March 9, 2025 • 15 mins
What if you could tap into your child's natural brain chemistry to boost motivation and reduce stress? Discover the "Happiness Quartet"—four key neurochemicals that can transform behaviour, learning, and family life. From barefoot walks on grass to risky play, learn practical ways to naturally boost these powerful brain chemicals for happier, more motivated kids.
Quote of the Episode: "Break big, difficult tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps - each step triggers a dopamine hit, which fuels motivation and sense of accomplishment."
Key Insights:
- Dopamine works as an anticipation engine
- Serotonin acts as a natural stress reducer
- Endorphins serve as natural painkillers
- Oxytocin builds trust and connection
- Nature exposure boosts multiple positive chemicals
- Physical activity enhances brain chemistry
- Social connections trigger beneficial hormones
- Breaking down tasks increases motivation
Resources Mentioned:
- Neuroscience research on motivation
- Serotonin and nature studies
- Happy Families
Action Steps for Parents:
- The Dopamine Boost
- Break tasks into smaller steps
- Celebrate progress
- Create anticipation
- The Serotonin Solution
- Get outside in nature
- Try barefoot grounding
- Practice deep breathing
- The Endorphin Lift
- Encourage physical activity
- Make time for laughter
- Allow calculated risks
- The Oxytocin Connection
- Prioritise family meals
- Share physical affection
- Create trust-building moments
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
What if there was a way.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I feel like I'm being sneaky even asking this. What
if there was a way that we could kind of
hijack our kids' brain chemistry, If there was a way
that we could tap into the stuff that matters to
their brains to help our children to feel a stronger
desire to do the stuff that they don't necessarily tell
us that they want to do, but we know that
they need to do these things. If that makes sense.
(00:29):
Hello and welcome the Happy Families podcast Real Parenting Solutions
every day on Australia's most downloaded parenting podcast. Kylie, I
feel like I have to whisper. I feel like we're
about to do something really sneaky here when it comes
to hijacking our kids neurology. I want to know it all.
Tell me so it's no secret. So funny, that's no
(00:50):
secret that motivation for pretty much anything we ask our
children to do can dwindle. I'm thinking of school work primarily,
but chores are the same thing participating in life. Research
shows a measurable decline, a consistent decline in our kids'
intrinsic motivation, particularly as they're progressing through the school term.
(01:12):
Like we're halfway through term one or thereabouts, and it
happens for a whole lot of reasons. There's the increased
level of pressure, there's the social distractions, there's the hormonal
shifts if they're getting older, and there's the simple fact
that they're getting tired. But if we can, I want
to say, hijack their brain chemistry, maybe hack their brain chemistry.
(01:33):
Either way, it's either way. It sounds like we're trying
to be sneaky.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
We can real, aren't We can what we do and
we grate up the carrot and stick it in the
I don't know it's there.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
What we're going to do today is talk about the
happiness quartet. Four neurochemicals that if we can hack into,
we can help our children to find motivation for any
number of things. I'm going to focus mainly on what's
going on at school, but we can bring into the
home as well. So four of them, because Kylie, I mean,
you and I have talked about this before. Our brains
are these intricate chemical factories. There's this massive cocktail of
(02:08):
neurotransmitters that influence everything from mood to motivation. And when
we can understand how our brains and our children's brains work,
then we're not really hacking them at all. What we're
doing is we can create environments that nurture kids natural
curiosity and love of learning. Just like we talked with
Professor Andrew Westella about neurodiversity. Well, guess what, it's the
(02:29):
same thing if you're dealing with neurotypical kids all the same.
So we're going to talk about four neurochemicals today, Kylie,
that change the game when we understand how they work.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
What's number one?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
We're going to talk about this thing that's known as
the anticipation engine. Most people think about it as the
reward chemical. It's not perfectly accurate, but the dopaminergic system
is where we're playing. Say that word again, the dopaminergic system,
talking about dopamine. I feel like YOU'REDZ but you smiled
at me, and my dopeminergic system just went. I feel
like it was so rewarding. I should keep on saying
(03:02):
the word. All right, So what do you know about dopamine?
