Dopamine & Men’s Health

You may remember the summary I did on last month’s ‘Alive with Gabriel‘ tele/video conference. Last month was the month of Mother’s Day, and so Gabriel chose to address serotonin and how it relates to women’s health.

This month, Gabriel chose, in honor of Father’s Day, to talk about dopamine and how it relates to men’s health. This month, I took a notepad so I could take good notes for you! I’m just going to do it in bullet point, because that’s the easiest way to read it, and that’s how I took the notes  The full video will be on www.GabrielCousens.com, along with all of the previous video-recorded episodes.

• 90% of hyperactivity and ADD cases are in men. Dopamine seems to be one off the main reasons for this.

• Most men are deficient in dopamine, just as most women are deficient in serotonin.

  Symptoms of Dopamine Deficiency

  • Low energy

  • Low interest in sexuality and relationships (romantic relationships in particular)

  • Less eye contact

  • Tendency to be too solution-oriented and not seeing the bigger picture

  • Apathy in life and in relationships

  • Inability to focus

  • Inability to be present

  • Tendency towards cruelty

  • Lack of initiative and proactivity

  • Lack of wanting to please the other in a relationship

  • Tendency towards aggression

  • After sexual orgasm, the man needs to rest or sleep

  • Fatigue after a long day at work

  • Inability to fully listen to others

  • Draw to ‘zone out’ in front of the computer or TV

  • Inadequate interest in relationships (romantic and otherwise)

  • Social withdrawal – need to be ‘in the cave’ too often

  Whew. Ok. So those were the ‘symptoms.’ Next, Gabriel went on to describe how dopamine deficiency can be remedied.

Life Principles for Men that Build Dopamine

• Action, achievement, accomplishment and acknowledgement

• Adventure, challenge, an element of danger

• Sense of service, rescue, being heroic.

Things a Woman can do to Help

• Appreciate and acknowledge a man.

• If direction is needed, communicate what a job is, what needs to be done, and then appreciate.

• #1 thing a woman can do to drop a man’s dopamine – complain.

Nutritional/Supplemental/Lifestyle aspects that Raise Dopamine

• A man needs 10% more protein than women, particularly in the morning

• Dopamine raising foods: all beans, all grains, spirulina

• The #1 thing that raises dopamine – an herb called mucunapruriens

• Sleep!! Dopamine production begins at 10pm… if you’re sleeping.. so DON’T STAY UP TOO LATE! If you are one of those who sleep a few hours, then go to bed by 10pm (till 2am) and wake up super early!

• Exercise, particularly in the am.

Note: A small percentage of women have dopamine deficiency, just as a small percentage of men have serotonin deficiency. For women who have dopamine deficiency, Gabriel recommends taking the L-Dopa extract… emotional needs for women are more about comfort, security, love, being listened to, acknowledged and seen.

Enjoy!

Court