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Can You Dress to Boost Your Mood?

By: Stefanie Schefter

Dopamine dressing: it’s the latest buzzword, and it’s all over the internet. While we’re generally not keen to follow every trend here at Life is Good, this is one we’ve been doing since day one: helping people feel good when they put on a tee. Dopamine dressing is a fairly simple concept with a fancy name.

Let's start with the basics:

What is dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that your body creates. It’s known as the “feel-good” chemical, and it’s involved in the body’s motivation and reward system. When we do something that makes us feel happy or accomplished, the brain releases dopamine.

What does dopamine have to do with how we dress?

A lot, actually. The clothes we wear can have a tangible effect on our moods and psychological processes (Adam and Galinsky). When we wear colors and textures that make us feel good, our brain releases dopamine, making us feel joyful and content.

Family making silly faces wearing matching Tacocat tees.
Smiling woman standing in a garden.

So when you wear a tee that reminds you of something you love, or a hat you’ve had for ages that feels just right when you put it on, you are, in fact, dopamine dressing!

Moral of the story: just wear stuff that makes you feel good.

Tag @lifeisgood and use #lifeisgood on social to show us how you dress to boost your mood!

Smiling woman sitting on the beach with her dog.

Sources

Adam, H. & Galinsky, A. D. (In Press). Enclothed Cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

VanSonnenberg, Emily. “Enclothed Cognition: Put On Your Power”. Positive Psychology News. https://positivepsychologynews.com/news/emily-vansonnenberg/2012052122126. Accessed 11 May 2022.

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