You've heard me talk about it a fair bit.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
What's the feel good hormone?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes? Yeah, So when do you feel don't mean coursing through.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Your system when somebody likes my post.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
This is why social media is so so.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It someone tells me that I look beautiful when the
kids are playing nicely.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Well, that one's probably not dope means so much. That's
it could be a little bit, but there's something else
going on there. Dopamine, as you've said, is usually considered
the feel good chemical. It's often called the reward chemical.
But something that research has discovered a number of years
ago now, and I think it's really important, is that
it's not just something that you feel when you experience reward.
(03:53):
Dope meane is more of an anticipation chemical. You and
I are on a bit of a eat well, what
would you call it challenge? The challenge is the wrong world.
But we're trying really hard to eat good foods, which
means as we've removed all the highly process.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You do not justin there is no trial.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Okay, so we're not eating highly processed foods at all
except for maybe are you going to Dodge? But it's
really hard when I'm traveling to not I mean, I'm
working really really hard on it. You're probably doing better
than me, but we are both doing extremely well. Anyway,
when you are not trying to eat super well. Because
(04:30):
here's the thing. Sugary foods, highly processed foods, whether it's
a tasty ice cream or a sugary treat, whatever it
might be. When you see it, when somebody brings cake
into the office, what happens.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You get a dope mean head.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I'm going to say that one, but I didn't because
I'm not eating it anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
That's exactly right, which is why I'm kind of stumbling
a little bit, because we're trying not to eat this well.
We're not eating this stuff anymore. So I'm wondering how
authentically I can say it. But we've been there, we
know what it is. You don't get the dope mean
after the first bite. In fact, after the first bite
sometimes you go, oh, it's not actually that good. Quite often,
you're so funny. Quite often what happens with dope mean
(05:13):
is that it makes us anticipate, anticipate, anticipate until oh,
my goodness, I can't wait any longer. We finally have
that thing, and then we go like the build up
is all the dopamine, and then we get the reward
and there's a bit of a come down from it.
So that's dope mean. Dope mean is the thing that
makes it feel so good to chase the goal, and
(05:34):
it also helps us to feel a little bit of
satisfaction around completing a task or doing something hard well.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I was about to say, I think that I got
a huge dopamine burst after I painted our feature all
the other day.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, I was really nervous to do it. I was
putting a bold color against our white background, and it
felt amazing once I finally did it and it looked great.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And I got the same dopamine hit looking at the
great job you did after I another chapter from my book,
here's the practical tip. Okay, we're talking about hijacking our
kid's brain systems here. If you want your children to
experience consistent dope mean bursts, anticipating goodness or feeling the
reward and satisfaction of a job well done, break big,
(06:18):
difficult tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps, because they
start to feel like they're making progress. And the more
progress they feel like they're making, the more each step
trigger is a dope mean hit, which fuels their motivation
and their sense of accomplishment.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I love that idea. It reminds me of the story
we told a few weeks ago about me going over
to my friend's house and her daughter was having a
meltdown because she had to clean her bedroom and it
was such a big job. She didn't know how to
do it. When you chunk it, when you chunk it
and break it down, it was so manageable. She just
needed guidance and direction. And the dopamine hit at the
(06:56):
end of that. Once it was all done and she
got to spend time with our daughter, was such an
awesome thing to experience.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
So to pump up dopamine in the system. It's really
about progress, small steps, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Look
what you did, Now, what can you do? Let's keep
it moving forward momentum. That's how you hijack their system
and keep them focused on, whether it's little things like
unpacking the dish washer or cleaning the room, or writing
an essay or studying for an exam.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
What's number two?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
So the second one we're going to talk about is serotonin.
Serotonin is I'm going to call it the calm conductor.
What I mean by that is serotonin is the serenity superhero.
