Maybe you just need to boost your brain’s serotonin levels.

Serotonin is the molecule of will power … so a decreased level of serotonin in your brain can mean difficulty finishing things, feeling a bit down, or getting annoyed very easily.

Low serotonin activity can mean your brain is making less serotonin, or can indicate your receptors just aren’t taking hold on the serotonin well. It can also mean that your serotonin is breaking down too soon.

Four especially effective ways of boosting your brain’s serotonin activity are sunlight, exercise, remembering past happy events, and brainwave entrainment.

1. Sunlight. In earlier times people depended primarily on the sun for light and vitamin D, which promotes serotonin production. The intensity of light on a bright sunny day is about 100 times higher than the light inside your home or office.

Research has shown that serotonin production in the brain is directly related to exposure to bright sunlight. Since the serotonin transporter is what most antidepressants block, getting sunlight can have similar effects to antidepressants.

Timing of the light you expose yourself is important. Bright lights at night block the conversion of serotonin into melatonin, and melatonin is essential for a good night’s sleep.

2. Exercise. Exercise has also been shown to increase both serotonin production and release. Aerobic exercises like running and biking are the most likely to boost serotonin, however yoga also seems to work.

3. Memories. Focus on remembering positive events that have happened in your life. This increases serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex — a region just behind your brain’s prefrontal cortex that controls attention. Avoid remembering sad events, which can decrease serotonin production.

4. Train Your Brain. Brainwaves are generated by the building blocks of your brain — the individual cells called neurons. Neurons communicate with each other using bio-chemical electrical charges. We can view the resulting changes in the form of brainwaves as shown in an EEG (electroencephalogram).

Brain waves are measured in cycles per second (cps). The lower the cps, the slower the frequency of your brain activity.

Beta 15-38 cps brainwaves are  associated with our normal state of alert, eyes open waking consciousness in which our neocortex is active. You are optimally aware of both yourself and your surroundings. These brainwaves are often used to with correct such “slow wave” conditions as depression and attention deficit disorder (ADHD).

Your sensory motor rhythm Beta (SMR) brainwaves occur between 12-15 cps. This sub-band of Beta is characterised by a state of being relaxed, but alert, focused and attentive. This bandwidth has useful applications for concentration and increased energy levels, as well as help for insomnia, depression, anxiety and stress.

Properly engineered Beta brainwave entrainment reaches directly into your brain to activate a positive, optimistic feeling. Listening to professionally-created low Beta 12-15 cycles-per-second (cps) brainwave audios may be especially effective for activating serotonin production in your brain’s anterior cingulate cortex.

If you have our “Amaze Yourself: Take a Quantum Leap” audio brainwave collection, two of the audios will naturally boost your serotonin levels. (1) The Quick Balance audio is a playful combination of left/right brain South Pacific musical sounds and natural stimulation to quickly balance the Beta SMR on the two sides of your brain. (2) The Enter the Zone audio contains a balanced mix of Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta brainwaves. The resulting mental state is often described as the Zone. The session sweeps from a Beta beginning … to an awakened mind brainwave combination at the end.

A detailed description of this Quantum Leap Audios brainwave collection is available here.