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What Are Endorphins? How They Naturally Boost Your Mood

Miss Tooba

July 25, 2025

Endorphins are hormones released when your body experiences stress or pain. Your brain produces them, and your body uses them as messengers. Endorphins are created to lessen stress, ease pain, and elevate mood. Exercise, food, sex, massages, and many other activities can all increase endorphins.

What are endorphins?

Endorphin is derived from the terms "endogenous," meaning within the body, and "morphine," which is an opiate that relieves pain. All things considered, endorphins are organic analgesics. They are "feel-good" chemicals because they can improve your mood and make you feel better.

Your body releases hormones called endorphins in response to stress or pain. They are released during relaxing activities such as eating, exercising, getting a massage, and having sex. Endorphins enhance your feeling of well-being, lessen tension, and ease pain.

Both the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, which are parts of the brain, produce endorphins. They are a kind of neurotransmitter, or messenger, in your body. They transmit messages throughout your neurological system and bind to the opioid receptors, which are the reward regions of your brain.

Types of endorphins:

Endorphins come in four types:

Alpha-endorphins
Beta-endorphins: The most prevalent endorphins produced by the central and peripheral nervous systems. The anterior pituitary gland converts pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) into β-endorphins, which attach to the μ-opioid receptor. When pain is stimulated, they activate the GABA neurotransmitter, which causes dopamine to be released.
Gamma-endorphins
Sigma-endorphins

Some people experience sadness and depression after their endogenous endorphin levels drop. These people may benefit from several lifestyle changes to improve their mood.

How do endorphins work?

When your body experiences stress or pain, endorphins are released. These are released by your body to aid in your survival. Your brain receives pain signals from the nerves in your body when you experience pain. To stop the nerve cells from receiving pain signals, your brain releases endorphins.

This essentially stops you from feeling any pain. It enables you to carry on with your life even when things are difficult or stressful. If something makes you feel good, you're more likely to do it since you're naturally trying to avoid pain.

Endorphin deficiency:

Women are more likely than men to suffer from endorphin insufficiency. People who are genetically deficient in endorphins are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and suffer from psychiatric illnesses like borderline personality disorder. Symptoms of endorphin deficiency include:

Chocolate, booze, and drug cravings
Weeping over trivial matters and feeling more depressed
Unable to tolerate losses
Incredibly sensitive to pain

One can determine the amount of beta-endorphins present in the plasma by:

Blood test
Radioimmunoassays (RIA)
Urine test

What stimulates endorphin release?

Foods high in vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, massage therapy, electroacupuncture, exercise, and natural supplements like chamomile and lavender oil can all promote the release of endorphins.

Anabolic steroids, heroin, or alcohol all promote the release of endorphins. Nevertheless, electroacupuncture helps to stimulate the body's endorphins, preventing withdrawal symptoms in those who are addicted to the above-mentioned narcotics that are harmful to the body.

How does exercise help with endorphin release?

It is well known that exercise releases endorphins, particularly beta-endorphin.

Exercise has three primary effects:

Runner's high: Within 30 to 60 seconds of intense exercise, particularly in men, levels of beta-endorphin and other hormones (such as cortisol, catecholamines, serotonin, norepinephrine, and growth hormone) rise. A sense of euphoria is brought on by the release and rise in blood levels of beta-endorphin. However, moderately intense exercisers do not have a pronounced euphoric impact.
Exercise addiction: It has been observed that individuals can get addicted to exercise in a similar manner to substance abuse. Hence, the negative effects of reducing exercise intensity in such individuals include depression, irritability, among others.
Increased pain tolerance: Studies have suggested that regular exercise increases one's ability to tolerate pain.

Tai Chi and yoga are additional types of exercise that promote the release of endorphins. People with anxiety disorders have been shown to benefit from meditation's calming effects.

Natural sources of endorphins and supplements:

Dopamine is released in response to beta-endorphin stimulation, which results in feelings of pleasure or euphoria. Dopamine-stimulating foods include the following:

Foods high in protein include fish, poultry, lentils, eggs, cheese, and wheat germ.
Fruits and vegetables: cardamom, watermelons, bananas, apples, beets, and chillies
Steer clear of refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, and processed foods.
Omega-3 foods are recommended for those with anxiety problems.

In addition to being a herb used for therapeutic purposes, Rhodiola rosea is known to cause the brain to release beta-endorphins. The pharmaceutical ingredient in this herb, rosiridin, is used as an antidepressant.

The following supplements are regarded as good sources of dopamine, even though definitive data about the positive effects of natural supplements has not been found.

Endorphin synthesis is aided by vitamins found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Supplemental multivitamins are another way to get endorphins.
D-phenylalanine and L-phenylalanine, or DLPA, are an amino acid combination that helps cure endorphin deficiency syndrome.

Among the methods to likely increase endorphin levels to combat anxiety and depression are massage treatment, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy, and the use of herbs like kava, gingko biloba, and chamomile.

Benefits of endorphins:

The benefits of endorphins are numerous. According to studies, they can be beneficial in the following ways:

Reducing depressive symptoms: Research has demonstrated that the endorphins generated during physical activity can alleviate depressive symptoms.
Reducing stress and anxiety: Research has demonstrated that stress and anxiety are reduced when endorphin levels rise.
Enhancing self-image: Research has indicated that endorphins can boost confidence, which in turn can improve self-esteem.
Helping you lose weight: Endorphin release has been demonstrated to control hunger.
Reducing pain during labor: Research has indicated that increased endorphin levels can reduce pain during childbirth.

Additional health tips to boost endorphin release in your body:

Laugh a lot and be joyful: It eliminates anxiety and depression from the brain and aids in the release of feel-good endorphins. Laughter enhances a person's mood and resolve while strengthening social ties. Another technique to lift someone's spirits is through dance and music.
Stay in shape: Regular exercise causes the release of endorphins. Endorphins, which are released during exercise, provide people with a feeling of well-being. Meditation, Tai Chi, yoga, and dancing all aid in the release of endorphins.
Herbs: One way to treat anxiety and depression is through aromatherapy. For relaxation, lavender and rose oils are recommended. Herbs like ginkgo biloba and chamomile have demonstrated encouraging results in reducing stress.
Have intimacy: People feel happier after making love because it calms their bodies and likely causes endorphins to be released.
Eat well: Chocolate, wine, and alcohol give people a sense of pleasure, but they also cause addictive tendencies. But without the risk of addiction, diets high in protein, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids offer a comparable endorphin increase.

Conclusion:

Endorphins are essential neurochemicals that the body naturally produces to improve mood, reduce pain, and cope with stress. Both physical and mental health depend on them because of their capacity to increase positive emotions and lessen negative ones. Exercise, laughter, eating favorite foods, and mindfulness are among activities that people can undertake to raise their endorphin levels and increase their general well-being. A natural route to a happier, healthier life is to understand endorphins.