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Wondering how to be better organized? New study reveals tyrosine role in planning
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Have you ever heard of your reward and pleasure chemical dopamine before? It’s involved in various processes in the human brain like motivation. This remarkable brain messenger is made by your body from a natural building block called tyrosine. It has frequently been linked to changes in behaviour through studies, including research on how to be better organized. Let’s take a look at how a new promising study showed a link between tyrosine, dopamine and good planning abilities.
Which amino acids increase dopamine?
Tyrosine, found in protein-rich sources such as fish, tofu and dairy products, is the most direct building block to your reward and pleasure chemical dopamine[1 Trusted Source My Food Data 3rd-party source Foods Highest in Tyrosine ] . Dopamine’s role in various processes like experiencing pleasure and reward, motivation and achieving goals is crucial[2 Trusted Source 2020 - Nature Neuroscience Human study Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger ] ,[3 Trusted Source 2010 - Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Research evaluation The rewarding nature of social interactions ] . It even helps answer the question of how to overcome failure[4 Trusted Source 2023 - Science Advances Animal study Dopamine error signal to actively cope with lack of expected reward ] . Let’s imagine you want to start working out. Dopamine first pushes you to search for a workout routine that feels comfortable. You might skip some days at first but dopamine helps you keep going. It creates a loop that says the workout is helping you feel better, supporting you in your workout routine. That’s why it’s been linked to changes in behaviour that support you as a goal-getter.
What are the benefits of taking l-tyrosine?
Tyrosine directly supports dopamine, however, for that support to happen, your body needs enough of it. A review of tyrosine supplementation that examined 35 tyrosine supplementation studies found that the tyrosine dosage varied from 500 mg up to 12000 mg per day[5 Trusted Source 2015 - Journal of Psychiatric Research Research evaluation Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands—A review ] . Wondering how to increase dopamine naturally? To ingest at least 500 mg of your dopamine’s building block, you’d need to include multiple sources of tyrosine in your diet, for example, hard-boiled eggs, dried tofu or turkey meat. Alternatively, you can opt for brain feed’s tyrosine which is the world’s 1st natural 800 mg capsule from fermented corn.
How do I train myself to be organized?
If you're looking to be more organised, the good news is that studies have found that dopamine and tyrosine can support you in the organisation, formulation and execution of strategies to achieve specific goals, also known as planning. A 2014 study by cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists found that tyrosine supplementation improved performance on a task that measures how people control their attention, behaviour, thoughts and emotions[6 Trusted Source 2014 - Neuropsychologia Human study Eating to stop: Tyrosine supplementation enhances inhibitory control but not response execution ] . Similarly, a 2015 study led by a researcher with extensive experience in researching the gut-brain connection reported that tyrosine supplementation reduced errors in task-switching, suggesting improved cognitive flexibility and planning abilities[7 Trusted Source 2015 - Neuropsychologia Human study Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: Evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance ] . Results on the effects of tyrosine on planning and executive functions lack consistency as shown in a tyrosine review from 2015[5 Trusted Source 2015 - Journal of Psychiatric Research Research evaluation Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands—A review ] . This opened a myriad of questions which scientists are eager to answer.
Does tyrosine really work for being well-organised?
A new study from 2024 uncovers how an adequate tyrosine intake could support planning. Researchers from Perth and Hong Kong gathered to indirectly examine the impact of tyrosine on a set of skills that help you get things done, the so-called executive functions[8 Trusted Source 2024 - Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation Human study Dietary tyrosine consumption modulates the effects of tDCS, but not tRNS, on planning behaviour ] . These are the basis of planning your tasks, making them crucial for organisation and achieving your goals.
To explain in more depth, imagine your brain as an orchestra. Although each of the brain cells knows how to play their part, they need a conductor to help them harmonise. As a result, the brain cells help you be more organised. Conductor’s abilities always rely on their levels of dopamine. This is where the new study steps in. Researchers examined how different cues and signals from the conductor (tyrosine intake and a technique that boosts brain energy) affect the music.
So when does the orchestra play the best? They found that when tyrosine intake was low, brain energy-boosting technique was the best cue to harmonise brain cells[8 Trusted Source 2024 - Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation Human study Dietary tyrosine consumption modulates the effects of tDCS, but not tRNS, on planning behaviour ] . However, as per the existing theory and the new 2024 study, it could be hypothesised that an adequate tyrosine intake supports cognitive performance and planning just as well, harmonising the music of the brain cells naturally.