There we go. I'm going for the alliteration. Now. What
it does is promotes feelings of calm and contentment and
well being. It's like this antidote to stress and anxiety
(07:44):
and all of that adrenaline that's running around the system,
because those things sabotage learning and they reduce motivation. So
if we want more calm, if we want more serotonin
buzzing through our kids' brains, best thing to do here
is to slow things down, take your foot off the accelerator.
(08:06):
My experience with our kids is that the best way
to do this is to step outside and get some
green into our lives, get some blue sky into our lives,
get some nature into our lives. It feels like anything outside,
any kind of a short walk down to the edd
of the street, sunlight, fresh air, these are all the
(08:26):
things that boost serotonin.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
I love this idea because it's actually, for most of us,
not the first thing we think of when we're stressed out.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, no, we feel like we've got to go harder
and faster at that brick wall that we're banging our
head against.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, yeah, so it's kind of a it's not kind
of it is actually counterintuitive to what our natural response
would be when we're feeling highly stressed, But slowing down
and getting ourselves barefoot on the grass in green space
is so powerful.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
I didn't think of barefoot. I wish I'd put that
in my notes. Love that. The other thing about serotonin
is that when you do these kinds of things, what
it does is helps with the motion regulation. So when
your kids disregulated, I've been saying this for years, one
of the best things that you can do is touch grass,
get outside, be in the open air. Dysregulation just drops
(09:18):
off so much when you're not indoors. I don't think
indoors is actually how humans are supposed to spend all
their days.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
I was having a conversation with a friend the other
day and she acknowledged that while the beach is a
beautiful place to be, that when we want to feel
really grounded, we actually need to go to the grass.
We need the firm earth under our feet, not the
shifting sands. And it was just I think that's a
really powerful thought. At a time when you're feeling highly stressed,
(09:45):
highly dysregulated, you actually need the firmness of earth.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
The other thing to bear in mind here if you
want more serotonin in your life but you can't get nature.
Maybe you're living in an apartment, maybe you're on an
aeroplane and you're just not feeling carbontal in and of
our environment. Maybe you're stuck in a classroom. By helping
your kids to understand some basic deep breathing exercises, mindfulness practices,
those time practices will help you to boost serotonin after break.
(10:09):
Two more ways that you can help your kids to
hack their brain, their neural circuitry so that they can
be calmer and happier and get more done. Kylie, we've
talked about dope meine. Dope meine is the anticipation engine.
We've talked about the serenity superhero, which is serotonin.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
I'm interested to know what number three is.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
This time we're going to talk about one of my favorites.
Endorphins in dolphins are my favorites because these are like,
these are the real reward chemicals. These are the ones
that make us feel so good, usually because we've done
something and they require as a typical thing they require
us to be doing to.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Me moving our body.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yes, so like dopamine is usually anticipatory, but indorphins come
as a result of Yeah, so a couple of examples.
We release indorphins in response to high levels of physical activity,
like you said, moving your body. We release in doorphins
in response to laughter. So I'm going, aha, I'm having
a lover. My body is releasing dolphins. I'm feeling better
(11:15):
even though I did that stupid laugh. Right, then it
makes me feel better, okay, because of the endorphins. Even
a warm hug. So hugs are good for serotonin, but
they're also great for endorphins.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And I would assume that when we have positive connections
with other people, positive interactions, we're experiencing a doorphin.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
That's right, that's right. And here's here's what's fascinating. This
is why I mean you talk about that warm hug
in Dolphins are natural painkillers. So when the kids hurt
themselves because they've fallen over and you give them a hug,
that hug releases the serotonin, which is your serenity superhero,
but it also releases in doorphins, which act as natural painkillers.
(11:55):
That's why mummy giving you a kiss on your hurting knee,
the knee feels better, and it's not because there's any
sort of incredible properties in mum's skin cells on her lips.
