Reset Your Dopamine: 5 Simple Steps to Reduce Cravings
Welcome to Journey to the Sunnyside, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. I'm your host, Mike Hardinbrook, published author, neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert. Welcome back to Journey to the Sunny Side.
Speaker 1:I'm Mike Hardinbrook. And today, we're gonna talk about something that's running under the surface of pretty much everything that you do, and that is your dopamine system. So if ever find yourself maybe mindlessly picking up your phone, I know I'm guilty of that, Maybe wandering into the kitchen for a snack that you don't need or pouring a drink on autopilot. Well, part of that is your dopamine at work. It is the neurotransmitter that drives motivation, which makes things feel rewarding and keeps you also seeking out that pleasure.
Speaker 1:Now dopamine itself isn't the problem. It's what gets us up out of bed in the morning. It pushes us to grow, to explore, to connect. But the way our world works today, it actually hijacks this system. We're surrounded by constantly easy hits, things like social media, ultra processed foods and sugars, caffeine whenever we want it, alcohol, of course, and endless streaming on our phones or other devices.
Speaker 1:And over time, that steady drip of instant rewards actually lowers your baseline of dopamine. And that means the stuff that used to feel good on its own starts to kinda feel a little bit flat. So you keep chasing the next little spike, more scrolling, more snacking, more drinking, and it becomes part of this loop that's really hard to break. And the good news is, and what we'll cover today, is that you can absolutely reset your dopamine system. You can help your brain to stop chasing these cheap and quick hits and start finding pleasure in the more simpler, slower things again.
Speaker 1:And that's what's gonna make everything easier. It's gonna cut your cravings. It's gonna reduce anxiety and just enjoying life more. So today, I've got five simple ways to reset your dopamine, and I'm actually gonna throw in two bonuses. So we have five core ones plus two bonus resets by the end.
Speaker 1:So let's dive in. So number one is delay your phone and the dopamine first thing in the morning. This is one that I started doing years ago, and I can tell you from personal experience, it makes a big difference. And when I'm not doing it, I can tell. So try keeping your mornings more on the boring side for at least thirty to sixty minutes, sixty minutes being better.
Speaker 1:So the first hour, don't reach for your phone. Don't scroll. Don't check emails. Just give your brain a chance to wake up naturally. Sit with your thoughts.
Speaker 1:Drink some water. Move around. Maybe you could stretch or step outside. And the reason this works is because your brain gets these dopamine surges every time you see something novel, something new, like a notification, a new post. And that's why it's so hard for when anybody decides to try this.
Speaker 1:It's a struggle to start. I'm not gonna lie. You roll over, and if you're used to getting that hit as soon as you get up to check if anybody's messaged you, if there's anything that happened on social media, whatever it is, you know, you have to remove that. And there's actually classic research on this from the nineties showing how dopamine neurons light up in response to unexpected rewards. And more recent studies tie this directly to how we use our phones.
Speaker 1:And it's like a slot machine in your pocket constantly training your brain to look for that next hit. So when you delay that, you stop setting yourself up for this spike crash pattern that actually drives compulsive checking the rest of the day. You give your dopamine system space to start on a nice, slow, natural curve instead. So pause that for the first hour. Number two is delay caffeine by ninety minutes.
Speaker 1:Now if your knee jerk response is no way, well, guess what? I feel the same way. And I have yet to do this one, but there is tons of science, and I've had friends that are doing this that swear by it. And this one could be a game changer for some people. It's really out of the neuroscience playbook.
Speaker 1:You know, you have some big names like Huberman talking about this. But, basically, when you wake up, your body has this high level of something called adenosine. So that's the molecule that makes you feel sleepy. And caffeine doesn't actually remove this. It just blocks it.
Speaker 1:So if you chug that coffee right away, you're basically covering up the problem. If But you wait about ninety minutes, your body's gonna clear that molecule out naturally. Then when you finally have the caffeine, it works better. It lasts longer, and you avoid that big drop that often sends you looking for more caffeine or maybe hunting for snacks and sugar and other quick dopamine hits to get you back feeling normal. This is a small but semi monumental change, especially if you're accustomed to getting up and going down and getting coffee in the first thing in the morning.
Speaker 1:That would be me. But I'm actually very curious to try this one out. And now that I'm doing this episode and it came up as one of the top five, I'm gonna give it a shot. So if you ever wanna try it, give it a shot. Let me know how it works for you, and I'll share my results as well.
Speaker 1:Alright. Number three, also might not be for everybody, cold exposure. And I've been doing this naturally for almost fifteen years, most of my adult life. Just call me crazy. I don't know why I've always been called the cold water, but this is one of the most natural dopamine resets that we have available.
