What I Do to Increase my Naturally Low Dopamine Levels
For more energy, motivation, and all around happiness
In the last 18 months, I’ve been on quite the journey to improve my mental, physical, and emotional health.
Most of the changes to my diet, exercise, and supplement regimen have simply involved a lot of trial and error, but there have been a few tests that have helped point me in the right direction to get to the foundational causes of my health issues.
One of these tests was a 23andMe genetic profile, which was then interpreted by the MTHFR Support SNP reports, which was then interpreted by my naturopathic doctor.
Yes, it’s a lot of hoops to jump through, but I think it was well worth the time and cost for even the little bit of info I’ve gotten from it so far.
What Genetic Testing Told Me
If you know anything about genetic testing, you most likely have heard about things like the BRCA gene, which is an indication of higher breast cancer risk, or maybe MTHFR, which plays a role in synthesizing the active form of vitamin B9 and may also lead to high levels of homocysteine in the blood, which can lead to a host of different health issues.
But these are just two of dozens of genes we’re able to look at and gain insight from to determine conditions that people may be predisposed to.
For me, it turned out that the gene pathways that were supposed to allow me to produce enough dopamine — aka the feel-good neurotransmitter that promotes pleasure, motivation, attention, learning, and more — were severely impaired. I had maybe half of the properly functioning genetic pathways to produce adequate amounts of dopamine.
Considering I’ve struggled with depression, anxiety, focus and concentration, motivation, and emotional sensitivity for most of my life, this was not a surprise but a bit of an “aha!” moment. Dopamine definitely has an impact on gut health too, so I knew supporting these genetic pathways would be essential to not only my mental health, but my digestive health as well. (Always a work in progress for me.)
When you have to play detective with your own health issues, there is absolutely nothing like figuring out a piece of the puzzle and knowing you have the ability to do something to fix it.
How I Counteract My Naturally Low Dopamine Levels
Unsurprisingly, there is no one-stop-shop cure for this issue. And you should always question anyone that tells you there is a singular cure for any issue you have: drug, supplement, or otherwise — but I digress.
Over the last year and a half, I’ve found that several key supplements, one medication, and a lot of diet and lifestyle modification have really helped me increase my dopamine level. Admittedly, I have not clinically tested it, but I think I can tell from the way I feel that it’s gotten much better — I am largely content, motivated, and just happy to be livin’ life on a consistent basis.
So, in chronological order, here’s what I changed to improve my dopamine production and retention.
Vitamin D
I’ve discussed vitamin D extensively and how beneficial it was for me in one of the first articles I ever posted to Medium, so I’ll just give a quick review here.
One of the first things I did in my health recovery journey was go on high-dose vitamin D for several weeks — I’m talking 50,000 IUs per day! If you’ve never taken vitamin D before, just know that that dose is extremely high.
However, my vitamin D level, which I had tested just before I started seeing my naturopathic doctor, was at 30, literally the very bottom of the medically “acceptable” range. According to my N.D., for a person with zero pre-existing conditions, that level should be somewhere around 75. For a person dealing with chronic illness such as yours truly, that level is more beneficial between 80–90. Needless to say, a level of 30 wasn’t cutting it for me.
Before drastically increasing my vitamin D levels, I was weak, constantly fatigued, had terrible brain fog, and experienced relentless depression and anxiety. I’ve said before that just getting my vitamin D back into an optimal range literally saved my life, and I stand by that statement more than ever.
Research scientist William Wallace posted this info about vitamin D on his Instagram that caught my eye, citing a recent review paper:
Regarding neurotransmission, there is strong evidence (in cell & rodent models for obvious reasons) that vitamin D is important for the development and maintenance of dopamine signaling in the brain (the brain chemical most associated with motivation and reward-driven behavior).
I personally know this to be true, having experienced the dramatic effect that vitamin D had on my return to health and finding out later that I am predisposed to impaired dopamine production.