It's because the endorphins that your brain releases in response
to the kiss make you feel better.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Well, everyone will have experienced this. You're having a bad day,
you've got a really bad headache, but you catch up
with somebody that you're excited to see and you have
the capacity to enjoy that conversation, enjoy that interaction, and
it's not until they go that you remember, oh, hang on,
suck my head hurts. Yeah. Because the endorphins are so powerful,
they actually overbride any of the pain that you might
(12:35):
be experiencing in that moment.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
They also reduce stress, they boost mood. Here's the practical element,
because we need to wrap up endorphins. If you want
your kids to have them, encourage them to get involved
in physical activity, whether they're playing tag in the park,
or running around the backyard or just dancing to their
favorite music in the kitchen. Here's a pro tip as well.
(12:57):
The risky of the activity, the more in doorphins and
the more resilience. I know that I get provocative when
I say this sort of stuff, but if your kids
are doing something at least once a week that could
land them in hospital because of the risk associated with it.
This is good for them. It helps them to release
the endorphins, it helps them to have the dope meine,
it helps them to be more resilient. It's just so
(13:19):
good for them. And laughter, Oh my goodness. Last I
can just.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Hear it now. Kids in the er and they why
are you here? Doctor Justin Corson said, it's good for me.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
He's making my family happy by sending us all to hospital.
The last one that we need to talk about, and
we are out of time, so I've got to go
over this one fairly quickly. Is oxytocin. Oxytocin is the connection.
I'm going to call it catalyst, the connection catalyst. This
is the love hormone. It's playing this crucial role in
social bonding and trust and emotional connection. It's released during
(13:49):
positive interactions with people that you trust. It creates a
sense of belonging and security. So strengthen family bonds. But
help your kids to get oxytocin release even at school
by sitting people who make them feel safe, and hopefully
by having at least one adult in their lives that
makes them feel good because they're at school, shared meals,
game nights, bedtime stories. These are all opportunities for oxytocin
(14:13):
rich moments and they make kids feel better.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Well, I think that I could do with a little
bit of a serenity superhero right.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Now, right, Okay, so you want to hug is what
is that? It's just like you just want to go
and lay on the grass. When we understand the power
of our brain chemistry and our children's brain chem don't
get all.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Doctory on us. I really just preferred when you talked
about hijacking our kids' brains, that sounds way more interesting.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
I was about to say, it's not about manipulating their brains.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
It's hijacking it.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
It's about providing support and encouragement and opportunities that they
can thrive and so they're motivated to well at school
and help out at home and create a happy brain
for them.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Well, let's go and give our kids a boost of
oxytocin and give them a good hug.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
The Happy Family's podcast is produced by Justin Rulan for
Bridge Media. More information and resource us to make your
family happier at happy families dot com. Dolay you mm
hm
What if there was a way.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I feel like I'm being sneaky even asking this. What
if there was a way that we could kind of
hijack our kids' brain chemistry, If there was a way
that we could tap into the stuff that matters to
their brains to help our children to feel a stronger
desire to do the stuff that they don't necessarily tell
us that they want to do, but we know that
they need to do these things. If that makes sense.
(00:29):
Hello and welcome the Happy Families podcast Real Parenting Solutions
every day on Australia's most downloaded parenting podcast. Kylie, I
feel like I have to whisper. I feel like we're
about to do something really sneaky here when it comes
to hijacking our kids neurology. I want to know it all.
Tell me so it's no secret. So funny, that's no
(00:50):
secret that motivation for pretty much anything we ask our
children to do can dwindle. I'm thinking of school work primarily,
but chores are the same thing participating in life. Research
shows a measurable decline, a consistent decline in our kids'
intrinsic motivation, particularly as they're progressing through the school term.
(01:12):
Like we're halfway through term one or thereabouts, and it
happens for a whole lot of reasons. There's the increased
level of pressure, there's the social distractions, there's the hormonal
shifts if they're getting older, and there's the simple fact
that they're getting tired. But if we can, I want
to say, hijack their brain chemistry, maybe hack their brain chemistry.
