Serotonin: Functions, Benefits and Imbalance

Serotonin is the feel-good chemical in our body that acts both as a neurotransmitter and a hormone. It not only lifts your mood, but it also helps your body work smoothly. It plays a crucial role in how you eat, sleep, and heal. Serotonin production is a difficult process that requires balance in nutrition, brain chemistry, and overall health. There are many natural ways to balance serotonin. Read on to know more.

Serotonin plays a key role in many processes in your body, from regulating mood to supporting healing. Some of its main functions include:

• Mood Regulation

Serotonin, present in your brain, helps you stay calm, focused, and emotionally balanced. Normal levels of serotonin are linked to happiness and stability, and low levels are connected to depression and anxiety.

• Digestive Support

Around 90% of serotonin is found in the gut, where it helps move food through the digestive system, protects the digestive tract, and controls appetite.

• Controls Nausea

A sudden increase of serotonin in the gut can signal the brain, creating the feeling of nausea. That’s why many anti-nausea medicines work by targeting serotonin receptors.

• Improves Sleep

Serotonin works with dopamine to improve sleep quality. It’s also needed to produce melatonin, the hormone that controls your body’s sleep-wake cycle.

• Wound Healing

When you get injured, platelets in your blood release serotonin. This helps narrow blood vessels, form clots, and speed up the healing process.

• Bone Health

Too much serotonin in the gut weakens bones, and the risk of fractures or osteoporosis increases.

• Sexual Health

Along with dopamine, serotonin influences sexual desire and overall reproductive health.

Serotonin plays a vital role in mental health conditions, especially in mood regulation. Early theories and research show that low serotonin levels are associated with depression, but recent research shows that many mood disorders, like depression, are caused by a combination of life events, overall health and brain changes. Despite this complexity, antidepressants remain a key treatment option, frequently combined with therapy to support recovery and emotional well-being.

There are several ways to increase serotonin levels, such as:

1. Supplements:

• Dietary supplements include tryptophan, probiotics and SAMe.

• Herbal supplements include ginseng and ST. John’s wort.

2. Natural Remedies:

• Exercise

Regular exercise can help you increase serotonin levels.

• Sunlight exposure

Try to get 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight daily to increase serotonin and vitamin D. Not getting enough sunlight exposure can cause seasonal affective disorder.

• Healthy eating habits

Some evidence suggests that including foods that support serotonin production may also help improve mood. Many natural products contain tryptophan and the amino acids, such as salmon, eggs, cheese, turkey, tofu, pineapple, nuts, oats and seeds.

• Meditation

Regular meditation can ease stress and promote a more positive mindset.

Medication and supplements taken to increase serotonin levels, if not regulated well, may lead to serotonin syndrome. This may occur when drug dosages are increased too quickly or when new medications affecting serotonin are added. Serotonin syndrome includes:

• Tremors

• Sweating

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Restlessness

• Anxiety

Severe symptoms can include:

• Headache

• Flushed skin

• Dilated pupils

• Disorientation

• Shivering

• Increased reflexes (hyperreflexia)

• Muscle twitches or spasms

• High fever

• Muscle stiffness

• High blood pressure

You should consult a doctor to diagnose and treat this syndrome. In severe cases, tests are needed to assess its severity and plan appropriate treatment. These tests may include urine tests, blood tests, brain imaging, and spinal taps. Hospitalisation is sometimes required for severe cases, and with prompt treatment, recovery from the symptoms typically takes 24 to 72 hours.