mu-opioid and cannabinoidreceptors in intestines and has morphine-like effects. (R)

This is especially important to people with gut pain/IBS.  I don’t know if it has this effect in other cells, but it might.

I recommend the linked Acidophilus in order to get enough.

27) Chili/Cayenne

Capsaicin, found in cayenne and chili, increases endorphins. (R)

28) Marijuana

The two most active ingredients in marijuana -THC and CBD – both activate mu and delta opioid receptors. (R)

29) Poppy Seeds

Poppy Seeds have morphine and codeine in them. (R)  I’ve eaten 100g of the stuff and definitely felt the opioid effect.  100g equals 0.5mg-20mg of morphine. (R)  The usual morphine dosage for pain is 10-15mg.

30) Nicotine

Nicotine increases beta-endorphins. (R)

Disclaimer

The opinions on this blog and the references cited are for information purposes only, and are not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe for any illness or condition. For your specific diagnosis and treatment, consult with your doctor or health care provider.

For real, though, I don’t diagnose,  treat or cure diseases.   That’s for your doctor.

My role is solely to give over the most cutting-edge scientific information.  Therefore, this site is purely for informational purposes.

The best way  to diagnose a disease is by going to highly competent specialists (not alternative doctors).  Sometimes these specialists can offer adequate treatments, but most of the time they aren’t informed about the full range of options available.

I inform people of the full gamut of options and what I would do for myself if I were faced with the same set of circumstances.

You can then take this new information to your health care professional and choose the best course of action.