Waking up in the middle of the night. Mindlessly scrolling instead of doing the things you usually enjoy. Feeling moody or unmotivated in general.

If you’re just not yourself lately, you don’t have to just accept it. It pays to be proactive, and a supplement that helps tone down the effects of stress on your mental health and sleep, boosting dopamine, may be the thing that helps turn things around.

Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that can affect everything from your mood, to your concentration, to your ability to learn. When your dopamine is low, you may feel tired, fatigued, and fuzzy. You may experience depressed mood.

There’s no way to take dopamine directly; your brain has to make it. But you can provide your body with the materials and conditions to make more dopamine easily. These are called “dopamine precursors.” Dopamine supplements can help your body make more dopamine by giving it the tools that it needs.

There are several supplements that can do this well. From probiotics to vitamin D to L-tyrosine and certain herbs, there are several ways to affect how your body releases dopamine to support your mood and improve how you handle stress.

Let’s take a look at 9 popular dopamine supplements to see which are safe and effective. We’ll also discuss one that addresses root causes of low dopamine rather than simply working as a “quick dopamine fix”.

Everyone’s body and mind are different, but there are some reliable indicators that your dopamine levels might be low: 

• Trouble with concentration

• Low motivation

• Fatigue

• Moodiness or low mood

• Trouble sleeping

• Forgetfulness

• Restless legs

• Loss of interest or pleasure from things you normally enjoy

Experiencing these things doesn’t automatically mean that you have low dopamine. There are other things in your life that might cause these feelings and experiences. If you’re experiencing a lot of stress in your work or personal life, that can affect your sleep and mood, which in turn can affect all sorts of other aspects of your health.

If you think that you’re experiencing symptoms of low dopamine levels, you should talk with your doctor or other healthcare professional. But in the meantime, you might consider a supplement to help boost your dopamine or lower your stress, and see if that helps.

1. Probiotics & Psychobiotics

Your gut and brain are connected in surprising ways, and having a healthy digestive tract can affect your overall well-being. An unhealthy digestive tract might not absorb nutrients in an ideal way. In turn, not having the right nutrients in the right amounts can affect how well your body can make neurotransmitters like dopamine. This means that probiotics that improve gut health may also affect your brain health.

But some probiotics can do much more for your brain than that. There’s a connection between your gut and your brain called the gut-brain axis, where nerves and neurotransmitters interact in ways that have strong effects on your mood, your brain health, and your mental well-being.

Some probiotics act directly on this gut-brain axis. These strains are known as psychobiotics, and they can affect your mental well-being in several ways. One of the big ones? They can affect the levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine that are available in your body.

Research has found a few different psychobiotics that impact serotonin levels, but there aren’t nearly as many that seem to affect dopamine. One of the most noteworthy strains that does is L. plantarum PS128, a strain in Neuralli Mood.

• In animal studies, PS128 was associated with ~30% higher dopamine levels in the brain (striatum).

• In a single-arm human trial, people with sleep problems reported improvements in their sleep quality and mood while taking PS128.

• In a placebo-controlled clinical trial of Neuralli Mood, stressed people reported sleeping better and being less likely to wake up too early.

There’s only one place in the United States to get L. plantarum PS128 and Neuralli Mood, and it’s here with Bened Life. Neuralli Mood is a dietary supplement that supports a healthy response to stress that contains the psychobiotic duo PS128 and HT-PS23 .

If you’re looking for a safe, long-term, scientifically-studied supplement that improves mood, stress and sleep, potentially by affecting dopamine in the brain, Neuralli Mood is worth checking out.

2. Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps your body produce dopamine, and it can also affect the substantia nigra of the brain. These structures in your brain are important! They help with dopamine production and regulation, they control your movements, and they also provide the starting point for a pathway that a lot of your body’s dopamine travels along.

Vitamin D also has antioxidant properties. This is important, because decreasing oxidative stress is important for your brain health as you get older. However, avoid taking high doses of vitamin D as they may be harmful.

3. L-Tyrosine

Some foods can affect dopamine levels, because the amino acids in them get converted into neurotransmitters in your body. High-protein foods in particular can give your body the fuel it needs to make dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters.

L-tyrosine is an amino acid supplement taken by many athletes to help repair muscles after intense workouts. Some people also try to take L-tyrosine for mood or stress; unfortunately, the effects of L-tyrosine on these are limited. The best results are in acute situations, and were initially discovered in military studies in extremely stressful physical conditions. Outside of extreme circumstances, L-tyrosine may have less utility. In fact, it may even be harmful when taken by people over 60.

4. Mucuna pruriens

Mucuna pruriens, also known as the velvet bean, is a natural source of L-dopa, one of the building blocks the body uses to make dopamine. Studies show that once the L-dopa in Mucuna pruriens crosses the blood-brain barrier, it may help the body release more dopamine.

The bean itself can cause itchy skin and eating too much of it can be toxic. Instead, look for extracts or capsules and take them according to the instructions. People who are taking a dopamine-related medication should not use this supplement without informing their doctor.

5. Ginseng

Ginseng has been used in East Asian medicine for thousands of years. Among its many benefits, people claim it can help boost immune system functions like memory. (Research supports this, when it’s combined with Ginkgo biloba.)

Ginseng has been associated with increases to dopamine. Specifically, Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng) appears to help with attentiveness and focus by affecting your brain’s D2 receptor. This is a dopamine receptor that helps to manage pain and control motor functions.

6. Ginkgo biloba

Ginkgo biloba is beneficial to the brain in a few ways. Animal studies suggest that it may improve dopamine levels in the brain. Human studies haven’t measured dopamine directly, but they’ve shown promising results indirectly.

