What are Endorphins and what does our endorphins do to our body? Endorphins are made up from two words, endogenous and morphine. “The definition of endorphins is “morphine within” – natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.” (Myers). What are endorphins made of? They are small, protein molecules that are produced by cells in your nervous system and other part of your body. Endorphins are important to our body because they are like a sedative, which is known to relieve pain. That is why they put morphine and endogenous together, morphine help relieve pain. They are located in our brain, spinal cord, and other nerve endings. Endorphins are not a single molecule, but actually come in a lot of forms, and can be anywhere from eighteen to five hundred times as powerful as any man made pain killers, and you do not get addictive to endorphins! Because endorphins are natural to our body, they are the best way to get a natural high. “They are one reason why soldiers wounded in battle can continue to fight or have the strength to save someone else; it also accounts for the so called runner's high, or why some people are drawn to dangerous activities like car racing, sky diving and bungee jumping.” (Health)
Endorphin was discovered in 1960 by a nuerochemist Choh Hao Li at the University of California in San Francisco. He was doing some research on pituitary glad for aided in the metabolism of fat. It was really hard, Li tried different camels, but they did not have a certain fat-metaboliser. He tried another amino acid substance from the camel pituitary, which is beta-endorphin, but It did not answer any of his questions and he never looked at it again. Thirteen years later, 1973, a team of researcher...
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... of long-term, monogamous relationships. Dr. Fisher believes that oxytocin and vasopressin interfere with the dopamine and norepinephrine pathways, which might explain why passionate love fades as attachment grows.” (Obringer).
The sun is also another way that endorphin are released. When it is rainy outside, all we want do to is stay inside, watch TV, sleep and get nothing done. When it is sunny outside people are more happy, and wanting to get out of the house and do things.
Works Cited
Broderick, Evelyn. Live Strong. 4 Feb 2014.
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Myers, David. Exploring Psychology. n.d.
Obringer, Lee Ann. How Stuff Works. 2014. .
Scheve, Tom. How Stuff Works. 2014. .
Exercise and the act of any bodily motion requires chemistry to power all of the necessary moving parts. There are two functions of exercise that make you feel good while working out and then make you feel not so good. The first “feel good” process is the releasing of endorphins during a workout. Endorphins are chemicals released by the pituitary gland of the brain. The pituitary gland produces approximately 20 different types of endorphins that assist the human body with a variety of functions. Endorphins diminish the brain’s ability to perceive pain, which is similar to the function of sedatives. A few examples of the benefits of endorphins are that they help with stress reduction, relieving pain, boosting immunity, slowing the aging process,
Endocannabinoid is synthesized and released ‘on demand' in response to pathological as well as physiological stimuli such as neuronal depolarization, this makes its synthesis based on neurotransmission. When the interaction between the transmitter and receptor occurs neurotransmitters can produce a number of effects in the post-synaptic cell, for example excitation resulting in the inhibition or the init...
Because of this step when being in love as well as the dopamine levels raising, musicians and poets are able to be inspired to create more artistic things. There is a particular part of the brain known as the dorsal insula, a part that is also very active when in love with both men and women yet it does different things. For men, this region focuses on penile tumescence and a beautiful face. For women, this region is more focused on romance, memory, and emotion. In Tarlacı, Sultan’s The Brain in Love she talks about a study by Zeki in which he studied the neuron growth(what keeps the brain young) between a group of people who have been in love and another who has never felt it or were rejected. The group who were in love had double the neurons than the other group, which keeps the brain young as well as the mind. A drop in neurons can result in neural degeneration, dementia, depression, autism, and even a sensitivity when it comes to
Opioids work by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors which are located on nerve cells in the body. When the drug attaches to the receptors it reduces the perception of pain, but it can also cause drowsiness, altered mental status, and nausea. Misuse and addiction to opioids are very common. According to the CDC 1,000 people annually are seen in the Emergency Department for treatment regarding misuse of prescribed opioids. Addiction occurs in older adults aged forty years and older more frequently than adults aged twenty to
Vasopressin has long been implicated in the memory of faces and is thus useful for research on recall and recognition of faces. Because of the role vasopressin plays in relationships, it is important to consider its value in affecting romantic relationships and perception of romantic partner's faces. In a study by Thompson and colleagues (2004) researchers looked at how vasopressin administration affects responses to happy, angry and neutral faces in terms of attention, and arousal and physiological measures like corrugator supercilii electromyograms (EMG), heart rate and skin conductance (Thompson, Gupta, Miller, Mills, & Orr, 2004). This was based on previous experiments with the effect of oxytocin on facial perception. Neutral faces were found to elicit higher responses in the EMG. They argued that because the faces were ambiguous having been taken from Paul Ekman's series of faces, vasopressin may have lead participants to view those neutral faces in a more aggressive way causing that increased EMG response. This study demonstrates that there is a link between vasopressin and facial recognition responses and further studies have added on to this. In a follow up study in 2006, they looked at vasopressin effects on perception of friendliness for both men and women on pictures of same sex faces. They found that the results of vasopressin depended on the gender as women were friendlier when presented with same sex faces (Thompson, George, Walton, Orr, & Benson, 2006). Interestingly, they did not repeat the study to see the effect of vasopressin between both sexes seeing opposite sex pictures. In men, however, the familiarity of the romantic partner when combined with insecurity would decrease the per...
