What is dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) that works in your brain. It helps your nerve cells send messages to each other. Dopamine is made by cells deep in your brain and acts on cells in other parts of your brain. It is also made in other parts of your body, where it acts as a hormone.

What is the role of dopamine?

Dopamine acts on your brain to give you feelings of pleasure and satisfaction when you do something enjoyable. Dopamine has a role in the function of:

• memory
• mood and motivation
• sleep
• learning and concentration
• movement
• lactation (production of breastmilk)

Dopamine acts as a hormone to help:

• relax or tighten your blood vessels when needed
• control your salt levels and urine production
• control how much insulin you make
• slow down some parts of your digestion

Dopamine and addiction

Dopamine is released in your brain when you achieve something or do something fun. The good feeling that dopamine gives you after pleasant experiences, including eating nice food, having sex, winning a game and earning money, can also happen after drinking alcohol and using illicit drugs.

It's natural to want to feel more of this dopamine 'reward'. This is how dopamine is involved in reinforcing addictive behaviours. In addiction you might continue to drink, use drugs or gamble to try and get the good feeling again, even if doing so is not healthy.

What happens if I have too much or too little dopamine?

Dopamine is involved in many different body functions. It works with other systems and other neurotransmitters, not on its own. So, there are a lot of possible problems related to a dopamine imbalance. They can include both physical symptoms and psychological symptoms.

Having too much dopamine may be linked to being aggressive and having trouble controlling your impulses.

If you have low levels of dopamine, you may feel less motivated and excited about things in your life.

Many illnesses are linked in some way to problems with how dopamine is working in our bodies. These include:

• Parkinson's disease
• depression
• schizophrenia
• psychosis
• ADHD
• restless legs syndrome

How can I adjust my dopamine levels?

Adjusting dopamine levels is complicated, as it is involved in many different roles in the brain. Dopamine doesn't act on its own. The effects of dopamine are influenced by other hormones and neurotransmitters in your body.

Can diet and exercise affect my dopamine levels?

You can increase your dopamine levels naturally by eating a healthy diet, including foods rich in tyrosine (the protein needed to make dopamine). These include nuts, seeds, dairy and meat.

Healthy activities that make you feel good will also make your brain release dopamine. These include exercise, meditation and getting enough sleep.

What medicines can affect dopamine?

If you have a mental illness such as depression or schizophrenia, your doctor may prescribe medicines to adjust your dopamine levels. These can include antidepressants, antipsychotics or mood stabilisers.

If you are taking a type of antidepressant called a non-selective MAO inhibitor, you should be careful not to eat foods with too much tyramine (which occurs from the partial breakdown of tyrosine). These foods and some medicines can interact and cause very high blood pressure. This medicine is not commonly used today, and your doctor or pharmacist will tell you how to adjust your diet if you are prescribed this medicine. Read more on low tyramine diets and what foods to avoid.

If you have Parkinson's disease, your doctor can suggest a range of different medicines to increase your dopamine levels and improve your symptoms.

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What is dopamine detox?

You might have read or heard about 'dopamine detox' or 'dopamine fasting' online or on social media. The idea is to take a break from unhealthy pleasure triggers such as:

• junk food and emotional eating
• excessive internet usage, social media and gaming
• gambling
• excessive online shopping
• watching porn
• recreational drug use

The theory of 'dopamine detox' suggests that you can 'reset your brain' by denying yourself dopamine rewards. However, you cannot reset your brain in this way. There is always dopamine in your brain, so you can't detox from it. There are complex relationships between neurotransmitters, and we all need dopamine for many everyday body functions. 'Dopamine detox' is not supported by medical or scientific evidence.

Perhaps you would like to take control of damaging behaviours such as spending a lot of time on social media or overeating. One way to do this is to try reducing your exposure to the triggers that make you want to carry out the unhealthy behaviours. For example, you could turn off your phone notifications or avoid keeping unhealthy foods in your home.

Extreme forms of denying yourself pleasure can lead to social isolation and be harmful to your wellbeing.

You may need support to manage a compulsive or addictive behaviour.

Just being aware of your choices and habits can help you to be more mindful of how you spend your time.

When should I see my doctor?

If you have noticed movement changes or muscle stiffness and are worried about Parkinson's disease, you should see your doctor. Your doctor will be able to discuss your concerns, will examine you and refer you to a specialist such as a neurologist, if needed.

If you are experiencing symptoms of mental illness, such as feeling low, lacking interest in life or having hallucinations, your doctor can help you get a diagnosis so you can get the right treatment.

Your doctor won't measure your dopamine levels directly. Your symptoms will give your doctor clues that you have too much or not enough dopamine.