Your Electrifying Brain

Your brain is an electrical system. The nerves or "wires" communicate their electrical signals to one another by way of chemical messengers.

These brain chemicals, especially serotonin and dopamine, play key roles in how you feel, act and react in any given situation. When the delicate balance of these brain chemicals, also called neurotransmitters, is somehow disturbed, problems occur.

Healthy levels of serotonin and dopamine are necessary chemicals for the brain to function properly. But it also is common for excesses and deficiencies of these and other brain chemicals to cause negative behaviors.

Serotonin – the well being chemical - promotes feelings of relaxation, the ability to concentrate, personal security and confidence.

A shortage of serotonin may result in:

• increased fatigue
• compulsive overeating
• perfectionism
• excessive sleep
• low self-esteem
• negative thinking
• difficulty concentrating

Dopamine – the body's rocket fuel, stimulates alertness and awareness. Appropriate amounts make us move and think with precision and speed.

Excess levels of dopamine can result in:

• an increased heart rate
• muscular tension
• disrupted sleep patterns
• grandiose thinking
• excessive self-confidence and risk-taking
• shortened attention span

Harness the Source of the Power

A variety of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters, work together to define your physiological reward center. These chemicals, especially serotonin and dopamine, play key roles in how you feel, act and react in any given situation. When the delicate balance of these neurotransmitters is somewhat disturbed, problems occur. For instance:

• A shortage of serotonin, which promotes feelings of well-being, personal security and relaxation, may result in increased fatigue, excessive sleep, low self-esteem, negative thinking and difficulty concentrating. Low serotonin has been associated with such behaviors as compulsive overeating and perfectionism.
• Excess levels of dopamine, which stimulates alertness and awareness, can cause an increased heart rate, muscular tension and disrupted sleep patterns and can result in grandiose thinking, excessive self-confidence and a shortened attention span. Excess levels of dopamine have been associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHA) and risk-taking behaviors, such as gambling.
• Serotonin and dopamine are always present in your brain, but you can effectively increase or decrease the levels by making behavioral changes.
• Nutrition, spiritual well being, diet and activity all impact your brain chemistry, which in turn, impacts your natural tendencies and ultimately, your performance. So, through self-care, you can affect your brain chemistry and modify your neurotransmitters to:
• Think more clearly
• React more quickly
• Overcome stress and anxiety
• Function more effectively and efficiently

Gather together to optimize:

The Reward Center of Your Brain

Conditioned Behavior and Natural Tendencies
Ever since Ivan Pavlov did his research on conditioned behaviors with dogs, science has realized that automatic or conditioned behaviors exist. If a behavior doesn't provide a physiological reward, it won't be repeated. A reward is defined as taking away pain or providing pleasure. A reward is a physiological response in the brain.

Your brain has a physiological reward center: certain behaviors, thoughts and foods make you feel good. That physiological reward center may be different from your psychological reward center.

For example, many people say they want to rise up off of that couch and put on their running shoes (psychological desire) but get no "brain reward" for doing so …the brain just isn't conditioned to all of that extra physical activity!

On a psychological, intellectual level most everyone knows that exercise is "good for you," yet for those who are slow to dive in, the body is more comfortable with calming activities, like reading a book on that comfy couch than with change.

Or, consider the high-performing executive who says that spending time with loved ones is a top priority; yet, they continue to overwork, promises are not kept and family relationships suffer. In this situation, the physiological reward gained from overworking wins over the intellectual desire to spend time with the family.

Repeated over time, behaviors become natural tendencies if they provide physiological rewards in the brain -- such as taking away pain or providing pleasure.

Conditioned, Natural Tendencies
For many people who are not experiencing optimal health, the behaviors that drive us to do the very things we say we don't want to do have become conditioned, natural tendencies. To compound the problem, most people feel guilty because they're not doing something they think they should be doing. Or they are criticized and labeled as weak-willed.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. You can optimize your brain chemistry, upgrade your natural tendencies and boost your positive performance.

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