Do you have the feeling that you lack motivation at work? Or maybe you are less motivated to exercise than before? If any of these situations sound familiar to you, you might be curious to learn more about how hormones affect our brains!
Stay with us to determine which hormones affect our motivation and how they can help us achieve the goals!
Many people, especially women, grow up, hearing about hormones with a negative connotation. We are sure; you know what we are talking about! When a woman is not feeling well before or during her period, society says she is hormonal. When she is angry or in a bad mood – again, it’s because of hormones, etc. So, except for medical professionals, the majority believes that hormones are something that exclusively bothers us.
The truth about hormones, though, is very different. But before we go into explaining more, we want to say that the thesis that hormones affect the brain is not wrong! Only, it doesn’t happen in the way patriarchal society wants us to think. You know how for example, although you bought the best shoes for treadmill, you can’t find the energy to work out? Or how you can’t focus on your work even though you just remodeled your home office? Well, hormones can very well be the culprit for these situations. Nonetheless, we also didn’t know too much about the relationship between hormones and our mood. But after hearing a friend telling us an experience of getting out of a really bad emotional condition by working to balance the hormone levels, we became curious to know more. Oh boy, were we surprised by the whole new world that suddenly opened before us?
After discovering more about how hormones affect personality and behavior, we felt that we need to write about it. Since we are not medical professionals, we thought that it would be better to talk with experts and get their opinions before we summarize everything in a text. So we researched, found qualified people who provided detailed explanations, and as a result, created the text before you.
First … What Are Hormones?
Hormones are chemicals made of specialist cells and produced by endocrine glands. What are endocrine glands? They are found through our body and have different functions. Some of them are ovaries, pituitary gland, testes, thyroid gland, pancreas, adrenal glands, etc. Okay, they secrete hormones and release them to the bloodstream, where they then carry messengers to other organs. They do that in two ways. One way is that one gland releases a hormone that then sends a message to another one to increase or decrease the level of the hormone it is producing. In the other way, the message is carried to a specific organ. Because they move through the body, they can do their job in multiple places at the same time. They affect virtually every aspect of the functioning of our entire system. However, today we are going to focus more on how hormones affect mental health.
And How Do Hormones Affect Emotions, Behavior, Mood
“Okay! Let’s say that I understand how the pancreas releases insulin and then muscle cells take glucose from the blood for energy”, you might think. But what about emotions? How’s that connected? How can something like the adrenal gland, which is attached to the kidney, affects me in the way I feel anxious? The gland itself does, but it secretes different hormones, including cortisol. These hormones affect anxiety. The truth is that brain, and the rest of the body are very closely connected, even though many people didn’t want to see it that way for a long time.
Our friend experienced years of struggling with episodes of depression, difficulties concentrating, fatigue, and lack of motivation. And it took a long time before doctors understood that all her symptoms have something to do with how hormones affect the nervous system.
Which Hormones Affect Motivation and Productivity
The thing is that the more we know about hormones, the more we know about how hormones affect us. On that note, we know that the human body secretes about fifty different hormones, and they have different functions. Some of these hormones affect emotions. Other hormones affect behavior. Can you think which hormones affect mood? Okay, so besides estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, what other hormones do we know of? We are pretty sure that you heard about dopamine, endorphin, and serotonin! We know of them as happiness hormones, don’t we? But they do so much more!
Dopamine
Dopamine is a motivation and achievement hormone. Besides, it is counted as one of the hormones that affect memory. If you increase the dopamine levels in your body, you will notice that your focus improved as well as energy levels, creativity concentration, etc. Some people call dopamine the molecule of motivation because it pushes you to achieve goals and make an effort to be successful. High levels of dopamine also make you more social and more assertive in your personal and professional life. If you want to increase your levels of dopamine, you need to find out what kind of things give you strength and connect them to things you want to achieve.
Serotonin
That is maybe the most known hormone, isn’t it? Serotonin is a good example to show how hormones affect depression or rather help tackle it. It is a leadership hormone that boosts self-esteem, power of will, confidence, satisfaction, and a sense of value. It also works to decrease the levels of cortisol, aka the stress hormone. A good way to boost serotonin is to go out during lunch break when the weather allows you to do, of course. Getting appreciation also increases serotonin.
Endorphin
Endorphins are peptide hormones produced by the pituitary gland. These hormones affect energy levels, which those of us who exercise regularly know well. The more we work out, the more endorphins the pituitary gland produces, and we want more exercise. But it is also a hormone responsible for determination. It also improves cognitive skills. Endorphins play a critical role in alleviating depression, stress, and anxiety in professional or personal life. Because they promote positive feelings, they also boost your optimism and confidence. A study that involved a group of men showed those who had healthy levels of endorphins valued their work more than those who had an imbalance. The best way to boost endorphin levels is through exercise.
Final Word
A modern lifestyle doesn’t allow us to have enough space and time to take care of ourselves leads to hormone imbalance. After realizing how hormones affect us, it is essential to say that it is possible to bring hormone levels back to healthy levels. For example, nutrition and exercise can play a significant role here. However, if lifestyle changes don’t give the desired result, feel free to contact healthcare professionals. Have you ever thought about the possibility of hormones affecting your productivity or another aspect of your life? Did you find a way to do something about it?
About the Author
Thomas Nemel is an enthusiastic writer who lives in Detroit. He loves to cover all topics related to physical and mental health and wellbeing, including fitness, nutrition, etc. Thomas also likes to drive cars and motorbikes, travel, and whitewater kayaking.
