Dopamine is an important chemical messenger that plays several important roles in the brain and body:<ul><li>It influences moods and feelings of reward and motivation: When  released in large amounts, it creates feelings of pleasure and reward, which motivates you to repeat a specific behavior.</li><li>It helps regulate body movements as well. </li></ul>

Dopamine Functions

They are generally well regulated by the body, but there are a few diet and lifestyle changes you can make to boost your levels naturally:<ul><li>Eat lots of protein</li><li>Eat less saturated fat</li><li>Consume probiotics</li><li>Exercise often</li><li>Get enough sleep</li><li>Listen to music</li><li>Meditate</li><li>Get enough sunlight</li></ul>

Increase dopamine levels naturally

Dopamine is an important chemical messenger in the brain that has many functions. It's involved in reward, motivation, memory, attention and even regulating body movements ( 1, 2, 3). When dopamine is released in large amounts, it creates feelings of pleasure and reward, which motivates you to repeat a specific behavior ( 4, 5).

food

Food

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

health

Health

mentalhealth

Mental Health

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

10 Best Ways to Increase Dopamine Levels Naturally

Our brains must make sense of the confusing world around us by processing a never-ending stream of information. Ideally, our brains would analyze everything thoroughly. However, they cannot, because it is too impractical.
<ul>
<li>Thinking takes time, and our decisions must often be fast. You must immediately know to cross a road quickly, when you hear a car rapidly approaching.</li>
<li>Thinking also uses energy and our brains have only a limited supply. Analyzing everything would quickly deplete our energy stores. These limitations represent a thinking problem: Our brains simply do not have enough resources to understand the world without taking some mental shortcuts.</li>
</ul>

The thinking problem

We experience and interpret the world around us based on what we already know, even though sometimes what we know is flawed. Our brains find shortcuts to overcome the thinking problem by relying on thoughts already stored in our minds, called schemas. Schemas do the processing for the brain, like auto-fill, but for thinking.
Using schemas is more efficient than analyzing every aspect of every moment. They allow our brains to process more information with less effort, saving brain power for other important thinking and problem-solving.

Our smart, lazy brains

<ul>
<li>Schemas are the building blocks of our knowledge about the world. Our brains rely on different types of schemas to understand different types of situations.</li>
<li>Schemas are like books in your mind telling you what different objects are and what they do. A bird schema, for example, might say that birds are “small animals,” “have wings” and “can fly.” Together, all the objects you know form a collection of books that fill the shelves of a library in your mind.</li>
<li>Our brains trust what these books or schemas tell us when we try to understand objects in our environment. </li>
</ul>

Our brains as libraries

Whether our judgments are accurate depends on the schemas or books available in our mental libraries.
When our brains try to understand unfamiliar objects, they must rely on a schema for a different but similar object because the correct schema is unavailable. If the object and chosen schema closely match, our brains effortlessly – but inaccurately – assume the two objects are the same.

Why we see things differently

Where we would be without our brains? But think about it. How do they work?

problemsolving

Problem Solving

Your brain thinks – but how?

<ul>
<li>According to Galileo Galilei, mathematics is the language in which God scripted the universe.</li>
<li>A language, as defined by linguist Noam Chomsky, is a set of sentences constructed using a finite set of elements, being able to represent events and abstract concepts.</li>
<li>Mathematics is considered a bona-fide language by many linguists though there are others who disagree and say that it is mostly in written format only.</li>
</ul>

Mathematics: The Language Of Science

<ul>
<li>A language normally contains vocabulary, meaning, grammer, syntax, narrative and a set of people who use and understand the various symbols.</li>
<li>The syntax, vocabulary and grammar of mathematics forms a system of communication which any language must have to qualify as one. </li>
<li>It is considered by many as a universal language as it meets all criteria and requirements of the same.</li>
</ul>

The Components Of Language

Nouns in math are the Arabic numerals, fractions, variables, expressions, figures, infinity, Pi and imaginary numbers like i.
The verbs of math are equalities and inequalities, addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and many other operatives like Sin, Cos, Tan etc.
The rules of mathematics, like syntax and grammar, are international, with the same structure used universally. Greek and Latin languages are used to denote the various symbols.

