Leverage Dopamine to Overcome Procrastination & Optimize Effort| Episode 123
Main Takeaways
Dopamine is used by five circuits in the brain, each with a different function.
The dopamine system is not just about pleasure; it's about pursuing anything that will provide sustenance and pleasure in the short term and extend life in the long term.
Dopamine release is triggered by anticipation of getting something, as well as the actual reward.
Dopamine levels vary through baseline, peaks, and troughs, and we all have a dopamine setpoint.
Addiction is a progressive narrowing of things that give us pleasure, and the hallmark of any addictive behavior is that it releases dopamine at high levels.
People with severe addiction suffer from a lack of homeostasis in the pleasure-pain balance, and addiction is like having an itch that you can't scratch.
Rates of dopamine firing by behavior or drug vary widely, and reset of the dopamine system from unhealthy behavior requires 30 days of complete abstinence.
Binding behaviors involve the clamping or directing of behavior around a particular substance use or addiction in space and/or time.
Optimizing baseline levels of dopamine involves activities like getting sufficient quality sleep, Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR), nutrition, morning sunlight, exercise, and cold water exposure.
The ideal cold water temperature for increasing dopamine levels is between 32-55 degrees Fahrenheit, and the exposure duration should be shorter for colder water.
