I had no idea how to get ahold of a neurotransmitter. I didn't think it would go over to well if I went to the Army Docs and said, hey can you prescribe me a random neurotransmitter for a week for a game I'm playing? So, I did a little research and learned that there are many studies which indicate there are natural ways to produce certain neurotransmitters. Two in particular seemed like something I might be able to stimulate, so I chose Serotonin and Endorphins.

I decided to focus on Serotonin for the first week and Endorphins for the second.

I found many articles suggesting that chocolate can produce/increase serotonin levels. Another food which produces Serotonin (and Endorphins) is Chilies Let me tell you, it was quite a sacrifice to science that I made that week. (I love chiles and chocolate! though not necessarily together)

For Serotonin week, I increased my chilies and chocolate intake a great deal. I typically eat small amounts of both a day, anyway, so had to really up the amounts for this task.

For each meal, I added chiles into one or more food items. For breakfast, they went into my eggs, for lunch, into my sandwhiches, and for dinner into my main entrees. I ate on average 10 jalepenos per day. I also added habenero sauce to food and ate habenero flavored beef jerkey. YUM! In addition, I also increased my chocolate intake. Luckily, it was Easter time, and there was much chocolate to be had. I didn't really want to do this so much, because I have been dieting, but I figured that the plan I had for week two to increase Endorphin production would counteract the weight gained from the chocolate bingeing. I am ashamed to confess the amount of chocolate I consumed that week. Suffice it to say, it was a lot.

Supposedly, it is the capsaicin in chilies which causes the brain to produce serotonin. From what I gather, the pain caused by the hotness of the chilies then causes the brain to produce the serotonin to counteract that pain. Because I already have a high tolerance to capsaicin, I really had to up the levels, eating more habenero pepper products than jalepenos. ( a habenero pepper is roughly 50 times as hot as a jalepeno pepper).

Results:

The chilies really seemed to produce an instantaneous feeling of well being. Especially when I ate the habenero peppers. Well, first there was pain, then the serotonin kicked in. The chocolate was nice, but I didn't notice the same effect while eating it. As I continue my regime, I did notice some changes in my mood. I will say that overall, I felt happier and less stressed out and I seemed to sleep better. I work nights and sleep days and typically have trouble falling asleep, but after day three of serotonin week, I fell asleep much more quickly and felt more refreshed when waking. I did experience some negative effects, but they were mostly side effects of the method I was using to produce the serotonin, rather than the serotonin itself. For one thing, I renewed my sweet tooth and addiction to chocolate that I had successfully repressed during my last 12 weeks of dieting. I also immediately felt the weight gain and felt a depression as a result. It's so difficult to lose weight and so darn easy to gain it! The well being won over the momentary depression caused by the weight gain, however, and I was confident that Endorphin week would help me re-lose the extra weight.

Week Two - Endorphin week

As a runner, I had always heard about the "runner's high" and knew that it was supposed to be a result of Endorphin production. In my research, I learned that although this is usually assumed to be true, there is some doubt as to its actual veracity. Nonetheless, I decided that this would be the best way to attempt to produce Endorphins and would also help me lose the weight I had gained in Serotonin week.

I was already in training for a half marathon, and was running around 20 miles per week. For Endorphin week, I doubled that amount. I ran 6 days and averaged 7 miles per day. On the last day, I ran 13 miles all at once.

After about the 4th or 5th mile, I did feel a sort of second wind, or runner's high. It is always so hard for me to start my runs, but once I finish them, I feel great! I don't know for sure if that's due to the sense of accomplishment or to the endorphins that may or may not have been produced, but either way, it is a good feeling. This feeling lasted about a half hour after the run and didn't seem to stay with me all day as had the Serotonin during week one. The biggest result of the endorphin production, however, was how it effected my sleep. It had the exact opposite effect as had the serotonin. Starting day two, I found it extremely difficult to get to sleep, and once asleep to stay asleep. That week, I went to work tired, cranky, and unhappy. But, I did lose the weight gained in week one!

After the end of week two, I cut back on the running, but it took 4 days before I was able to get back to my original sleep habits.

Over all, whether or not I actually increased production of Serotonin and Endorphins, I definitely felt changes in my mood. I felt happier week one, and more stressed during week two (though I felt great immediately after my runs). Would I do this again? Probably not. Endorphin week just about killed me due to lack of sleep and some muscle strain from increased running. Serotonin week was great, but the guilt and depression caused by weight gain made it more of a problem than the feeling of well being was worth to me. However, I will probably continue to eat hot hot chilies - all of the good effects of Serotonin with none of the weight gain of chocolate!