How Tea Boosts Happy Hormones That Turn You Into A Happy Soul

Sleep, gut and mood, the three crucial factors for good health, are all interrelated. If one goes wrong, the other two are very likely to go downhill too. Considering this, don’t we all need that magic potion which keeps all these three factors always in check? Well, tea is one such elixir. It not only helps your gut with its digestive properties but also aids sleep and mood with the release of happy hormones in the body.

Happy hormones are basically chemicals that are released in the bloodstream because of certain internal or external factors. The purpose of these hormones, as is obvious, is to balance stress hormone levels and help you feel happy.

With tea, which can be a great daily habit, you will ensure the boost of happy hormones regularly and keep your hormones balanced. Thus, encouraging your gut, mood, and sleep to always stay on the better side.

4 Types of Happy hormones and how Tea helps you boost them

• Dopamine:

Dopamine is the most popular one amongst all happy hormones and is also known as ‘the reward molecule’. It gets boosted by any pleasure/reward-seeking activity. The activity can be anything from eating ice cream to going out for a family get together. Nowadays, with social media all around, a like or a share is also enough to boost the levels of this happy hormone in our bloodstream. However, it is one of the unhealthiest ways to do so because of social media’s addicting properties.

With the lifestyles that we lead today and the health conditions that come with it, our bodies are not able to regulate dopamine levels on their own. This leads to low dopamine levels and hormonal imbalance along with it. It is important to ensure the regular release of this happy hormone in the body to keep potential stress and anxiety at bay.

Tea can help assure this in a healthy way. The caffeine in tea helps prevent hormonal imbalance by increasing dopamine receptor levels in the brain. Moreover, an amino acid called L-theanine has been researched with results suggesting that it boosts dopamine levels by increasing the activity of alpha waves in the brain. Thus, helping the body maintain proper dopamine levels.

• Endocannabinoids:

One of the not-so-famous happy hormones, Endocannabinoids are the body’s self-produced cannabis. Cannabis, as most of us would know, is already famous for its psychoactive properties which help one relax and calm incited nerves.

Research shows that the catechins in tea target and bind to cannabinoid receptors in the central nervous system. Well-Known catechin, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) has proven to do a great job at supporting the endocannabinoid system in certain researches.

One popular endocannabinoid is Anandamide, which owes its name to ‘Ananda’. The Sanskrit term literally translates to ‘Bliss’ which is the reason why this happy hormone is also called ‘the bliss molecule’ by some. No wonder Teafloor’s very own bliss king, an infusion of nourishing herbs and green tea is named ‘Ananda’.

• GABA:

Gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is one of those happy hormones that are produced naturally in the brain. Its role in the body is to relax and calm the nerves by reducing the activity of neurons in the central nervous system.

The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, has quite extensive amounts of an amino acid called L-theanine. Research suggests that this amino acid increases the levels of GABA by increasing the activity of alpha waves in the brain. Also, magnesium and ginseng in some teas are known to interact with GABA receptors to improve functions like lowering blood pressure, balancing of moods and inducing sleep.

While most teas are rich in L-theanine, magnesium can be found richly in black teas and herbal teas to take advantage of its benefits including the increase in happy hormones.

• Serotonin:

Serotonin is a happy hormone that is released naturally in the body and plays a role in digestion, blood clotting and balancing moods. It is also responsible for the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle and body temperature. With low levels of this hormone, one’s health will very likely face negative effects. Additionally, some social experts believe that low confidence is directly linked to low levels of serotonin. Knowing how big role confidence plays in this day and age, our happiness becomes highly dependent on this happy hormone.

Tea helps boost this extremely important happy hormone with the immense amounts of L-theanine present in it. L-theanine is an amino acid that positively affects mood, sleep, and emotion. It lowers a person’s aroused heart rate and is also known to improve mental cognition. Thus, becoming an amazing booster of serotonin and ultimately, happiness.

Although, the caffeine in tea is known to deplete serotonin over time. This is one reason why it is not recommended to have caffeinated teas. However, one can enjoy green tea or herbal tea as they contain almost no caffeine without compromising the health benefits that they have to offer.

Lastly, it is worth noting that herbs like Tulsi and Ashwagandha along with flowers such as lavender, passionflower, and chamomile are believed to improve the levels of happy hormones in our body. These can be found in teas like Tulsi green tea, Chamomile green tea, Ananda and Nidra from the wide range of teas available at Teafloor.

Upon conclusion, tea can be one of the splendid ways to prove that money can certainly buy happiness. However, not much of it is required considering the discounted rates of authentic, garden-fresh teas that we, at Teafloor, bring for you.