Dopamine is Like a Pair of Gonads.
Sent to subscribers on May 21, 2024. Reproduced here as it was written.
Welcome back to The Renewal - the weekly newsletter on science-supported tools for everyday life.
Dopamine is like a good pair of gonads. Too low, and you're dragging. But too high, and you're always wishing for more.
It's all about wanting. This hormone drives our desires, keeps us motivated, and pushes me to write this newsletter.
This little molecule shapes our lives. Our emotions. How capable we feel. When levels are low, we're unmotivated, have more mental breakdowns, and feel tired.
We have a baseline of dopamine which spikes or drops based on actions, compounds, and even thoughts. Our personal baseline is influenced by genetics, behaviors, sleep, nutrition, and previous days' dopamine levels.
Here's how to keep that baseline healthy:
Morning Sunlight: View early morning sunlight for 10-30 minutes daily, 8-11am. No sunglasses. Don't stare at the sun; eyeglasses and contacts are fine. This releases dopamine and even changes the genes your body expresses.
Caffeine: Aim to have your caffeine at least 90 minutes after waking up. This allows your body to use its own resources for energy first. It makes dopamine receptors more available. Avoid caffeine close to bedtime; I steer clear after 2 p.m.
Eat Tyrosine-Rich Foods: Red meats, nuts, or hard fermented cheese. Tyrosine is a building block of dopamine. Plant-based sources are easy to find too.
Avoid Bright Lights Late: From 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., avoid bright lights.
Avoid Melatonin Supplements: Melatonin might seem like a magic sleep potion, but it's messing with your dopamine levels and sleep patterns. Melatonin is only good for jet lag.
Managing Dopamine Peaks
If you don't manage your dopamine highs, your baseline dopamine levels will drop, and suddenly, everything feels like a soggy biscuit.
Use Random Intermittent Rewards: Casinos use it to keep you playing. Celebrate your wins, but not every time. It's like playing dopamine hide and seek. Keeps your brain on its toes and your motivation alive.
Love the Grind: Once you love the journey, you've found that sweet dopamine nectar.
Dopamine Boosters (approximate effect)
Chocolate: +50%. The darker the better.
Sex: +100%.
Exercise: +50-100%. Play some football, go to pilates, spin, bike instead of taking the tube.
Meditation: +65%. Meditate don't medicate.
Gardening: +25%.
Music: +10-15%.
Sunlight: +40-50%.
Cold Exposure: +250%. With cold exposure, your dopamine boost lasts for hours.
Green Tea: -10-20%. Contains L-theanine.
Caffeine: +30-40%.
Probiotics: +20-30%. Yogurt, buttermilk, cottage cheese, tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, kombucha.
Creativity: +20-30%.
Social Interaction: +50-100%. We are social beings.
Gratitude Practice: +10-20%.
Massage Therapy: +30-40%.
Dancing: +60-80%.
Spicy Foods: +20-30%.
Video Games: +100%.
A warning: layering all these dopamine boosters leads to a massive crash later - a sugar rush, but for your motivation. Avoid the crash by switching it up randomly. Do some workouts without music or just stick to caffeine. Keep your brain guessing and your motivation steady.
A note on drugs: if you use drugs, know that it has a negative impact on your dopamine baseline. While dopamine itself is neither good nor bad, the methods used to increase it can have positive or negative impacts on overall health and well-being. Stimulants, nicotine, opioids, alcohol, and the rest spike dopamine far above natural levels and crater your baseline afterward. (This section in the original ran through a tongue-in-cheek list of substances; the point is that artificial spikes carry a real cost.)
— The Renewal