Energy

My understanding of personal energy and the role neurochemicals play

Yesterday I was asked “Benny, what do you actually mean by energy?”

I was chatting to someone about my Energy Management talks and I didn’t have a clear answer.

But I reckon personal energy means two things:

1. How much fuel is in our body/muscles

2. The balance of neurochemicals that effect how our brain feels

The first is fuel our body uses which comes from what we eat, and stored in our muscles as glucose. Unless we fuel ourselves too much. Then it’s stored as fat.

But the second type is more complex and something those experiencing burnout and depression struggle with.

I’m by no means an expert. But my rugby career taught me a lot about the body. While retirement has taught me a lot about the mind, and I started researching how it works after a teammate committed suicide, hoping I could avoid struggling when footy finished.

However, I’ve still had rough patches despite my research, and factors that impact how much energy our brains has are complex. But I’ll try explaining what I’ve learned as simply as possible.

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Disregarding things that happen to us that’s outside our control, our mood and energy levels are determined by the balance of neurochemicals in our brain.

A well-balanced mix causes a positive mood and high energy, whereas an imbalance leads to low mood and energy.

The chemical that makes us tired is called Adenosine, which builds up throughout the day and clears out when we're asleep. The better we sleep, the less Adenosine we have in our system, making us more alert and feel better. Aka "more energy".

But there are multiple neurochemicals that make us feel good, aka "have energy" and it's the balance of all these that reflects our overall state.

The chemicals that make us feel good are:

• Endorphins, which we get when we exercise.

• Oxytocin, which we get when we spend time with people we care about and trust.

• Dopamine, which we get when we do things we like.

• Serotonin, which we get when we do hard things that make us proud (like running a marathon or getting a promotion at work).

I'll assume you already know about Dopamine and how easy access to it is ruining society (I recommend reading Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke if you're interested to know more).

But the other chemicals, I feel, aren't talked about enough.

If more people understood what they do and how to get them, it wouldn’t stop people from struggling, but less people would struggle with their mental health.

Endorphins

Endorphins are nature's painkiller, and anyone who's experienced the "runner's high" will attest that it's super addictive. If I exercise in the morning, I'm a different person throughout the day. I'm calmer, more patient, and generally more positive because my brain is feeling good and received its morning dose of Endorphins.

Oxytocin

Research shows that loneliness is as bad for you as smoking and people who are lonely are low in Oxytocin, also known as the "love chemical".

However, you don't get it from just being physically around other people. You only get it when you're with people you're emotionally connected with and trust, and doing things that help you get both Endorphins and Oxytocin at the same time, I believe, is as close to a silver bullet for poor mental health there is.

Even if it’s just a walk with mate, I’m yet to find something that boosts my mood more and it's this belief that

Running for Resilience

is built on.

Serotonin

The last and hardest neurochemical to explain is Serotonin.

When someone is depressed, they are given anti-depressants called Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) to help increase the levels.

Basically, Serotonin is responsible for two things: Our self-belief (how we feel about ourself) and regulating our ability to resist things that give us cheap hits of dopamine (e.g. social media, booze etc).

When our Serotonin is low, it makes falling for cheap dopamine easy, and why some people have an ‘addictive personality’.

But when it's up, we feel proud of ourselves and don’t feel the need to do easy things that give us cheap dopamine.

And aside from taking SSRIs, the only way I’ve read to increase levels of Serotonin is to do hard things we think we can’t and challenge ourselves. Which is near impossible when we’re tired and want to sit on the couch and watch Netflix.

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So yeah, thanks for reading and I’m keen to hear your thoughts.

What did I get right? What did I get wrong? And what am I missing?