Tools To Manage Dopamine and Improve Motivation & Drive
Tools To Manage Dopamine and Improve Motivation & Drive
Tools To Manage Dopamine and Improve Motivation & Drive
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HUBERMANLAB
NEURALNETWORK
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PRESENTEDBY: MENT
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Thank you for joining the Huberman Lab Podcast Neural Network — a once-a-month
newsletter with science and science-supported tools for everyday life. The purpose
of this newsletter is to provide you with actionable information in condensed form.
Dopamine is a molecule in the brain and body that is closely linked to our sense of
motivation. It can also enhance our depth of focus and lower our threshold for
taking action toward specific goals. The simplest way to think about dopamine is
that when our dopamine levels are elevated, we tend to focus our attention on
outward goals — the things we want — and we feel motivated to pursue them.
“Dopamine is about wanting, not about having,” said Dr. Anna Lembke, a professor
of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the chief of the Addiction Medicine Dual
Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford, on the Huberman Lab Podcast (and she is 100%
correct). Contrast that with serotonin, which is associated not so much with “wanting”
but with feelings of well-being about what we already have. These are
generalizations of course — dopamine and serotonin do other things too, but they
are accurate, nonetheless. It is hard to overstate how much dopamine levels shape
our perception of life, our emotions, and how capable we perceive ourselves to be —
when dopamine levels are low, we feel unmotivated, derive less pleasure from
pursuits and feel physically tired. This newsletter will detail how to manage
dopamine levels to enhance motivation.
1. Viewing early morning sunlight for 10-30 minutes daily. (Don’t wear
sunglasses for this, and don’t stare at the sun; eyeglasses and contacts are
acceptable). This causes the release of dopamine. If done consistently, it will
also increase levels of gene expression for certain dopamine receptors. If
you’re up to it, take a 1-3 minute cold shower, as cold as you can safely
tolerate, as well; this is known to increase baseline dopamine for hours
dramatically.
2. Eat tyrosine-rich foods such as red meats, nuts or hard fermented cheese.
Tyrosine is an amino acid and a building block of dopamine — a diet rich in
tyrosine will sustain your body’s natural dopamine production. You’ll need to
consider the caloric and other contents of these foods, of course. It’s easy to
find plant-based sources too. Simply do a web search for them.
3. Avoid melatonin supplements, as these can decrease dopamine levels
and can disrupt your normal sleep patterns. Melatonin is only recommended
for jet lag. There are better options.
4. Avoid viewing bright lights between 10 p.m.-4 a.m. This is essential, as it
has been shown to activate a brain region called the habenula and drastically
reduce the amount of circulating dopamine in your system. If you must view
light at these times, make it very dim. Once in a while is okay, but don’t make it
a habit. (If you are a shift worker or want to know how to deal with jet lag, listen
to this episode.)
5. Ingest caffeine (approximately 100-400mg) in the form of coffee, tea or
whatever form you prefer. This will cause a mild increase in dopamine but also
increases the availability of dopamine receptors, so your body is more
sensitive to circulating dopamine. Don’t do this too close to sleep. I avoid
caffeine after 2 p.m., with rare exceptions.
Part II: Managing Dopamine Peaks
“Success breeds success” is true, but if you don’t manage the dopamine associated
with the pursuit and your wins, your dopamine baseline and the dopamine you
experience from reaching milestones will start to diminish over time, and you’ll feel
far less satisfaction from, well, everything. This is a common problem, but there are
ways to overcome or even avoid it altogether.
Stay Connected
Stay in touch! New episodes of the Huberman Lab Podcast are out each Monday on
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platforms. Please subscribe to those channels and provide feedback and
suggestions. New, short, actionable clips from the Huberman Lab Podcast are
available on our YouTube Clips Channel. I post additional science and science-
based tools on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Best wishes,
Andrew
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