Picture | Visual China I wonder if you have seen such a saying on the Internet recently, "When you are young, you only pursue dopamine. When you reach middle age, you will realize that endorphins are the best." There are even articles saying that " "Get rid of dopamine, chase end

picture | Visual China

I don’t know if you have seen such a saying on the Internet recently, "When you are young, you only pursue dopamine . When you reach middle age, you will know that endorphins are the best." There is even an article saying that we need to "get rid of dopamine and chase endorphins." Many netizens are confused. Aren't these two human hormones? How come they are higher and lower? What on earth is this meant to express? Psychological Chat Bar invites Yuan Yonggui, director of the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, to talk to you.

Let’s understand what dopamine and endorphins are

First of all, let’s understand the concepts of dopamine and endorphins. Yuan Yonggui first explained these two substances from a clinical professional perspective.

"Dopamine is the most abundant catecholamine neurotransmitter in the brain. It is a neurotransmitter that can transmit information about excitement and happiness." Simply put, dopamine can bring pleasure to people, and its specific function is " "Reward" and "pleasure", to use a more life-like example, for example, when we eat delicious food, our appetite is satisfied, and our hearts will be extremely happy. This sense of satisfaction obtained through food is the role of dopamine. . In addition to obtaining and stimulating dopamine secretion through diet, we can also stimulate dopamine secretion by playing games and watching short videos. We can get "rewards" without putting in too much effort by watching short videos and playing games, such as getting a smile through short videos. Points, knowledge points, the satisfaction of winning a game and gaining success is due to the stimulation of dopamine secretion.

So what are endorphins? "Endorphin is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that is similar to the biochemical synthesis of morphine. It can bind to morphine receptors and produce the same analgesic effects and pleasure as morphine and opium." Endorphin is a It is a natural analgesic. In real life scenarios, the pleasure of running, exercising, and eating spicy food are all related to the secretion of endorphins. When performing long-term, continuous, moderate to heavyweight exercise, The brain secretes endorphins to relieve pain and make people feel happy. Eating spicy food is similar to this. The pain caused by chili peppers on the tongue stimulates the body to secrete endorphins, which relieves pain and makes people feel happy at the same time. This is not difficult to explain why some people get addicted to spicy food. The spicier the food, the more they crave it. Both

can bring "happiness", what's the difference between them?

"Dopamine and endorphins are produced by different mechanisms, but they both bring pleasure to people and make people feel comfortable and happy." They are also the secrets of happiness, the happiness brought by dopamine and endorphins are different, "To put it simply, the pleasure brought by dopamine is more focused on psychological pleasure and satisfaction, while the pleasure brought by endorphins is more focused on physical relaxation and happiness."

"In fact, netizens The saying that people pursue dopamine when they are young and only know about endorphins in middle age is a metaphor, which is not completely consistent with the clinical concept. "Yuan Yonggui explained that this statement actually simplifies dopamine to "short." "instant stimulation of pleasure", simplifying endorphins to "delayed pleasure gratification". The so-called pursuit of "dopamine" when young means that young people like to pursue the pleasure of short-term stimulation, but only in middle age do they understand the meaning of delayed gratification. importance. Although it is understandable that netizens hope that people will not be short-sighted and take a long-term view on the road to pursuing dreams and happiness, it should also be noted that these articles often mention that "when people reach middle age, they should do more inner things." It is not correct to say that endorphins and dopamine are thrown away. It may lead people who do not understand the concepts of these two concepts into misunderstandings. Endorphins and dopamine cannot be more, less, or lacking.

A healthy body and mind are indispensable.

"Dopamine and endorphins are both hormones secreted and regulated by the human body. It does not mean that if you pursue it, you will have it, and if you want it, you will not have it. There is a balance between the secretion of these hormones Once the balance is broken, such as too much of this or too little of that, it will cause harm to human physical and mental health," Yuan Yonggui said.

What will happen if the secretion of these two hormones is abnormal? Yuan Yonggui also gave a detailed answer: "When dopaminergic is low, it will cause a lack of pleasure. Many patients with depression will have this problem." The lack of dopamine will make people unable to feel pleasure and become emotionally cold. , you will feel more unhappiness, restlessness, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. If this situation continues for a long time, people will fall into bad mood . The lack of pleasure is the core manifestation of depression , and the world-weariness shown by patients with depression , depressed mood, unhappiness, restlessness, etc. are closely related to severe low dopaminergic. "In addition, schizophrenia is also related to the lack of dopamine."

Endorphins are a "youth hormone", which is normal The secreted endorphins help us stay young and energetic. The lack of endorphins may lead to a lowered tolerance for pain. Patients may feel pain for no reason. The lack of endorphins will also cause pain. It makes it difficult for people to feel the happiness in life. "Endorphins can regulate breathing, body temperature, and blood pressure, and play an important physiological regulatory role in the human body." Yuan Yonggui said that it is not difficult to obtain endorphins. , "Exercising more on weekdays, or singing and dancing can promote the secretion of endorphins and keep our bodies young and energetic."

Whether it is dopamine or endorphins, they maintain our physical and mental health. , an important component of balance. In every happy moment of our lives, these hormones are at work, allowing us to feel every touch of vitality. Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Shen Zhao