The brain is a delicately balanced instrument that, like the body, relies on nutrients to function at its best. Nutritional deficiencies can have a broad range of affects on the mind, affecting mood and cognition, which in turn can affect the quality of interpersonal relationships. Taking vitamins to become more outgoing can help, particularly if that lack of outgoingness is related to mood, decreased mental energy, or a low-level sense of anxiety or depression.
B Vitamins
As explained by Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute, some of the B vitamins have a direct effect on mood and mental functioning. Deficiencies in vitamin B-3, or niacin, are known to cause depression, fatigue, memory loss, and a sense of apathy. Vitamin B-5, or pantothenic acid, is important to getting good sleep and energy levels, both mental and physical. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, vitamin B-5 has been “used in Japan to enhance mental function, especially in Alzheimer's disease.” A Psychology Today article noted the importance of vitamin B-12 and folate in aiding with depression, and cited a Finnish study that indicated the effect of those vitamins on mood. According to the article, deficiencies can result in irritability, confusion, paranoia, hallucinations, lethargy, attention span difficulties, and depression. These sorts of symptoms can have a major impact on an individual’s ability to feel comfortable in social situations, so these vitamin deficiencies should be avoided.
Vitamin D
Offering a broad range of scientific data and peer-reviewed white papers, Bacteriality.com offers a fascinating glimpse into the most recent research into the effect of vitamin D on health and well-being. Citing data offered by researchers at Canada’s McGill University and those at Claremont Graduate University in California. It discussed the relationship between vitamin D and the production of the hormone oxytocin. It also reviewed recent research demonstrating how this hormone, already known for its role in mother-infant bonding, in the words of researcher Paul Zak, “facilitates social contact between people.” University of Zurich researchers have developed a synthetic form of this hormone specifically for treating shyness. A U.S. National Library of Medicine article written by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine on vitamin D notes how essential “the vitamin D endocrine system” is to the control of hormone systems. The evidence indicates that deficiencies in Vitamin D can affect mood. According to the National Health Institute, in light of recent research, the daily requirement of this nutrient is being reviewed, with an eye on increasing it, a change recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2008.
Vitamin C
According to the Linus Pauling Institute, vitamin C is an important aspect of the “synthesis of the neurotransmitter, norepinephrine.” The article goes on to explain that “neurotransmitters are critical to brain function and are known to affect mood.” A Psychology Today article cited German researchers' findings that indicate that vitamin C can help to control stress hormones, such as cortisol, and “believe that vitamin C should be considered an essential part of stress management.” Animal testing prior to the German experiments, according to the article, “showed that vitamin C abolished secretion of cortisol in animals that had been subjected to repeated stress.” Reducing stress and assisting in the chemical processes that help the brain to regulate mood, vitamin C can be an important nutritional part of helping a person be more outgoing or overcome shyness.
References
- Psychology Today: Vitamins, Get Your Bs
- Bacteriality: Oxytocin Plugged As New Feel-Good Drug
- Psychology Today: Vitamin C Stress Buster
- National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet, Vitamin D
- US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health: Vitamin D
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