(01:33):
Either way, it's either way. It sounds like we're trying
to be sneaky.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
We can real, aren't We can what we do and
we grate up the carrot and stick it in the
I don't know it's there.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
What we're going to do today is talk about the
happiness quartet. Four neurochemicals that if we can hack into,
we can help our children to find motivation for any
number of things. I'm going to focus mainly on what's
going on at school, but we can bring into the
home as well. So four of them, because Kylie, I mean,
you and I have talked about this before. Our brains
are these intricate chemical factories. There's this massive cocktail of
(02:08):
neurotransmitters that influence everything from mood to motivation. And when
we can understand how our brains and our children's brains work,
then we're not really hacking them at all. What we're
doing is we can create environments that nurture kids natural
curiosity and love of learning. Just like we talked with
Professor Andrew Westella about neurodiversity. Well, guess what, it's the
(02:29):
same thing if you're dealing with neurotypical kids all the same.
So we're going to talk about four neurochemicals today, Kylie,
that change the game when we understand how they work.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
What's number one?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
We're going to talk about this thing that's known as
the anticipation engine. Most people think about it as the
reward chemical. It's not perfectly accurate, but the dopaminergic system
is where we're playing. Say that word again, the dopaminergic system,
talking about dopamine. I feel like YOU'REDZ but you smiled
at me, and my dopeminergic system just went. I feel
like it was so rewarding. I should keep on saying
(03:02):
the word. All right, So what do you know about dopamine?
You've heard me talk about it a fair bit.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
What's the feel good hormone?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes? Yeah, So when do you feel don't mean coursing through.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Your system when somebody likes my post.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
This is why social media is so so.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It someone tells me that I look beautiful when the
kids are playing nicely.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Well, that one's probably not dope means so much. That's
it could be a little bit, but there's something else
going on there. Dopamine, as you've said, is usually considered
the feel good chemical. It's often called the reward chemical.
But something that research has discovered a number of years
ago now, and I think it's really important, is that
it's not just something that you feel when you experience reward.
(03:53):
Dope meane is more of an anticipation chemical. You and
I are on a bit of a eat well, what
would you call it challenge? The challenge is the wrong world.
But we're trying really hard to eat good foods, which
means as we've removed all the highly process.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You do not justin there is no trial.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Okay, so we're not eating highly processed foods at all
except for maybe are you going to Dodge? But it's
really hard when I'm traveling to not I mean, I'm
working really really hard on it. You're probably doing better
than me, but we are both doing extremely well. Anyway,
when you are not trying to eat super well. Because
(04:30):
here's the thing. Sugary foods, highly processed foods, whether it's
a tasty ice cream or a sugary treat, whatever it
might be. When you see it, when somebody brings cake
into the office, what happens.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You get a dope mean head.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I'm going to say that one, but I didn't because
I'm not eating it anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
That's exactly right, which is why I'm kind of stumbling
a little bit, because we're trying not to eat this well.
We're not eating this stuff anymore. So I'm wondering how
authentically I can say it. But we've been there, we
know what it is. You don't get the dope mean
after the first bite. In fact, after the first bite
sometimes you go, oh, it's not actually that good. Quite often,
you're so funny. Quite often what happens with dope mean
(05:13):
is that it makes us anticipate, anticipate, anticipate until oh,
my goodness, I can't wait any longer. We finally have
that thing, and then we go like the build up
is all the dopamine, and then we get the reward
and there's a bit of a come down from it.
