How I Tricked My Brain To Like Doing Hard Things (dopamine detox)

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Summary of the video:

One famous experiment that measured the effects of dopamine was conducted by Dr. Kent Berridge and his team on rats. In the study, they stimulated the rats' brains by delivering bursts of dopamine whenever they pressed a lever. The rats became obsessed with pressing the lever, choosing it over food and even basic survival needs. This experiment highlighted how dopamine drives the brain’s "wanting" system—motivating not just pleasure, but compulsive behaviour in search of rewards.

This demonstrated how dopamine plays a powerful role in addiction-like behaviours, even when the reward is unhealthy or detrimental.
Just like rats, humans are driven by dopamine. Such activities create strong cravings and motivation. The brain prioritises activities based on expected dopamine release.
In another notable experiment was conducted by Dr. Robert Sapolsky, who studied dopamine release in monkeys.
The experiment involved teaching monkeys to press a lever when a light appeared, with a 50% chance of receiving a treat as a reward.
Result was: Dopamine levels spiked not when the monkeys received the reward, but when the light appeared—the moment of anticipation. This finding showed that dopamine is more about the anticipation of a reward than the reward itself.

This experiment highlights how dopamine drives our desire to pursue rewards, which can lead to addictive behaviours as people chase the "high" of anticipation rather than the actual outcome.

Consequences :
With constant scrolling and endless sources of easy dopamine hits, our brains are getting overloaded. Over time, we adapt to these high dopamine levels, building up a kind of tolerance. What used to feel exciting is now just... normal.

As a result, those everyday activities that produce less dopamine—like studying or exercising—start to feel dull and uninspiring compared to the instant highs from video games or social media. This creates a vicious cycle, where the brain craves more stimulation and motivation for productive tasks fades away, making it harder to focus on what truly matters.

For example - Someone who drinks alcohol regularly, requires much more quantity of alcohol to reach the same level of intoxication as a first time drinker.
Similar works with Dopamine, Just as alcohol tolerance requires more alcohol to achieve the same effect, dopamine tolerance makes it harder to enjoy activities that release less dopamine.

The key is to reduce the constant flood of easy dopamine by cutting back on those high-stimulus activities, and gradually reintroducing low-dopamine, productive habits. It’s about retraining your brain to find joy and fulfilment in tasks that may seem less exciting at first, but offer long-term rewards.

Step 1:

Full-Day Dopamine Detox:
Objective: To reset the brain’s dopamine receptors by avoiding all high dopamine activities for one full day.

Preparation: Choose a day in the week when you have minimal obligations and can focus on the detox.
Inform friends and family about your plan to avoid distractions.

Activities to Avoid:
No use of the internet, phones, or computers.
No listening to music or watching TV.
No junk food or comfort eating.
Not doing anything that releases cheap dopamine

Allowed Activities:
Walking:
Go for a walk in nature or a quiet area to relax and clear your mind.
Meditation:
Spend time meditating to reflect on your thoughts and feelings.
Journaling:
Write down ideas, thoughts, and goals on paper (avoid digital devices).
Reading:
Read a physical book or engage in light, non-stimulating reading material.
Embrace Boredom:
Accept that the day will be boring and use this time to let your brain’s dopamine receptors recover.

Objective is to use high dopamine activities as rewards for completing low dopamine tasks, reinforcing productive behaviour.


Set a ratio for work and reward (e.g., 1 hour of work equals 15 minutes of reward).
Only allow yourself to indulge in high dopamine activities after completing the planned productive tasks.
Follow this method and I assure you, the activities that right now feel boring, and you don’t end up doing them, after some detox days you’d end up completing all the tasks and have a lot more motivation than what you have now.


Step 2: Switch off those notifications.

Step 3: Minimise multitasking (the moment you realise you are multitasking, pull yourself away)

Step 4: Create no-phone zones

Step 5: I’ll deal with it after X (the thing I’m currently doing) - it trains you that you are in control.

Step 6: Automate work/college hours on your phone. (explain iphone no focus mode)

Step 7: Be curious like a kid (what’s she wearing, colour of the flowers, you don’t need stimulation every sec, ask yourself questions - you could have figured out your whole life purpose by now)

Step 8: Consume long form content like podcasts.