Striving for a Happier Brain

Post by Rebecca Glisson 

The takeaway

Recent studies have examined how happiness originates in the brain. The more we understand how we feel happy, the better we can work toward improving happiness at a societal level.

Searching for happiness in a stressful time

If you’ve been feeling stressed lately by recent events – climate change, political events, economic hardships – and you’re wondering how to find happiness and stay resilient, rest assured that scientists are wondering alongside you. Recent studies are exploring the link between stress and how our brains create the feeling of happiness. The World Health Organization, for example, reports that mental health issues are on the rise globally and that mental health impacts our ability to function in our daily lives. Another study has found that the more income inequality a nation experiences, the greater the inequality in national happiness. By understanding the neurobiology of happiness and how stress interferes, we can work to shape our society to increase overall happiness levels.

Dopamine and social media

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is widely associated with rewarding behavior. For example, when you eat something enjoyable, dopamine is released in the brain, you feel pleasure, and are more likely to repeat that behavior. However, stress can negatively impact how dopamine functions in response to pleasurable behaviors. Studies in rats have found that chronic stress is associated with less dopamine production in response to rewarding stimuli. In people, chronic stress could lead to a smaller and smaller dopamine response over time, which can result in more and more reward-seeking behavior to achieve the same dopamine response. You may have experienced this if you’ve ever gotten caught in a loop of endlessly browsing social media: looking at a new video or seeing a notification only releases a small amount of dopamine that disappears quickly, which starts a loop of further scrolling that releases even more dopamine. Limiting this kind of social media use is recommended, as it prevents you from developing a higher and higher tolerance to the dopamine response.

Oxytocin and social bonding

Another molecule associated with happiness in the brain is oxytocin, a hormone released in response to social bonding. One study found that if given an extra dose of oxytocin, a person will be more friendly to a stranger who gives them help. Another study showed that oxytocin given to depressed patients helps to maintain attention to a happy face. It is no wonder, then, that forced separation from regular social interaction due to pandemic shutdowns would lead to less oxytocin in our systems and less happiness from social lives.

What can we do to increase our happiness?

One science-backed way to increase happiness is by developing and maintaining strong social bonds, which are crucial for our well-being. We can work towards creating spaces for social bonding by designing our cities and living areas to foster meaningful social connections. Libraries and parks are great examples of places such as these where local events can lead to positive social interactions that can decrease our stress levels and increase our happiness over time.

References +

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Berridge, K. C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2011). Building a neuroscience of pleasure and well-being. Psychology of Well-Being: Theory, Research and Practice, 1, 1-26.

Di Chiara, G., Loddo, P., & Tanda, G. (1999). Reciprocal changes in prefrontal and limbic dopamine responsiveness to aversive and rewarding stimuli after chronic mild stress: implications for the psychobiology of depression. Biological psychiatry, 46(12), 1624-1633.

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Human, L. J., Woolley, J. D., & Mendes, W. B. (2018). Effects of oxytocin administration on receiving help. Emotion, 18(7), 980.

Macit, H. B., Macit, G., & Güngör, O. (2018). A research on social media addiction and dopamine driven feedback. Journal of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Economics and Administrative Sciences Faculty, 5(3), 882-897.

Pressman, S. D., Jenkins, B. N., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2019). Positive affect and health: What do we know and where next should we go?. Annual review of psychology, 70(1), 627-650.