If you’re like most of the male population, you live and die with your team. You stay with them through thick and thin. The highs are incredible, but so are the lows.
So how do you get through a tough loss? What do you do after a walk-off home run ends your season? After a missed field goal returned for a touchdown ruins your chance at a national championship? After watching another season full of butt fumbles?
You induce endorphins, STAT.
In case you are unfamiliar, endorphins are neurotransmitters manufactured in your brain during certain actions that give you that ‘feel good’ feeling. They affect your energy, stress levels and — most importantly — mood. They’re basically like tiny firemen that go around putting out fires inside your brain, only the water they use is straight from heaven.
So next time you suffer a tough loss, try doing one of these easy endorphin igniters.
Eat Dark Chocolate
Not the milk-chocolate, but the dark stuff that’s healthier for you, actually lowers your blood pressure, reduces cholesterol and releases enough endorphins to stop the river flowing from your face. Just don’t be as creepy as this guy while partaking.
Eat Spicy Food
Get the extra hot wings. Not only will the sweat and tears cover up the real sweat and tears from the aftermath of your egregious loss, but the hot, spicy sensation — that you think is painful — is actually giving your brain a high.
Peppers are spicy because of the Capsaicin that flows in the main veins of the fruit. That chemical compound binds to pain receptors (proteins), however that pain is offset by the reaction in your body’s endorphin production. It’s because of the endorphin release we always go back for more!
Jam Out
No surprise music can make us feel better. However, the more creative you are in the process of making music, the more endorphins your body produces. According to research, singing, dancing and drumming together all trigger an increased release of the pleasure hormone.
Sex
Do I really need to mention this?
I mean, no. What I meant to say was, sex will not make you feel better, at all! Don’t even think about it!… said no one ever.
Watch “Step Brothers”
Or Monty Python or Animal House or Dumb and Dumber…or any other comedy that will induce belly laughter.
Listed as one of the funniest movies of all-time by Rolling Stone, Step Brothers is one example that is sure to induce endorphins. According to research, the more we laugh, the healthier we are and the better we feel. Laughing triggers endorphins while boosting immunity, lowering blood pressure and reducing stress hormones.
Go For A Run
…Or for a workout of any kind. Going for a walk, dancing, aerobics — all of them can induce a great amount of the feel-good hormone. Research shows the more you workout in synchronization with other people, the better you will feel.
Ginseng
I know, you’re thinking about going on a giant pizza binge after a great loss. However, the only edible I could find that proves to induce morphine-like hormones is ginseng. The herb balances out stress hormones while enhancing endorphins. In fact, it is used by some long distance runners and body builders to heighten physical endurance because some doctors believe ginseng delays fatigue.
Of course we’re talking about the pill form, not chowing down on the root pictured above.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Sources: ReadersDigest, EuropePMC.org, WebMD