So that's dope mean. Dope mean is the thing that
makes it feel so good to chase the goal, and
(05:34):
it also helps us to feel a little bit of
satisfaction around completing a task or doing something hard well.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I was about to say, I think that I got
a huge dopamine burst after I painted our feature all
the other day.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, I was really nervous to do it. I was
putting a bold color against our white background, and it
felt amazing once I finally did it and it looked great.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And I got the same dopamine hit looking at the
great job you did after I another chapter from my book,
here's the practical tip. Okay, we're talking about hijacking our
kid's brain systems here. If you want your children to
experience consistent dope mean bursts, anticipating goodness or feeling the
reward and satisfaction of a job well done, break big,
(06:18):
difficult tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps, because they
start to feel like they're making progress. And the more
progress they feel like they're making, the more each step
trigger is a dope mean hit, which fuels their motivation
and their sense of accomplishment.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I love that idea. It reminds me of the story
we told a few weeks ago about me going over
to my friend's house and her daughter was having a
meltdown because she had to clean her bedroom and it
was such a big job. She didn't know how to
do it. When you chunk it, when you chunk it
and break it down, it was so manageable. She just
needed guidance and direction. And the dopamine hit at the
(06:56):
end of that. Once it was all done and she
got to spend time with our daughter, was such an
awesome thing to experience.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
So to pump up dopamine in the system. It's really
about progress, small steps, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Look
what you did, Now, what can you do? Let's keep
it moving forward momentum. That's how you hijack their system
and keep them focused on, whether it's little things like
unpacking the dish washer or cleaning the room, or writing
an essay or studying for an exam.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
What's number two?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
So the second one we're going to talk about is serotonin.
Serotonin is I'm going to call it the calm conductor.
What I mean by that is serotonin is the serenity superhero.
There we go. I'm going for the alliteration. Now. What
it does is promotes feelings of calm and contentment and
well being. It's like this antidote to stress and anxiety
(07:44):
and all of that adrenaline that's running around the system,
because those things sabotage learning and they reduce motivation. So
if we want more calm, if we want more serotonin
buzzing through our kids' brains, best thing to do here
is to slow things down, take your foot off the accelerator.
(08:06):
My experience with our kids is that the best way
to do this is to step outside and get some
green into our lives, get some blue sky into our lives,
get some nature into our lives. It feels like anything outside,
any kind of a short walk down to the edd
of the street, sunlight, fresh air, these are all the
(08:26):
things that boost serotonin.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
I love this idea because it's actually, for most of us,
not the first thing we think of when we're stressed out.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, no, we feel like we've got to go harder
and faster at that brick wall that we're banging our
head against.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, yeah, so it's kind of a it's not kind
of it is actually counterintuitive to what our natural response
would be when we're feeling highly stressed, But slowing down
and getting ourselves barefoot on the grass in green space
is so powerful.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
I didn't think of barefoot. I wish I'd put that
in my notes. Love that. The other thing about serotonin
is that when you do these kinds of things, what
it does is helps with the motion regulation. So when
your kids disregulated, I've been saying this for years, one
of the best things that you can do is touch grass,
get outside, be in the open air. Dysregulation just drops
(09:18):
off so much when you're not indoors. I don't think
indoors is actually how humans are supposed to spend all
their days.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
I was having a conversation with a friend the other
day and she acknowledged that while the beach is a
beautiful place to be, that when we want to feel
really grounded, we actually need to go to the grass.
We need the firm earth under our feet, not the
shifting sands. And it was just I think that's a
really powerful thought. At a time when you're feeling highly stressed,
(09:45):
highly dysregulated, you actually need the firmness of earth.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
The other thing to bear in mind here if you
want more serotonin in your life but you can't get nature.
Maybe you're living in an apartment, maybe you're on an
aeroplane and you're just not feeling carbontal in and of
our environment. Maybe you're stuck in a classroom. By helping
your kids to understand some basic deep breathing exercises, mindfulness practices,
those time practices will help you to boost serotonin after break.
(10:09):
Two more ways that you can help your kids to
hack their brain, their neural circuitry so that they can
be calmer and happier and get more done. Kylie, we've
talked about dope meine. Dope meine is the anticipation engine.
We've talked about the serenity superhero, which is serotonin.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
I'm interested to know what number three is.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
This time we're going to talk about one of my favorites.
