Simple actions can trigger happy brain chemicals from "summary" of Habits of a Happy Brain by Loretta Graziano Breuning
Simple actions can trigger happy brain chemicals. When you feel good, it's because your happy chemicals are flowing. They evolved to promote survival in the state of nature. Your happy chemicals evolved to do a job, not to flow all the time. They are only released in short spurts for specific reasons. But you can trigger them with simple actions because they are easy to trigger. Your happy chemicals flow when you see a way to meet a need. Your brain is a "need detector" that keeps scanning for things it needs to survive. When it spots a way to meet a need, it releases happy chemicals to motivate you to move toward it. But the good feeling is only temporary because your brain is always scanning for the next thing you need. You may think that happy chemicals should flow all the time, but that would defeat their purpose. If you felt good all the time, you would not survive. You would not have the motivation to meet your needs, and you would not have the motivation to connect with others. Your brain would not trigger happy chemicals in response to something you have learned to value. Your brain releases happy chemicals when you see a way to meet a need you learned to value. This learning process is not under your conscious control. Your happy chemicals flow in response to things that once met a need. You can trigger them by doing things that once met a need. This is what makes habits so powerful. Habits can trigger your happy chemicals without your conscious attention. Once you understand the process, you can choose habits that trigger your happy chemicals. You can choose habits that are good for you, instead of habits that are bad for you. You can choose habits that lead to a happy life. Your brain is always scanning for ways to trigger happy chemicals. You can harness this power to create a life that makes you happy.
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