Dopamine Fast

Dopamine is one of the chemical substances (such as serotonin, acetylcholine, endorphins etc) produced by the brain and nerve tissues. What makes it special is that it is released as “reward” during feelings of pleasure.

Sounds good so far, but Dr Anna Lembke of Stanford University, points out that there is so many pleasurable stimuli in our lives these days, that there is often an abundance of this chemical trying to reward us all the time.

One might ask if perpetual pleasure could really be good for us? She points out that repeated shots of Dopamine could underlie our “addiction” behavior, when we seek repeated and increasing surges of the pleasure chemical.

Take video games for instance. Each time one wins or gets a good score, a surge of Dopamine rewards us and encourages us to do it again, and try even better. The same phenomenon could underlie engaging in social media (counting likes), playing a musical instrument (getting the notes right, winning competitions and acquiring accolades), gorging on good food, playing competitive sports to win, or any “indulgence” behavior that we might have.

Dog trainers now use the same trick where they “reward” the pup with a biscuit whenever he or she follows instructions. My pup has now reached a stage where she looks what I have in my hand before deciding whether she should follow what I say!

Our human mind is no different, says Dr Anna. We get so used to rewards, be it in studies, marks, promotions, monetary gains, not to mention substance abuse (alcohol, tobacco or drugs) that we fall into a reward trap. And tragically, we do not usually recognize it.

Doing things without seeking reward can be difficult. Experts now recommend a “Dopamine Fast” to break the cycle of reward feeding desire for more reward, quite like intermittent fasting, “No tobacco” or alcohol-free days to prevent addiction.

The more basic question that your mind could be posing now be, “ But why should we try to do without reward and Dopamine at all”? I have to ask Mimi, my pup, if she would behave herself without expecting her biscuits for what she ought to be doing!