The Nouns And Verbs Of Mathematics

<ul>
<li>Many students find numbers and symbols confusing, and using a familiar language to describe an equation makes the subject easy to understand. </li>
<li>Solving word problems, where nouns, verbs and modifiers are translated into mathematical equations is a good exercise. </li>
<li>As mathematics is universal, it helps people learn and communicate by acting as a common translator language.</li>
</ul>

Language As A Teaching Tool

While there is some debate about it, mathematics is a language, that has both a vocabulary and grammar. Learn why math is a language.

education

Learning & Education

communication

Communication

Why Mathematics Is a Language

Supposing as true the fact that "mankind is superior to all the other animals" we have major responsibilities on our shoulders.Let me make an example:Plastic by itself is really an extraordinary item , the problem with it is HOW do we manage plastic. In fact is recognized that we should avoid plastic waste and we should be more responsible in using it (even switching to non-plastic items).Now let me ask you, HOW DO WE TREAT ANIMALS? IS THAT RESPONSIBLE AND FAIR?

ETHIC & RESPONSIBILITY

Is misleading that worldwide Livestock and Intensive Farming / Fishing aren't pointed out as a global unethical and unsustainable business.Matter of facts the data prove that the major factor that contributes in Climate Change is the way we exploit animals.*HERE ALL THE SOURCES*https://www.cowspiracy.com/infographichttps://www.seaspiracy.org/fact

DATA & FACTS

Even in the Oceans there isn't a fair and ethical relation with the marine environment.Worldwide there's NO SUSTAINABLE approach to the animal world, in fact, as we can see the data suggest that even the fishing industry doesn't care about how do we treat animals.*DATA & SOURCES*https://www.seaspiracy.org

<ol><li>Science recognizes that CLIMATE CHANGE is caused by human activities,including Diet & Lifestyle</li><li>The COVID-19 PANDEMIC is caused by our lifestyle, and scientists predict many other global health emergencies due to our UNETHICAL "NEEDS"</li><li>Evidences suggest that we should have a plant-based diet , MEAT CONSUMPTION should be discouraged because UNHEALTHY</li><li>We prefer ANIMALS DEATH or EXPLOITATION despite of illimitate alternatives that we have</li><li>Huge WASTE OF RESOURCES due to animal agriculture / fishing</li></ol>

PROBLEMS OF NOT BEING RESPONSIBLE

BE RESPONSIBLE : do we need all this suffering, all this exploitation, all this useless death?A PLANT-BASED DIET is the solution proved to be ETHICAL - SUSTAINABLE - HEALTHY - ENJOYABLE.There's no such thing that can really diminish your impact on the Earth.Since the mainstream discussions aren't about this, here are some sources that can make up your mind:<ul><li>PLANTBASEDNEWS https://plantbasednews.org</li><li>DR. GARTH DAVIS https://youtu.be/fqapZarTTb8</li><li>EARTHLING ED https://youtu.be/7l3UYKXyHYk</li></ul>

SOLUTION

If you still don't see the reality , i'm inviting you to see these 3 documentaries and then reflect on your lifestyle.<ul><li>COWSPIRACY https://www.netflix.com/title/80033772</li><li>SEASPIRACY https://youtu.be/1Q5CXN7soQg</li><li>EARTHLINGS https://youtu.be/8gqwpfEcBjI</li></ul>I also leave you some TEDx TALKS:<ul><li>https://youtu.be/6DgUb9w8mOY</li><li>https://youtu.be/nrVEYTSe-o8</li><li>https://youtu.be/-wkdH_wluhw</li></ul>Ignoring the facts will just worsen the problems.

TO DO LIST

Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And, to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure.

As eye-opening as "Blackfish" and as inspiring as "An Inconvenient Truth". 
A new cut from executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio now exclusively 
streaming on Netflix.

COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret

In layman's terms, the equinox happens because the planet earth is not tilted towards the sun while the sun is directly above the equator. This causes the equinox to happen.
So during this time of the year, both hemispheres get the same hours of daylight and night.
On a usual basis, the earth is tilted as it orbits around the sun, about 23.5 degrees. This tilt causes the difference in how much of the sun's radiation we receive at various times of the year.

The cause of an equinox

The earth's year is not a consistent 365 days, often there is an extra quarter of a day that accumulates each year which causes the date of the equinox to shift.
Nevertheless, the equinox usually happens to mark the astronomical beginning of spring or autumn, but the meteorological beginning of these seasons are March 1st and September 1st.
This 2021, the spring equinox is bound to happen on March 20th, and the fall equinox to happen on September 22nd.

When equinoxes happen

Ancient civilizations have noticed solar changes because they've been watching and keeping track of the sun's movements not only for a hundred years but for thousands of years.
With this, their discovery of equinoxes have been a part of their culture, their plantation season - since solar changes dictate the beginning of seasons which helps aid when to plant and harvest crops and their religious traditions.