Knowing how deficient I was in this key nutrient, and knowing that at least a billion people in the world are likely vitamin D deficient (at a level of 20–29) — meaning that probably billions more are simply sub-optimal — I wonder how much healthier we would all be if we just got more vitamin D in our lives, from the sun, our food, and supplementation. I think we’d all be a lot happier and healthier.
LDN
After trying and failing just about every conventional medication available to me for ulcerative colitis, my N.D. started me on LDN — low dose naltrexone — and it finally put me in remission.
Regular old naltrexone is a drug that was first developed in the 80s to counteract opioid addiction — it is an opioid receptor antagonist, meaning it blocks opioid receptors and prevents a person from feeling the effects of the opioid.
It was also in the 80s when doctors began noticing the positive effects of very low doses of the drug, at 10% or less of the standard amount used to treat addiction. At doses around 4.5 mg, it has been shown to increase endorphin production, reduce inflammation, calm the immune system, and decrease pain. It has been extremely successful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including IBD.
After starting LDN, my UC flare was finally calmed down after a few weeks — something that steroids weren’t able to touch in over a year. I also noticed very quickly that it had a very obvious effect on my mood — I felt more energized, motivated, and so much happier. I know this is cliché, but it was actually like emerging from a dense fog to see the sun for the first time in months.
Besides increasing endorphins, LDN also increases dopamine — so it’s like a double happiness (and energy and motivation) boost.
And despite my relatively anti-drug position on just about everything else, this medication has been integral to my recovery thus far. I would like to build myself up to a point where I don’t need it, but for now I’ll definitely be keeping it as part of my wellness toolkit.
Don’t be ashamed to take a medication if you have to!
Sam-e
Sam-e (pronounced Sam-ee) is another interesting supplement that definitely boosts my mood and energy. Sam-e stands for S-adenosyl-L-methionine, which is a naturally occurring compound in the body that “helps produce and regulate hormones and maintain cell membranes,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
According to Nootropics Expert, Sam-e can help “produce and breakdown the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and melatonin in your brain. SAM-e maintains cell membranes and plays a role in a healthy immune system.”
This is another supplement that my naturopathic doctor recommended based on my genetic testing results. It also happens to promote bile production, so that’s a digestion bonus!
And more
These are just a few of the things I take on a daily basis. Right now, I also take B6, B12, zinc & copper, magnesium, probiotics, and others. I’m in the process of trying to cut back and replace as much as possible with whole foods, (High-quality supplements come at a premium!) but for now, the list is still pretty long.
However, I would say that the vitamin D, LDN, and Sam-e are my three biggest dopamine boosters.
Additional Support
Of course, supplements are not nearly the whole story. I also take great care to follow a whole food diet and a low-intensity exercise regimen that makes me feel good and is scientifically proven to boost dopamine levels.
Whole food, metabolically supportive diet
As any functional medicine practitioner will tell you, your diet is absolutely foundational to your health and wellbeing.
For me, up until a few months ago, that meant a diet that was high in both raw and cooked vegetables, some starches, some grains but no gluten, no dairy, some meat and eggs… and a lot of almond butter. (…Like too much.) It also meant intermittent fasting and not eating after 8pm on most days.
These methods work well for many people, but it turns out, this was not a good approach for me at all.
Current nutrition trends tell us to eat more vegetables, huge salads, less meat, and more nuts and seeds. Plant-based is still a massively growing movement (that I’m not opposed to, for the record). And intermittent fasting and fasting in general has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years. However, this way of eating can be problematic for those with compromised digestion and hormone imbalances, especially women. Ahem, me.
Fortunately, I found a health coach on Instagram (I know, I never would have thought either.) who specializes in exactly my issues, and wouldn’t you know it, she introduced me to a new way of eating that also happens to support dopamine production. These are some of the key parts of my diet now:
More protein: I now eat A LOT more protein than I was getting before — and animal protein at that. Animal protein is more bioavailable, or easier for the digestive system to break down, than plant protein. I now aim for around 100 grams of bioavailable protein a day. More protein= more amino acids = more dopamine = a happier brain.