Endorphins in dolphins are my favorites because these are like,
these are the real reward chemicals. These are the ones
that make us feel so good, usually because we've done
something and they require as a typical thing they require
us to be doing to.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Me moving our body.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yes, so like dopamine is usually anticipatory, but indorphins come
as a result of Yeah, so a couple of examples.
We release indorphins in response to high levels of physical activity,
like you said, moving your body. We release in doorphins
in response to laughter. So I'm going, aha, I'm having
a lover. My body is releasing dolphins. I'm feeling better
(11:15):
even though I did that stupid laugh. Right, then it
makes me feel better, okay, because of the endorphins. Even
a warm hug. So hugs are good for serotonin, but
they're also great for endorphins.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And I would assume that when we have positive connections
with other people, positive interactions, we're experiencing a doorphin.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
That's right, that's right. And here's here's what's fascinating. This
is why I mean you talk about that warm hug
in Dolphins are natural painkillers. So when the kids hurt
themselves because they've fallen over and you give them a hug,
that hug releases the serotonin, which is your serenity superhero,
but it also releases in doorphins, which act as natural painkillers.
(11:55):
That's why mummy giving you a kiss on your hurting knee,
the knee feels better, and it's not because there's any
sort of incredible properties in mum's skin cells on her lips.
It's because the endorphins that your brain releases in response
to the kiss make you feel better.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Well, everyone will have experienced this. You're having a bad day,
you've got a really bad headache, but you catch up
with somebody that you're excited to see and you have
the capacity to enjoy that conversation, enjoy that interaction, and
it's not until they go that you remember, oh, hang on,
suck my head hurts. Yeah. Because the endorphins are so powerful,
they actually overbride any of the pain that you might
(12:35):
be experiencing in that moment.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
They also reduce stress, they boost mood. Here's the practical element,
because we need to wrap up endorphins. If you want
your kids to have them, encourage them to get involved
in physical activity, whether they're playing tag in the park,
or running around the backyard or just dancing to their
favorite music in the kitchen. Here's a pro tip as well.
(12:57):
The risky of the activity, the more in doorphins and
the more resilience. I know that I get provocative when
I say this sort of stuff, but if your kids
are doing something at least once a week that could
land them in hospital because of the risk associated with it.
This is good for them. It helps them to release
the endorphins, it helps them to have the dope meine,
it helps them to be more resilient. It's just so
(13:19):
good for them. And laughter, Oh my goodness. Last I
can just.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Hear it now. Kids in the er and they why
are you here? Doctor Justin Corson said, it's good for me.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
He's making my family happy by sending us all to hospital.
The last one that we need to talk about, and
we are out of time, so I've got to go
over this one fairly quickly. Is oxytocin. Oxytocin is the connection.
I'm going to call it catalyst, the connection catalyst. This
is the love hormone. It's playing this crucial role in
social bonding and trust and emotional connection. It's released during
(13:49):
positive interactions with people that you trust. It creates a
sense of belonging and security. So strengthen family bonds. But
help your kids to get oxytocin release even at school
by sitting people who make them feel safe, and hopefully
by having at least one adult in their lives that
makes them feel good because they're at school, shared meals,
game nights, bedtime stories. These are all opportunities for oxytocin
(14:13):
rich moments and they make kids feel better.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Well, I think that I could do with a little
bit of a serenity superhero right.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Now, right, Okay, so you want to hug is what
is that? It's just like you just want to go
and lay on the grass. When we understand the power
of our brain chemistry and our children's brain chem don't
get all.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Doctory on us. I really just preferred when you talked
about hijacking our kids' brains, that sounds way more interesting.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
I was about to say, it's not about manipulating their brains.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
It's hijacking it.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
It's about providing support and encouragement and opportunities that they
can thrive and so they're motivated to well at school
and help out at home and create a happy brain
for them.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Well, let's go and give our kids a boost of
oxytocin and give them a good hug.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
The Happy Family's podcast is produced by Justin Rulan for
Bridge Media. More information and resource us to make your
family happier at happy families dot com. Dolay you mm
hm
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