The discovery of equinoxes

There are many monuments that mark the equinoxes such as the Mayan Temple in Chichen, Itza in Mexico. This temple is also known as the Temple of Kukulcan and was dedicated to a serpent god.
Another monument is the Hindu Temple Complex Angkor Wat in Cambodia wherein the sun rises directly above its central temple. It's one of the largest religious monuments in the world as was built between AD 1113 and 1150.

Monuments that mark the equinoxes

Twice a year, day and night are almost the same length.

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

What is an equinox?

Austrian astronomer Joseph Johann Von Littrow proposed early in the 19th century that people should send a message to alien civilizations to let them know we are here.
He proposed to dig trenches configured in large geometric patterns in the Sahara Desert, fill them with kerosene and light them. His idea never came to fruition, but we haven't stopped our attempts to contact extraterrestrial life.

Contacting alien civilizations

In 1962, the Soviet scientists directed a radio transmitter at Venus and saluted the planet in Morse code. The message was a test run for a new planetary radar to map objects in the solar system.
In 1974, a group of scientists transmitted a radio message toward Messier 13, a cluster of stars about 25,000 light-years away. The image was sent in binary code and depicted a human stick figure, a double-helix DNA structure, a carbon atom model, and a diagram of a telescope.

Signals sent in the past

Spacecraft containing artefacts have also been launched from Earth, hoping intelligent life-forms will eventually find them.
Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 and carried a Golden Record containing music, ambient sounds from Earth and 116 images of our planet and solar system.

Spacecraft carrying artefacts

The likelihood that any of the attempts to make contact with aliens will reach their intended targets are low.
It contains too many assumptions, such as that if aliens exist, they hear and see the same way we do. Then they have to listen for radio signals and understand enough maths and science to interpret our messages.

The likelihood of success

In the early 19th century, astronomer Joseph Johann Von Littrow proposed we light the Sahara desert on fire to send a message to alien civilizations. We've come a long way since that idea — but we haven't stopped trying to contact life in space.

sciencefiction

Science Fiction

What messages have we sent to aliens?

We often assume that the smartest people in school with the highest grades will become successful. While it may be so, it doesn't mean they will not suffer from anxiety or self-doubt. Others seem always to hold themselves back and not take the action needed to reach their highest potential. The common thread is the influence of their minds. People override their gut instincts and forego many good opportunities because they want to explore and understand all the outcomes before making a call.

Overthinking

The gut instinct and the analytical mind are powerful allies. Intuition will allow you to act more quickly and effectively. It is developed through experience and practice. Then, instead of analysing hundreds of opportunities, your intuition lets you narrow it down to one or two that you can analyse.

Developing your intuition

It is important to pursue the flow state at work, where you are so intensely focused on the task in front of you that you lose track of time. Many people feel most productive, creative and happy in this state. You cannot enter this state by overthinking. People who are experienced at entering a flow state have learned to quiet their minds first with relaxation rituals, whether through meditation or walking.

Understand the flow state

Many people will rather think about doing something than actually doing it. How many people have been "thinking" about starting a business or "thinking" about leaving their job for years? If we only think and plan, we feel safe within our comfort zone. But this is not helpful. At work, you improve and grow by taking action.

Avoid a routine of "think repacing 'do'

You’re risking more than just wasted time. Overanalyzing can also hold you back from pursuing new opportunities.


mindfulness

Mindfulness

creativity

Creativity

meditation

Meditation

Overthinking is the bane of decision-making. This how to cut back on constantly analyzing things

<ul>
<li>We can improve every aspect of our lives by keeping our most vital organ, our brain, healthy.</li>
<li>Exercise is not only good for your body but helps your brain by enhancing many brain structures and functions like the emotion regulating amygdala, and also the prefrontal cortex.</li>
</ul>

Keeping Your Brain Healthy

Drinking tea is good for the brain, helping regulate the age-related decline. It also strengthens the brain connections, the neural network inside the brain, making information processing more efficient.
Even coffee is said to be good to ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Tea and Brain Health

Anything that is bad for the heart is bad for the brain, including smoking cigarettes, or having a sedentary lifestyle, or having diabetes.
Your blood sugar, body mass index, diet and blood pressure all contribute to the health of your heart, and your brain.