No more fasting: Before, I was forcing myself to not eat until 10, 10:30, sometimes even 11 a.m. because #intermittentfasting. Turns out this was the worst thing I could be doing (don’t always believe the hype!) for my hormones and my digestion. Now I eat a high-protein breakfast within an hour of waking up, and after that I eat every 3–4 hours. That’s about 3 meals and 3 snacks a day.
It sounds like a lot, but your body needs fuel to heal itself, even to heal your digestion. Fasting is supposed to allow the body to “take a break” from digestion, but the amount of time you sleep (hopefully 7–8 hours) should be enough. After that, your body needs fuel to keep you going throughout the day.
This scientific study has shown that a high-protein breakfast actually increases and sustains higher dopamine production — pretty cool, right? Have your breakfast and eat it too!
Eating more of certain easily digested dopamine-supportive foods: We’ve already mentioned animal protein such as beef, chicken, white fish, and eggs, but I also eat healthy amounts other foods like avocado, bananas, and almonds. These foods are higher in tyrosine, an amino acid that is a precursor for dopamine. I naturally crave these foods pretty much every day.
Sunlight
I’ve only recently started learning about what a dramatic impact sunlight truly has on our health.
We tend to think of sunlight as a damaging force we should constantly try to avoid, but it’s actually so essential to our health. When you incorporate sun exposure properly into your lifestyle, it promotes not only vitamin D synthesis, but also supports many other critical processes in the body, all of which add up to a dramatically decreased risk of illness.
We are creatures of the sun; sunlight is essential to our mental and physical health. Here’s an example.
About a month ago, my mom and I went on a road trip to visit my brother in Nashville from our home in Southeastern Wisconsin. On the second day of our drive, we were fortunate enough to have fantastic sunny weather. I sat in the front seat for most of the way, soaking up the sunshine. I thought I would feel tired from the long drive, but after a few hours of nothing but sitting in the sun, I felt amazing. Like actually supercharged — happy, high on life, so grateful for the day, just excellent.
As I thought about it, I realized that the only change was that I had been sitting in the sun for a few hours; I had not taken any different supplements or eaten anything different from my usual diet that day. It was a startling realization.
This study shows that healthy adults who received the most sunlight exposure over a period of 30 days had significantly more dopamine receptors than those who received low sunlight exposure.
For more info and evidence on the power of sunlight, I loved listening to this podcast from Wellness Mama aka Katie Wells with Ari Whitten — it’ll blow your mind!
Low-intensity exercise
Over this summer, I went through a period where I was doing challenging HIIT workouts almost every single day of the week. Why? I enjoyed doing them, I felt accomplished afterward, I always got an endorphin high after hitting the halfway mark, and I liked having the abs to show for them.
However, I ignored the rest of the signs my body was overtired — I felt fatigued during the day (and would often use the exercise as a way to wake myself up, but not long after would just feel tired again), I was hungry all the time yet trying to fast intermittently, I was sleeping poorly, and I was covering up my stress with adaptogen supplements.
When I made the diet change, I realized that I had been working way too hard. My body craved rest and gentle movement. So I completely stopped doing HIIT workouts and switched to daily walks and/or yoga. I started feeling much calmer and more energized — and happier.
Exercise has of course been shown to increase the levels of many neurotransmitters, including dopamine. The trick, I’ve found, is to make sure you aren’t undoing all of those positive effects by putting too much stress on your body with highly intense exercise, especially if you are on a healing journey for chronic illness or any other condition.
Be kind to yourself, enjoy moving, and reap the happiness, energy, and motivation benefits.
Conclusion
Overall, my dopamine level is just one part of my overall health picture, but it’s definitely an important part. This one neurotransmitter affects our motivation, focus, energy, and general enjoyment of life. Without those things, what are we doing here?
If you’re looking to improve your dopamine level, or increase any neurotransmitter, my biggest recommendation is to start taking supplemental Vitamin D. I take this liquid one, which is recommended by my N.D. and just about every functional/integrative/alternative health professional I’ve talked to. It’s a little on the pricier side, but it lasts for several months.
Along with that, I’m confident that everything else I’m doing will only continue to optimize my dopamine production and help my genetics work for me.
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