Neuroscientist Dr. Ways to Maintain Healthy Dopamine Levels According to Huberman

The first name that comes to mind when it comes to happiness hormones is without a doubt. dopamine. Closely associated with well-being, happiness, and motivation, dopamine is not only important for improving our quality of life, but it is also a critical factor in determining how much we are willing to force things to get what we want. One of the most famous names of recent times American neuroscientist and professor of neuroscience at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Andrew Huberman, focuses on brain development in many of its studies and looks at dopamine from a perspective we’ve never approached. We are also Dr. Based on Huberman’s talks on dopamine, the information he shared, and his notes, we’ve put together tips for healthy dopamine management to keep us motivated and inspired.

What is dopamine and why is it important?

Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Dopamine, which is produced by the body and takes on the task of providing communication between nerve cells, also chemical messenger Also called. And although it is called one of the hormones of happiness, thinking is an important part of our planning abilities and plays an important role in our motivation, causing us to make efforts, focus, work for something. Also, dopamine does not act alone. Huberman close relatives of dopamine It works in conjunction with other neurotransmitters and hormones such as serotonin, adrenaline which it defines as

enough dopamine, good mood plays a role in providing more performance also important for the other side vigilance, cheerfulness It also enhances positive emotions and situations. But the most important aspect is the doctor. Huberman also motivation It’s connected with. That is, the motivation that we need to do something in life, to strive for what we want to achieve, to make meaningful efforts, is related to the level of dopamine. According to a renowned neuroscientist, dopamine:

• It’s not about pleasure
• Affects motivation
• Mediates reward-oriented learning
• Not eternal, but renewable
• It’s about movement
• affects foresight.
• can be controlled

And keep motivated dopamine needs to be properly managed. As Huberman emphasizes in many of his speeches, we all have a certain base of dopamine; this basis can vary depending on the different activities we take, our thoughts and our lifestyle habits. Our baseline dopamine levels can be influenced by many factors, including genetics, behavior, sleep, diet, and the levels of dopamine you have experienced in previous days. Ensuring adequate levels of essential dopamine is critical to maintaining daily motivation. It’s bad if the baseline, baseline dopamine, is too low or too high; because it can cause various health problems. Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia are some of the most serious health problems that can occur. On the other hand, disorders such as addiction, depression, tremors, schizophrenia, and stiffness can occur if healthy levels of dopamine are not formed. Therefore, it is important to maintain healthy dopamine levels.

How to Maintain Healthy Dopamine Levels?

If you’re wondering how you can create healthy dopamine levels to lead a better life by boosting your motivation, let’s leave you with the suggestions of a renowned neuroscientist…

• Very low and very high levels of dopamine should be avoided.Stating that it is important to maintain balanced and healthy dopamine levels, Dr. Huberman lists his healthy, effective and sustainable offerings, which can be easily adapted to everyday life, as follows:
• Get sunshine: Expose yourself to the sun in the early morning for 10-30 minutes every day. When you do this regularly every morning, you can achieve balanced dopamine levels.
• If you can stand it, shower with cold water for 1-3 minutes: The healing and health-promoting aspects of the common cold have been emphasized for years; One reason is that it supports dopamine. You can significantly increase your dopamine levels and keep it in balance for a longer period of time by showering with as cold water as you can stand.
• Eat foods rich in tyrosine: Tyrosine is an amino acid and a building block of dopamine; therefore, a diet rich in tyrosine helps your body maintain its natural production of dopamine. You can add tyrosine-rich foods to your diet, such as red meat, nuts, and fermented cheese.
• Be mindful of your caffeine intake: Caffeine causes a slight increase in dopamine, but it also increases the availability of dopamine receptors, making your body more responsive to circulating dopamine. Therefore, caffeine should be consumed consciously. You can achieve balance by consuming about 100-400mg of caffeine in coffee, tea, or whatever form you prefer, and avoiding caffeine after 2pm.
• Do not use melatonin supplements: Avoid melatonin supplements as they can lower dopamine levels and disrupt normal sleep patterns. You can only use it in case of jet lag, and at other times, you can use different sleep solutions.
• Avoid bright lights at night: Avoid bright light such as phone, tablet, computer from 22:00 to 4:00. Such lights activate an area of ​​the brain called the habenula, thereby drastically reducing the amount of dopamine. If you must look at the light during these hours, dim the light as much as possible.

All of these can help you maintain healthy dopamine levels, stay motivated, and live a happier, more fulfilling life. On the other hand, contrary to popular belief, D. Huberman also draws attention to the need to be careful about stimuli that increase dopamine levels. For example, chocolate, sex, nicotine that stimulants like stimulants can increase dopamine levels by 1.5-2 times (In fact, some drugs increase dopamine up to 10 times.) when underlined; He says that these spikes are very short-lived and can be devastating, causing a shocking fall afterwards.The important thing is not to keep your dopamine levels constantly high, but to maintain a healthy and balanced foundation.“. Well, our focus is not on stimuli that will quickly raise dopamine, long-term balance like in the suggestions above that will help sustainable good living habits should be.

Finally, Andrew D. Huberman highlights two more problems that may surprise you about dopamine. an exercise as well as celebrate achievements He speaks: “Exercise can help increase dopamine levels; but that is entirely up to you. If you enjoy the exercises you do and enjoy doing them, you can balance your dopamine levels; but if you don’t like it, dopamine levels may stay the same or even drop.“So it’s clear that not every exercise has the same impact on dopamine levels for everyone. That’s why it’s up to us here. This can be a good way to indulge in those exercises that we really enjoy. On the other hand, contrary to what is widely promoted, Huberman pointed out that we should not celebrate every little success. “Celebrate when you reach a big milestone, a milestone, but otherwise just act like you normally do.” He says that we must relate victory to the very process of effort, not to the end of the road, but to ourselves.

If you want, you can record Huberman’s 2-hour video and get a broader scientific view of dopamine when you find the opportunity. If you want to watch, you can find the video below:

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source: hubermanlab