Better Heart = Better Brain

We consume a lot of disposable information every day. Reading the news, or social media, makes our brains overloaded with irrelevant stuff we don’t need.
This also includes past memories that are no longer serving us. Too much information clouds your judgement and decision making.

Forget Useless Information

Consuming low levels of alcohol is associated with a lesser risk of dementia. The key is ‘low dose’. Heavy drinking leads to cognitive decline.
If your alcohol intake is well within limits and occasional, it will improve overall brain health.

Drinking A Bit

Running, jogging and aerobic exercises also help the brain. If you can’t take out time to exercise, a simple walk will do.
Exercise is far better for the brain than sitting and solving brain games, which, according to new research, doesn’t help as much as previously thought.

Walk For Your Brain Health

Keeping your brain healthy will improve every aspect of your life. Thankfully, there are things you can do on a daily basis that are good for your brain.

Scientists reveal 5 daily activities to boost brain health

A simple look at our brain, we would see a blob of jiggly meat, however, this blob of jiggly meat is extremely powerful. Through years of evolution, our brains are responsible for conjuring our pasts and predicting our futures, control our bodies, and create our experiences in the past and the present.
Our brains can also modify our physical reality through a social reality where we can make up something out of nothing and convince other people to treat it as real.

The Superhuman Power Of The Brain

Our brains rely on memories when faced with ambiguous data whereas it guesses the causes of the data received as it plans what to do next in order to keep us alive and well.
An esteemed neuroscientist described our daily experience as "the remembered present" where our brains will constantly and invisibly guess future actions based on memories that are similar to the present moment. Our brain's guesses, may they be right or wrong, manifests as our actions and senses.

Reverse Inference Problem

Our brains can actually consider physical objects and impose new or different functions on it even if it is not a part of its physical nature, using only our collective minds. This phenomenon is called social reality.
It has an amazing level of influence on our lives, not only on an individual level but the effects can be felt globally. Where we believe a certain stereotype, soon it creates a self-fulling prophecy which perpetuates the stereotype in a vicious cycle.

Social Reality

The brain makes categories based on context. Say an elephant, a fountain, and a water gun are all three different objects, however, the brain can categorize them as "objects that can shoot water."
The categories made by the brain are extremely flexible and are what drives many of our actions and experiences. this is also the engine behind social reality because when we share such categorizations and make them real it is able to influence people as well as our genetic evolution as a species.

Abstract Categories

"We have more control over reality than we might think, and more responsibility for reality than we might realize or want".

Do we see the world as it really is, or are we creating our own reality? We delve into the neuroscience behind the world that we experience.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

The mind-blowing science behind how our brains shape reality

When you buy a new pair of shoes or the latest electronic device, your purchase might come with a little tiny package labeled “Silica Gel. Desiccant. Do not eat.” If you’re like most people, you probably throw these away. However, there are many uses for them, so don’t be so quick to toss them in the garbage.

Background 

Although the packages say, “Do not eat,” they aren’t actually toxic. They are filled with little silicon dioxide beads, and the only real danger associated with them is that they could pose a choking hazard for young children.

Are they toxic?

Forget rice. Next time your phone gets wet, leave it in a container of these packages overnight, and they should completely dry it out.

Save a wet phone

When moving with your camera from the cold outdoors to a warm indoor location, condensation may form on the lens. Keep a desiccant package in your camera bag to protect it.

Protect your camera from moisture

If you leave a few of these packets on your dashboard under the windshield, they will help dry the air out and clear the windshield off quickly.

Defog your windshield

If you keep a package or two in your gym bag or inside your shoes, they will help prevent mildew and will reduce unpleasant smells.

Prevent smelly gym clothes and shoes

Since your razor blades are constantly in a damp environment, they are likely to quickly get rusty. Store them in a container with some silica gel packets and they will stay nice and dry.

Keep your razors rust free

The last thing you want is to open an old box and find that your favorite photographs and important documents have been ruined by moisture. Store them with some desiccant packets to prevent them from getting damp.

Protect old photos and documents

Silia gel is often sold in flower shops because it is a great way to dry flowers. Fill a bowl with it, place your flower in the middle and wait a week or two for it to dry out.

Dry flowers 

Confused about the 'Do Not Eat' silica gel packets randomly tossed in your new coats, lateral flow tests etc? Desiccants act by absorbing water to keep the surroundings dry, and this article sheds more light on ways to even utilise these, without discarding them. A must-read!

Those little packs of silica beads are more useful than you might think.

Don’t Throw Away Your Desiccant Packets

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