Attending regularly to our own happiness is a loving gift to ourselves. Life is not and cannot always be joyful, but having joy matters. Amid complex, demanding, stressful lives, we can find ways to seek out some moments of pleasure.
Happiness doesn’t mean always getting what we want; in fact, struggle and effort towards a goal can sometimes result in some of the best kinds of positivity surges. And delight can sometimes happen to us at unexpected times, such as getting a raise or finding a $20 bill in a coat pocket. But taking charge of including happiness opportunities into our lives at regular intervals is key.
Daily DOSES
I am highlighting the DOSES acronym to inspire five daily choices that can improve mood now and into the future. I will be using and modifying the DOSE framework introduced by neuroscientist T.J. Power in his book, The DOSE Effect: Small Habits to Boost Your Brain Chemistry (2025). He used the acronym to reference the four major chemicals in our brains that influence our happiness: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins. I will underscore the importance of releasing those neurochemicals, adding alliterations to help remember the primary categories, as well as adding a fifth category to the acronym. (For more ideas and details about the DOSE effect, see TJ Power’s book.)
Dosing with daily loving happiness strategies affects our hearts, literally and figuratively. Taking care of our neurochemicals is taking care of our nervous, immune, and internal organ systems. This, in turn, affects our mindset and mood, improving resilience and overall well-being.
D: Doing for Dopamine
Doing something that involves an accomplishment, task completion, or a creative outlet increases dopamine. By making sure we add some achievement or purposefulness in our lives, we allow dopamine, the reward chemical, to flow more freely in our bodies. Accomplishment in our days gives us focus. This engages learning, motivation, and the highly pleasurable sensation of completing something.
Purpose can come through work, volunteering, household tasks, errands, or any number of other activities. There is no set number of hours or tasks to complete, as individuals vary in their situations and capacities, but the idea is to have a sense of meaningful achievement as much as possible on most days. Individuals who have some striving toward goals and achieve them tend to be happier and healthier.
O: Other-Time for Oxytocin
Oxytocin, the love hormone, flourishes when we find ways to connect with others. More oxytocin in our system increases a sense of calm, safety, security, and trust with others. Socializing with other beings, including animals, improves our interpersonal confidence. The importance of regular connection with other humans has been repeatedly supported by sociological research, and it is no accident that isolation is used as a means of punishment or torture in prisons and prisoner-of-war camps.
There is no formula for how much time or how many contacts are needed, as this is highly individualized, but the ideal focus is on finding ways to engage with others more days than not. Extroverts may “fill their battery” through social contact, but even individuals who might be considered more introverted or private can benefit. Those interactions might be with family or friends, but even brief interactions with a cashier or a neighbor on the sidewalk can be surprisingly uplifting. Although in-person contact has many benefits, phone calls, emails, or texts also count as contact. Sharing a moment of connection or shared reflection often helps us feel less alone and being able to ask for help as needed is healthier than being rigidly independent.
S: Sunshine and Serenity for Serotonin
Seeking out sunshine and serene centeredness helps boost serotonin. This hormone is known as a mood stabilizer and supports overall energy throughout life. There are various ways to increase serotonin, but spending time in nature and taking mindful, meditative moments are considered among the best ways to boost this body chemical. People tend to settle their nervous systems when they immerse themselves in peaceful thoughts, behaviors, and surroundings, and our nervous systems need such times to improve our dispositional state.
Intentionally focusing on increasing Vitamin N (Nature) is an accessible way to boost serotonin. Numerous studies have shown the incredible physical and psychological benefits of spending more time in nature. There are various theories about why this is so important. Time in nature tends to engage all our senses, providing a sensorial recalibration. Some say the positive relaxation effects of being outside might relate primarily to increased physical activity; others suggest that bodies relax more in more natural surroundings. The notions of slowing down and mindfulness are also often easier to practice in nature, free of computers, chores, and other indoor distractions for at least a little while.
Happiness Essential Reads
E: Exercise and Entertainment to Enhance Endorphins
Endorphins are known as the painkiller hormones, helping ease physical or psychological pain associated with various large and small events in life. Finding joyful movement, moments of laughter, or engaging entertainment all help boost endorphins and can even induce a brief sense of euphoria. This does not mean we ignore, cover over, or deny feelings of sadness or upset, but adding moments of pain relief through intentional behavioral action can help.
We know that movement and mobility support overall health, but the focus on pleasurable, positive experiences rather than perfectionism or overtraining is key. As children, we are allowed to be playful and joyous so much of the time, but adults sometimes leave this out of their daily lives. It is not realistic to expect continuous “adult recess” time, but finding small moments of joy and movement in most days is highly recommended.
S: Sleep and Stillness for Settling
Sleep and rest are undervalued interventions for many in our high-pressure, demanding, digital world. We don’t expect our phones or computers to operate indefinitely without plugging them in periodically, yet many individuals expect themselves to function effectively without proper recharging. An ongoing sleep debt can lead to a multitude of problems with functioning. During rest, various neurochemical shifts occur, including increases in GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation), melatonin (sometimes called the darkness hormone, signaling wind-down time), and acetylcholine (the REM sleep chemical, helping the brain process memories from the day).
Sleep has been likened to the time when the brain’s waste is cleared, like a washing machine removing dirt from clothing. Finding ways to protect sleep is critical, but our bodies also need rest. Because living with chronically activated nervous systems can result in a body that is physically rested but neurologically exhausted, we also need mental rest (from problem-solving or decision-making), emotional rest (from emotionally intense situations or overwhelm), sensory rest (from overstimulation of the senses), and social rest (from relationships that are more focused on performance or demand).
A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down
This famous Mary Poppins song reminds us that adding moments of positivity can help make the sometimes less-than-positive-but-necessary parts of life more manageable. Simple but transformative actions can alter our well-being and neurochemistry, and this positively impacts both psychological and physical health. By maximizing the science of happiness, we are setting ourselves up for self-love in a longer-term, happily-ever-after way.
