A person who thinks they may be deficient in dopamine should see a doctor, since the diseases dopamine deficiency causes are treatable. If a person does not have a diagnosable illness, they may wish to try natural dopamine-increasing remedies.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D has many roles in your body, including the regulation of certain neurotransmitters like dopamine ( 37 ).
Normal, healthy dopamine production depends on a wide variety of factors, but many medical professionals believe that your brain's dopamine production will return to pre-substance misuse levels over a period of 90 days.
Meth and the Brain. Meth releases a surge of dopamine, causing an intense rush of pleasure or prolonged sense of euphoria. Over time, meth destroys dopamine receptors, making it impossible to feel pleasure.
Recently, scientists have discovered that after long periods of abstinence from alcohol and other drugs, the brain's physiology does begin to return to normal. By maintaining lower dopamine levels in the brain, dopamine receptors can start returning to higher, normal levels.
Medications. Ropinirole, pramipexole, and levodopa can boost dopamine levels. Levodopa is the precursor to dopamine, which means it is something the body needs to produce dopamine.
However, magnesium inhibits dopamine release. Therefore, magnesium may inhibit calcium-dependent brain function through dopaminergic neurons, and consequently reduce the effect of calcium on ethanol activity.
Try these supplements
Mucuna, known as the velvet bean plant, contains L-dopa, another essential amino acid. Like l-tryptophan, mucuna supplements increase dopamine which can decrease depression. Other helpful supplements include magnesium, Rhodiola Rosea, and St. John's Wort.
A number of factors may be responsible for reduced dopamine in the body. These include sleep deprivation, obesity, drug abuse, saturated fat, and stress.
If you wake up every morning and feel like life offers little to look forward to, you may have a dopamine deficiency. Dopamine is the main brain chemical responsible for making us feel motivated. Besides making us feel fatigued and moody, a low dopamine level also plays a role in many mental disorders.
Getting enough sleep, exercising, listening to music, meditating, and spending time in the sun can all boost dopamine levels. Overall, a balanced diet and lifestyle can go a long way in increasing your body's natural production of dopamine and helping your brain function at its best.
Dopamine is most notably involved in helping us feel pleasure as part of the brain's reward system. Sex, shopping, smelling cookies baking in the oven — all these things can trigger dopamine release, or a "dopamine rush." This feel-good neurotransmitter is also involved in reinforcement.
Foods that are rich in tyrosine like almonds, egg fish, and chicken are especially good for boosting dopamine levels. Tyrosine is an amino acid that is naturally produced by the body. Dopamine is made from this amino acid and can be found in protein-rich foods.
The body needs only a little but the mineral does a lot. More importantly, the brain needs zinc to manage dopamine. Although dopamine has detractors, the chemical is important for memory and focus. Studies show a zinc supplement improves focus and reduces impulsivity in kids with ADHD.
This could be a mental illness, stress, not getting enough sleep, drug abuse, being obese, or eating too much sugar and saturated fat. Low dopamine can also be caused by a problem with the adrenal glands.
Bupropion is unique among antidepressants as an inhibitor of dopamine reuptake, leading to increased dopamine levels in the synapse.
Given time and treatment, the dopamine receptors can heal, but damage to an addict's cognitive centers could be lifelong. Research suggests that damage to motor coordination through chronic meth use is similar to what individuals suffering from Parkinson's disease go through.
So how long for dopamine receptors to heal? On average, it may take approximately 14-months to achieve normal levels in the brain with proper treatment and rehabilitation.
Methylphenidate (Ritalin), a stimulant drug used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, also inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine but is generally not used to treat depression.
The results suggest that dopamine neurons are constantly turned over, they die and are replaced at a very low rate (20 new cells per day).