Speaker 1:And everybody, unless you're living in the hot desert, like when I lived in Arizona, cold water was a little hard to come by, but you can just take a cold shower. You don't have to take these big ice baths or anything. And this is gonna raise your dopamine by up to two and a half times your baseline. And the coolest part about that is that it stays elevated for hours, and that's way different than something like sugar, caffeine, or alcohol, which give you that quick spike, and then it gonna crash you right back down. And they did studies on this showing how cold water immersion massively boost dopamine and no epinephrine.
Speaker 1:It's your body's way of saying, hey. We're doing something hard. Let's stay alert. Let's stay focused. And as I mentioned, you don't have to do a full ice bath for this to be effective.
Speaker 1:You can even take your hot shower and then end it with a cold shower. The recommended time, the longer the better, somewhere between thirty seconds and two minutes, two minutes being the best. Depending on who you are, sometimes cold water is more uncomfortable for you. Some people are less sensitive to it, but I don't think any way you spin it, it's still gonna be, comfortable. It's always gonna be uncomfortable, but it is a clean, sustainable way to boost dopamine without that roller coaster.
Speaker 1:Okay. Number four is sunlight early in the day. This is also something that I've been doing, so I'm speaking from personal experience. And it's so simple and often overlooked, which some of the best things are often overlooked because they're, like, saying it couldn't be that easy. But the truth is some of the easiest things and the most obvious things are the most effective.
Speaker 1:So in the morning, try and get outside within the first thirty to sixty minutes after you wake up. Even on a cloudy day, outdoor light is 10 to 100 times brighter than indoor light. And that early light doesn't just set up your circadian rhythm for better sleep later. It also increases dopamine and pathways tied to mood and reward. And there's research that shows that sunlight triggers dopamine release in the retina, which then connects to deeper brain circuits that control motivation and cravings.
Speaker 1:It literally helps balance your reward system. So if you can, early in the morning, step outside even just for a few minutes and let that natural light hit your eyes. Don't wear sunglasses, of course. And it's probably the easiest dopamine reset that you'll ever do, and it feels good too. Okay.
Speaker 1:Number five is structured novelty. So dopamine thrives in novelty. Your brain is wired to find new things rewarding. It's how us humans have survived by exploring and learning. But most of us channel that in cheap novelty, like scrolling and binge watching shows and flipping through endless content.
Speaker 1:Instead, try giving your brain some intentional new experiences. Take a different route, for example, on your walk, or maybe cook a dish that you've never tried. Watch a TV show or documentary on something that you know nothing about. And studies on novelty show it directly activates your brain's dopamine centers, but in the way that's tied to curiosity and growth, not compulsively chasing that next hit. Okay.
Speaker 1:We're up for our two bonuses. So bonus number one is short bouts of hard effort. So instead of always reaching for low grade stimulation, a snack here, a scroll there, give your brain a deliberate burst of intensity. So if you're an exercise person, for example, sprint up a hill, do a quick set of pushups, lift something heavy. Even thirty seconds of real effort can usually do the trick.
Speaker 1:This links dopamine to effort and challenge, which is how your brain evolved to work. It literally rewires your reward system to find satisfaction in doing hard things, not consuming passive hits. And over time, it makes you feel more resilient, more grounded, and more deeply satisfied. Bonus number two is embrace deliberate boredom. Now this might sound weird in an always on kind of world, but sometimes the best thing you can do is do nothing.
Speaker 1:You could sit quietly with no phone, no TV, no distraction, even if it's just for five to ten minutes. When you give your brain a break from the constant input, it starts to recalibrate, and you become less hungry for the next quick hit and more able to enjoy simple everyday things. It's basically the opposite of overstimulation, and it's shockingly powerful and effective. Okay. That's it for today.
Speaker 1:You got seven simple ways to reset your dopamine system. Remember, it's not about cutting out everything fun or never having coffee or never scrolling. It's about helping your brain to stop chasing these cheap hits all day long so you can actually enjoy life in a very simple way that you're meant to. And when you do these little resets, things like delaying your phone, waiting on caffeine, getting some sunlight in the morning, doing something hard and adding a little novelty, you're gonna start notice things around alcohol maybe get easier, especially when it comes to cravings. You're gonna feel more calm, more focused, and a little bit more able to just be present.
Speaker 1:So pick one of these to try today, whether you wanna go crazy and try them all or just one thing. And if it goes good, start layering them in to your daily routine. And if you got anything out of this episode today or any of the other episodes, it would mean the world to me if you could leave a rating and review wherever you're listening to the podcast on. And until next time, I hope you have a beautiful week and cheers to your mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform.
Speaker 1:And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial.
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