Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels Free Audiobook Download by Loretta Graziano Breuning

This book is about how the brain behaves when it's happy and what you can do to change this. The author, Loretta Graziano Breuning, discusses her work in mental health and how she became interested in the study of happiness. She also discusses why depression is more common for many people than happiness, and how there are specific things we can do that increase serotonin levels.

Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels is a guide that teaches you how to cultivate better habits in your mind and body. The audiobook is divided into two parts with the first part being "the science of happiness" and the second part being "habits for a happy brain". Breuning breaks down the science of happiness into areas including how serotonin affects our moods, dopamine's role in addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and oxytocin's effects on maternal care.

Happiness, it seems, is a state of mind. Happiness is not so much about what we have and how we look as how we think. And that's where the habit of happiness begins. This audiobook, which can be downloaded in mp3 format for free online, will help you retrain your brain to be happier and more joyful by focusing on how your thoughts affect your emotions-and ultimately your life. Reviewing these five habits will help you become a happier person; making the change could take just seven days.

Breuning writes that happiness is a byproduct of neuroplasticity, the ability to change one's mental and emotional states through mental activity. The brain changes its "mind" and moods constantly when it interacts with its environment, so it makes sense that changing one's behavior would have a direct impact on one's neuroplasticity. Breuning suggests setting small goals for yourself each week as an easy way to help your brain adapt to new routines. For example, try practicing gratitude three times per day inbetween things like brushing your teeth or driving to work.

This audiobook is divided into three sections. The first section covers the facts of brain chemistry, with a particular focus on serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. Breuning's exploration of these chemicals leads her to discuss how happiness can be achieved and maintained through mindfulness practices. This section also includes the importance of self-care-for example, setting aside 30 minutes every evening to journal or exercise-as part of your daily routine. The second section discusses happiness and sleep habits in depth; however, it misses a key point that could have helped make its points impactful: the effects of sleep deprivation on depression. In particular, it discusses how people who "sleep less than 6 hours a night" are twice as likely to develop depression. This number

"Life is full of ups and downs. You can't always have a cake or eat it too. And, you are not always going to be happy." -Loretta