For instance, we know that task-switching involves a certain mental flexibility that is associated with higher levels of dopamine. And a study on elderly adults indicated that taking a Ginkgo biloba extract daily helped with task-switching. That seems to suggest that Ginkgo biloba may help with dopamine levels in humans, too.

7. Rhodiola rosea

Rhodiola rosea, or “golden root,” can help dopamine concentration indirectly. According to an animal study, Rhodiola rosea may make the blood-brain barrier more permeable to precursors for dopamine and serotonin biosynthesis.

That means that when you take the building blocks your body needs to make dopamine, like L-dopa, more of those things actually make it to the brain, where they’re needed.

Rhodiola rosea may also help with stress-induced fatigue, memory and lowering your cortisol, also known as the “stress hormone”.

8. Saffron extract

Saffron is used in cooking for its earthy sweetness and bold color. But studies suggest that it may also have effects on mood, possibly due to increases in dopamine.

9. Caffeine

While it’s important not to have too much caffeine, appropriate amounts can have benefits like improvements to memory and cognition. Caffeine can help make dopamine work better by increasing your dopamine receptors and slowing down the adenosine receptors that regulate dopamine.

Everyone’s needs are different, and some dopamine-boosting supplements may not be right for you. Supplements, including probiotics and psychobiotics, usually have a low risk of side effects. Still, it’s important to talk to your health care provider to make sure your supplements don’t interfere with prescription medications or any other treatment you’re receiving.

If you’re looking for something reliable, long-term, and sustainable, then the probiotic route is worth considering. Some supplements, like Mucuna pruriens, run a risk of overdose. Others, like L-tyrosine, may not work outside of specific, harsh situations. Long-term or high-dose use of caffeine is associated with sleep disruptions as well as other health risks.

PS128 and Neuralli Mood are well-studied, with documented benefits for mood, stress, and sleep. Stress and lack of sleep can form a vicious cycle that affects how you feel and function during the day. Long-term stress may also decrease dopamine. But trying to artificially increase dopamine without addressing your body’s response to stress does not address the root of the problem. The strains in Neuralli Mood may reduce cortisol, helping you break the stress cycle, and start to feel like yourself again.

People sometimes call dopamine the “feel good” neurotransmitter because of the ways it affects brain function. But dopamine plays more roles than that. Here are five:

1. Pleasure and reward: This is what dopamine is known for. When we do something we enjoy, our body releases dopamine. This feedback helps us to learn and to feel motivated.

2. Motor control: The substantia nigra, a special cluster of brain cells, produces dopamine that helps us make smooth, coordinated movements.

3. Mood regulation: While healthy dopamine levels can help maintain positive moods, low levels can be associated with mental health concerns like apathy, lack of interest in life, and low motivation.

4. Sleep: Dopamine helps manage our sleep-wake cycles and promote REM sleep, an important part of mental well-being. During sleep, dopamine uptake increases, so you start your day with a fresh reserve of it. It also promotes

5. Cognitive function: Appropriate dopamine levels can help us focus, retain information in working memory, and think abstractly. On the other hand, decreased dopamine can interfere with our ability to pay attention.

Many things can lower our dopamine levels. Aging, chronic stress, and nutritional issues can all play a role in decreased dopamine.

As we age, our dopamine becomes less efficient at binding to the dopamine transporters in our brain. Healthy older adults actually appear to synthesize more dopamine than younger people, but this difficulty in binding means that people usually experience a decline in cognitive flexibility as they age.

Most people associate stress with cortisol, but prolonged stress also seems to dampen dopamine responses in animals. People who have experienced long-term psychosocial stress may also experience changes in their dopamine responses during stressful situations.

Nutrition also plays a big role in dopamine synthesis. A balanced diet full of the vitamins and minerals your body needs can be important in maintaining optimal dopamine synthesis and function. When you aren’t getting enough B vitamins like B6, folate, and B12, you may experience decreased dopamine levels. These vitamins are essential in converting amino acids into neurotransmitters.

There are many safe, natural ways to help boost dopamine in the brain. Exercise, meditation, sleep, sunlight, and more can all help with this critical neurotransmitter. But it can also be challenging to make time for these things

One strategy is to consider a dopamine supplement like Neuralli Mood to help you reach a point where you have the energy and positive mood to start tackling other positive life changes like exercise, mindfulness, and sleep.

Physical activity

Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercises like running, cycling, and swimming, can elevate dopamine levels. Some people appear to experience this dopamine elevation as a “runner’s high”. Boosted dopamine is just one of the many benefits exercise can have for the brain.

Mindfulness and meditation

Meditation and deep breathing exercises may influence neurotransmitter levels, including dopamine. Research indicates that regular meditation might improve concentration, relaxation, and stress reduction, all of which can contribute to balanced dopamine levels.

Healthy sleep habits

Dopamine is also critical in regulating sleep patterns. And that relationship is a two-way street: Maintaining a consistent sleep routine and getting enough sleep (7-9 hours for adults) can help maintain optimum dopamine levels.

Listening to music

Have you ever felt like listening to music is an instant pick-me-up, even if the song is sad? Turns out science agrees with you. Several studies indicate that listening to music you enjoy can naturally boost dopamine levels.

Sunlight exposure

Vitamin D plays several major roles in dopamine production, and sunlight helps your body produce Vitamin D on its own. But sunlight exposure can also increase dopamine receptor availability in the brain. Just 20-30 minutes a day, especially in the morning, can make a significant difference on your dopamine levels.

It’s important to make any lifestyle adjustments you can to benefit your brain health and your mood. That said, bad moods, stress, and poor sleep can lock you in a cycle where it’s hard to stay afloat, let alone take steps to improve your life.

Finding a science-backed dopamine supplement that you can take safely, over an extended period, can be a great way to bounce out of a low-mood, low-energy rut and take charge of the other life factors in your way.