The problem is, is there a biochemical explanation for this "runner's high," or is it a purely psychological event (although one can also say psychology is biochemical)? Exercise addiction, similar to substance addiction, seems to suggest that jogger's euphoria could be biochemical. There have been accounts of runners who experience withdrawal symptoms when not exercising - such as edginess, anxiety, and other unpleasant feelings. Research shows that the body produces its own opiate-like peptides, called endorphins, and like morphine, they can cause dependence (Farrell et al. 1982). Thus, this is just one hint suggesting that these "endogenous morphine" compounds may be the chemicals causing all these psychological effects of exercise. In general, endorphins are known to be responsible for pain and pleasure responses in the central nervous system.
Terman, M, Terman JS, Quitkin FM, et al. Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder: a review of efficacy. Neuropsychopharmacology 1989; 2 (1): 1-2
"New Study Proves Opposites Attract When It Comes to Lasting Relationships." MNN. LiveScience, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
Exercise is known to produce endorphins and BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) (Widrich). BDNF is a protein that promotes the survival of nerve cells, it plays a role in the growth, maturation, and maintenance of the neurons. It also plays a role in the synapses in between nerve cells. It also aids in synaptic plasticity, which is important in memory and learning (ghr.nlm.nih.gov). According to the Oxford dictionary, “endorphins are any of a group of hormones secreted...
Barbara Lee Fredrickson, a psychologist, introduces a new conception of love to the readers. She tries to simplify the perception of love most people have known for their entire life. The special bonds and magical bond that continues the love for eternity are all myths and lies. Something that poisons our minds to be committed to one another. The definition of Fredrickson’s conception of “love” is more scientific than emotional. When defining love, it is more dependent on the activity of the brain, “positivity resonance”, and love hormones. The claim that Fredrickson makes in Love 2.0 does give a critical point of love, that it is simpler than you think. However, not every conception of love does Fredrickson explain it to be biological. The
The endocrine system is a vital component to the maintenance of the human body’s homeostatic balance. For this reason it is imperative that it be kept in tip top working condition to in turn keep the body as a whole operating effectively. Research has shown that physical exercise has the ability to strengthen the endocrine system. Likewise the endocrine system is a necessary component for exercise. Numerous hormones play a role in it. How the endocrine system responds to physical exercise is generally considered to improve organ function, physical fitness and overall psychological state. If the endocrine system were to secrete no hormones, physical exercise would be severely limited. Some hormones that play a significant role in making sure this doesn’t happen are epinephrine, cortisol, testosterone, thyroxin, growth hormone, insulin and glucagon. This paper will seek to explore just a few as they relate to physical exercise.
Natural Pain Killer: Laughter plays a vital role in increase of endorphins in our bodies, which is considered to be natural pain killers. Norman Cousins, an American journalist who was suffering from incurable disease of the spine was benefited with laughter therapy when no painkiller could help him. It was found that endorphins help in reducing the intensity of pain in those suffering from spondylitis arthritis, and muscular spasms of the body. Many women have reported a reduced frequency of migraine and tension
53 people, whose ages ranged from early teens to elderly, responded with very telling results. 69.8% of the people surveyed answered that sunny weather initially made them feel happy. On the other hand, only 21% answered that they felt happy when the weather outside was cloudy or rainy. The effects of sunshine on a person’s mind can also be seen over a length of time. As the seasons run their course, most people react to the change in environmental light with a gradual shift in energy.
Marrying because of romantic love is ill-fated because love is merely an emotion, and emotions are just a response of the limbic system of the brain being stimulated by the body’s attempt at regulating neural processes and the release of pheromones and chemicals. The release of such chemicals are caused by a random sequence of events, mainly the increase of one’s heart rate alongside the increase of respiration rate. This sequence of events is what can cause the “falling out of love” experienced by many, because the release of dopamine and phenylethylamine is not permanent and the high experienced quickly fades. For the feeling of love to last a steady chemical benefit of serotonin and oxytocin are required.
While many merely consider the physical benefits of exercise when wondering why to exercise, there are mental benefits that are just as powerfully compelling. Exercise boosts your happiness and self-esteem, makes you smarter, and even allows you to create a healthy social life. It is interesting to notice that some of the main benefits of exercise are sometimes not what many think of as ‘tangible’. The emotional health of the average person positively soars after a bit of exercise. Working out increases the amount of certain chemicals such as norepinephrine, and this allows the brain to effectively handle stress. Exercising also releases endorphins, which are the natural, safe ‘happy drugs’ of the brain (Avnet) (Robinson). Studies have shown that exercise can treat moderate depression as well as, if not better than, medication. Endorphins