How to Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure | Episode 32
Main Takeaways
Rewards should be intermittent and semi-random to keep dopamine levels high.
Our skin has neurons that send electrical signals to the brain which helps us learn and avoid certain situations, and teaches us about pleasure and pain.
Our brain interprets electrical signals and creates pleasure and pain, and our somatosensory cortex has a map of our entire body surface which helps us understand how different parts of our body are more sensitive than others.
Our experience of pleasure and pain is impacted by our expectations, levels of anxiety, sleep and the time of day.
Pain and pleasure can be impacted by our expectations and anxiety levels, and knowing this can help us adjust our expectations to dial up pleasure or down pain.
Pain and pleasure are subjective experiences that must be reported by the individual in order to be properly understood.
Phantom limb pain is a real phenomenon, and scientists have found creative solutions for treating it.
Treatments like naltrexone and acetyl-L-carnitine can help reduce whole body pain, and taking active steps to maintain nerve health is important for reducing pain in localized areas of the body.
Combining non-drug and non-supplement approaches with drugs and supplements can be beneficial to pain relief.
Love can be used to buffer pain, as high levels of dopamine released during new relationships can interact with brainstem neurons and release immune cells to combat pain, infection, and inflammation.
