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Habits of a Happy Brain

Loretta Graziano Breuning

240 Pages
2015

Habits of a Happy Brain

Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels

Simon and Schuster

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Habits of a Happy Brain - Summary

"Habits of a Happy Brain" by Loretta Graziano Breuning explores the brain's "happy chemicals"โ€”serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. This book provides practical activities to help understand and harness these chemicals to boost mood and overall well-being. By learning how to build new habits, you can reroute neural pathways in your brain, making it easier to trigger these happy chemicals and increase feelings of satisfaction when needed most. The book combines scientific insights with actionable steps, making complex neuroscience accessible and applicable to everyday life.

Key Ideas

1

Understanding Happy Chemicals

The book delves into the roles of serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins in our daily lives. Each of these chemicals contributes to our sense of well-being in different ways. For instance, dopamine is associated with the pleasure of achieving goals, while oxytocin is linked to social bonding.

2

Building New Habits

One of the central ideas is the concept of rerouting the brain's neural pathways. The author explains how our brains are wired to follow established pathways, which can sometimes lead to negative habits. By consciously creating new, positive habits, you can change the way your brain functions, making it easier to trigger happy chemicals and improve your overall mood.

3

Practical Activities

The book is filled with simple, practical activities designed to help you boost your happy chemicals. These activities range from setting achievable goals to fostering social connections and practicing gratitude. Each activity is backed by scientific research, making it easy to incorporate these habits into your daily routine.

FAQ's

The main chemicals discussed are serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. Each of these chemicals plays a unique role in contributing to our sense of well-being and happiness.

The book suggests that by consciously creating new, positive habits, we can reroute our brain's neural pathways. This makes it easier to trigger happy chemicals and improve our overall mood.

The book recommends a variety of practical activities such as setting achievable goals, fostering social connections, and practicing gratitude. These activities are designed to naturally boost the levels of happy chemicals and are backed by scientific research.

๐Ÿ’ก Full 15min Summary

Rewiring the brain for happiness requires 45 days of focused habit-building.
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Our brains release chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin when we do things that meet survival needs, giving us good feelings. But these don't last long before the brain returns to neutral, leaving us wanting more. We can develop habits chasing these feelings, even if unhealthy. New habits don't feel good at first because existing neural pathways for old habits are like highways, while new ones feel unknown and tiring. But with courage and focus in repeating a new behavior for 45 days, we can build a new highway that feels great on day 46. Then we can build another. This book explains the neuroscience and guides you through choosing and committing to a new habit for 45 days to rewire your brain for happiness, without needing others or blaming yourself. There are interactive exercises to help each step. The result is a healthier, happier you.

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