More extensive research is needed to once and for all conclude tyrosine’s role in cognition and behaviour, despite the promising evidence. Until then, get to know other tyrosine benefits in brain feed’s tyrosine guide and keep reading to discover other beneficial impacts of proper nutrition.
How does nutrition affect behavior?
Despite tyrosine's benefits on planning still needing to be researched more in-depth, your diet can support multiple functions that can make your life more organised, linking nutrition and behaviour. What is dopamine's function? Especially your pleasure and reward chemical dopamine is intricately linked to motivation and reinforcement of behaviours. Whenever you’re doing an enjoyable task or thinking about it, dopamine is released in the brain's reward centres. This dopamine release creates a pleasurable sensation, reinforcing the desire to achieve those feelings and repeat those behaviours. That can support you in organising your routines better and even following your dreams. Let’s take a look at how exactly that happens.
How does dopamine affect behavior?
Dopamine’s function is to fuel your goal-seeking behaviour which involves the pursuit of desired outcomes and is closely linked to motivation and reward processing[9 Trusted Source 2019 - Nature Animal study Dissociable dopamine dynamics for learning and motivation ] ,[10 Trusted Source 2018 - Nature Neuroscience Research evaluation What does dopamine mean? ] . If we go back to the example of creating a workout routine, dopamine rewards you with pleasurable feelings every time you nail an exercise, boosting your motivation to do it more and more frequently. This helps you keep up with the steps that support you in achieving your end goal. Throughout the last decades, tyrosine supplementation has been shown to support behaviours oriented towards goal-achieving. A study by Simone Kühn, a psychologist focusing on cognitive neuroscience, found that after taking tyrosine, people relied more on behaviour that was directed towards goals and planning ahead, rather than just reacting automatically to cues[11 Trusted Source 2019 - Psychological Research Human study Food for thought: Association between dietary tyrosine and cognitive performance in younger and older adults ] . Additionally, the study also concluded that participants were more inclined to pursue long-term goals rather than immediate rewards[11 Trusted Source 2019 - Psychological Research Human study Food for thought: Association between dietary tyrosine and cognitive performance in younger and older adults ] .
All in all, tyrosine supplementation can have beneficial effects on planning and executing the plans to achieve those goals.
References
[1] Foods Highest in Tyrosine (n.d.) My Food Data. https://tools.myfooddata.com/nutrient-ranking-tool/tyrosine/all/highest/grams/common/no
[2] Tomova, L., Wang, K. L., Thompson, T., Matthews, G. A., Takahashi, A., Tye, K. M., & Saxe, R. (2020). Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger. Nature Neuroscience, 23(12), 1597–1605. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00742-z
[3] Krach, S., Paulus, F., Bodden, M., & Kircher, T. (2010). The rewarding nature of social interactions. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 4. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00022
[4] Ishino, S., Kamada, T., Sarpong, G., Kitano, J., Tsukasa, R., Mukohira, H., Sun, F., Li, Y., Kobayashi, K., Honda, N., Oishi, N., & Ogawa, M. (2023). Dopamine error signal to actively cope with lack of expected reward. Science Advances, 9, eade5420. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1391246/v1
[5] Jongkees, B. J., Hommel, B., Kühn, S., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands—A review. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 70, 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.08.014
[6] Colzato, L. S., Jongkees, B. J., Sellaro, R., van den Wildenberg, W. P. M., & Hommel, B. (2014). Eating to stop: Tyrosine supplementation enhances inhibitory control but not response execution. Neuropsychologia, 62, 398–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.12.027
[7] Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: Evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance. Neuropsychologia, 69, 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.022
[8] Buck, O., Found, T., Weldon, R., Lim, L. W., & Aquili, L. (2024). Dietary tyrosine consumption modulates the effects of tDCS, but not tRNS, on planning behaviour. Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2024.04.014
[9] Mohebi, A., Pettibone, J. R., Hamid, A. A., Wong, J.-M. T., Vinson, L. T., Patriarchi, T., Tian, L., Kennedy, R. T., & Berke, J. D. (2019). Dissociable dopamine dynamics for learning and motivation. Nature, 570(7759), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1235-y
[10] Berke, J. D. (2018). What does dopamine mean? Nature Neuroscience, 21(6), 787–793. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0152-y
[11] Kühn, S., Düzel, S., Colzato, L., Norman, K., Gallinat, J., Brandmaier, A. M., Lindenberger, U., & Widaman, K. F. (2019). Food for thought: Association between dietary tyrosine and cognitive performance in younger and older adults. Psychological Research, 83(6), 1097–1106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-017-0957-4
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