Without pleasure, most of us would feel that our lives were immeasurably impoverished. But did you know that the pursuit and experience of pleasure through mental or physical stimulation can actively enhance health and well-being? For some time, scientists have been investigating how our brains respond to pleasurable stimuli.
It is natural to enjoy life, and we are born wanting to experience pleasure- it is, and always has been, a powerful motivator for human behavior. In fact, Sigmund Freud believed that the pursuit of pleasure was all that mattered to babies and young children. As we grow into adults, we tend to be more restrained, but we still spend a great deal of our time – both consciously or unconsciously – seeking out enjoyment.
Society normally places limits on the degree to which the pursuit of pleasure is tolerated. The drive for moderation stems in part from cultural disapproval of self-indulgence, bolstered by a wealth of evidence of the detrimental effects on health that too much of the ‘wrong’ sort of pleasure can have on health – lives ruined ‘through alcohol or drug addiction, for example, or physical problem, such as heart disease and high blood pressure caused by over indulgence and smoking.
The pleasure center
In 1954, the American psychologist James Olds discovered what he believed to be the brain’s ‘pleasure center.’ Working on laboratory rats, he inserted tiny electrodes into an area of the brain close to the hypothalanms, which regulates hunger, thirst, and temperature. By pressing a lever, the rats could electrically stimulate this part of the brain. To Olds’ surprise, he found that the rats would press the lever thousands of times – until they fell to the floor, exhausted. They would even ignore food and water in preference to the lever. Stimulating this brain area evidently gave the rats intense pleasure.
We now know that there is no single pleasure center in the brain but a number of different areas that are linked together in circuits by means of certain neurotransmitters (brain chemicals). Two of these neurotransmitters are dopamine and serotonin. An intense surge of June – the ‘dopamine rush ‘ – is linked to the ‘ high’ experienced when taking drugs like cocaine; serotonin provides a quieter feeling of contentment –. Antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) and other related drugs work by raising levels of serotonin in the brain. Peter Kramer, a psychiatrist in the USA, has found that some people with mild depression experience pleasure for the first time in years after taking Prozac.
Pleasure and health
Pleasure can influence well-being in one of two ways: first, in a preventative way to promote good physical and mental health and to protect stillness, and second, in a curative way to aid the process of unwinding and help repair the harmful mental effects of unpleasant experiences. Research shows that experiencing pleasure leads to a reduction in stress hormones such as cortisol and contributes to a strengthened immune response and, therefore, greater resistance to disease. Even simply remembering happy events can give the immune system a boost.
According to psychologist Robert Ornstein, there are two main channels for tapping into the pleasure circuits of the brain – sensual and mental. Sensual pleasures give immediate gratification, while mental ones are slower-acting and more subtle and include experiences of loving relationships or the satisfaction of a job well done. Overall, Ornstein’s research has shown that the happiest and healthiest people are those who take pleasure in even the simplest things.
Build Your System
How often do you treat yourself?
Perhaps your life is built around big, one-off treats, like a meal out on your birthday or an annual holiday. However, a personalized reward system, by which you treat yourself often and seek out small pleasures, can really improve your life. It offers a great way of getting through tedious or difficult chores: you may find it far easier to tackle household tasks, such as ironing or vacuuming, if you link them to a specific reward. Make a list of 20 small treats that will give you a boost of sensual pleasure – for example:
- Bathing with aromatherapy oils
- A stroll in the park
- Buying fresh flowers
- Having a cup of real coffee rather than instant coffee
- Taking a good break for tea or lunch.
It may not be practical to have a treat after every tedious chore – but you can ‘save up for a reward with a mental points system. For example, if you decide that each completed chore counts as two points, 10 points could buy you some flowers, or you could save up to 20 points for a manicure or a massage.
THE PUZZLE OF ANHEDONIA
Whereas hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure, anhedonia literally means ‘loss of pleasure.’ Someone with anhedonia gets no pleasure from a baby’s smile, cuddling a pet, or eating a wonderful meal; beautiful countryside provokes no more pleasure than a derelict urban environment, and a sunny day has much the same impact as a grey rainy one. Anhedonia was first described in the 1890s, but it was not until 1980 that psychiatrists decided it was evidence of a mental disorder (although it can occur in the absence of depression). It is regarded as a key symptom of depression and can be very distressing. Social anhedonia – lack of interest and pleasure in social interaction – may be an early warning sign of schizophrenia.
Targeting anhedonia
Anhedonia is an area of increasing interest, with researchers looking for its origins in changes in the brain. Scans of people with depression have revealed a smaller hippocampus, arid lesions, and different brain metabolisms. At the Institute of Psychiatry in London, volunteers who had been diagnosed as having depression and anhedonia were shown film clips that normally induce pleasure while undergoing fMRI scans. Comparing the scans with those of healthy people who responded positively to the films revealed different areas of brain activity in those with anhedonia. It is hoped that this will lead to new treatments that target specific parts of the brain.