Think Thursday: Understanding Dopamine & How to Stabilize It
Hey. Welcome to Think Thursday from the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast. Think Thursday is all about your beautiful, brilliant human brain. We're talking neuroscience. We're talking behavior change.
Molly Watts:We are talking about your mindset. Are you ready to get started? Let's go. Well, hello, and welcome to Think Thursday from The Alcohol Minimalist. I'm your host, Molly Watts, and Think Thursdays are all about your beautiful, brilliant human brain.
Molly Watts:We talk about neuroscience. We talk about mindset. We talk about brain health. And during this month of dry uary, if you're doing dry uary, I am. I'm taking the full 31 off of alcohol, but many people are just taking a dryish January, they're taking a damp January, they're cutting back, they're prioritizing alcohol free days, and all of it is really good for our brains, and especially for one of those, neurotransmitters.
Molly Watts:It's actually not a neurotransmitter. It's called a neuromodulator. Not that that's incredibly important because I'm not going to be diving that deep into the neurochemistry of it all, but other neuromodulators that you might have heard of would include things like serotonin, histamine, norepinephrine, nitric oxide, and acetylcholine. So, those are just, like I said, some of the other neuromodulators, and dopamine is one of them. And I want to explore this topic especially this month during dry January or dry uary because for some of us who have developed a habit around alcohol, when we take an extended break like this, we can have an unexpected drop in mood and energy, and that might be related to dopamine.
Molly Watts:And so I wanna talk about that, and I wanna dive into this kind of unknown or or misunderstood is what I'm gonna say about dopamine because I think you've all heard about dopamine. You probably think of it as the feel good molecule. Right? I have talked on the podcast before to doctor Anna Lemke who wrote Dopamine Nation. There's a whole another great book on this, which also there's we're gonna talk about here, The More Molecule.
Molly Watts:It's also all about dopamine. So we understand that dopamine is important. Right? And it's a part of our brains. And I really want to just help you not only understand how it plays a central role in all of our habits, but it's also key to how we experience motivation and pleasure and long term satisfaction.
Molly Watts:And that and being able to create balance and motivation during a month where you might be reducing or abstaining from alcohol, I think, is incredibly important. So we're gonna talk about that. And, of course, you know, not just during this month, but I want you to understand how dopamine works so that you can create a balanced and motivated life for the rest of your life. So if you've ever wondered why why certain activities feel so rewarding or conversely why you sometimes struggle to find joy, dopamine is likely at the heart of it, and we are gonna break it down. As I just mentioned, dopamine is often referred to as the feel good molecule, but that's actually a little misleading.
Molly Watts:It's not so much about feeling good as it is about seeking good. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter, neuromodulator that drives our our pursuit of rewards, whether that is a delicious meal, a fun night out. Of course, everybody thinks of sex because, you know, that's it perpetuates the the species. It is a reward, and it's designed to be a rewarding behavior because we our our human population wants to keep going. And even a sense of accomplishment after a hard workout, people hear about the runner's high, right, endorphins, and dopamine is a part of all of that as well.
Molly Watts:But the thing is about dopamine, dopamine surges when we actually are on the front end of those activities, when we are anticipating something rewarding. And that's why we feel excited about things like planning a vacation or looking forward to dessert or a treat, even a drink, right? But once the reward is achieved, once we eat the dessert, once we go on the vacation, dopamine drops, and it's the chase more than the actual experience that gets us hooked. And that is true for nearly all habits, by the way. The promise or the reward drives the behavior.
Molly Watts:Whether it's finishing that project, scrolling social media, reaching for a drink, dopamine is usually behind the wheel. And here's where things get tricky. Over time, if we repeatedly pursue high dopamine activities, our baseline levels of dopamine can drop, which means that it's harder and harder for us, and and we you know, it makes us feel less motivated, less satisfied. And this is why we sometimes feel blah when the thrill wears off and why thrill seekers are often having to raise the stakes. Right?
Molly Watts:Because their their baseline level of dopamine has lowered. Now I'm gonna talk about that in a minute about how to get to have your baseline come back up to normal. Right? And just just as a side note there, we are all born differently in terms of our baseline levels of dopamine. And so even within families, even, you know, it just across human population, we all have different base levels of dopamine.
Molly Watts:Have you ever been around someone who seems to have abundant energy, is always kind of energetic, positive, moving, doing all the time, and you're just looking at them going like, how is that so? Well, they may have a higher base level of dopamine than you do. And that's the same kind of if you think about it when I talked about the other neuromodulators like serotonin. Right? We know that different brain chemistries equate to and lower levels of serotonin relate to some of the well known mental health disorders in terms of depression and anxiety, things like that.
Molly Watts:So all of these pieces of brain chemical health and brain how the brain works together and how these very important neurotransmitter neurotransmitters and neuromodulators impact us. And learning about them like this is is important because you do have agency in helping yourself feel better. Let's talk about specifics with regards to dopamine and daily life. K? Different activities stimulate dopamine to varying degrees.
Molly Watts:And doctor Andrew Huberman in the Huberman Labs podcast, He did wanna he did an episode way back in 2021 on dopamine. He also interviewed doctor Analemki like I did. But he, talks about or he says that we can think of, dopamine in terms of baseline levels, like the amount you feel day to day, and then there are spikes, temporary increases that we experience from certain activities. Now here are some how some common activities stack up. Eating your favorite food.
Molly Watts:Now I want you to understand something. Dopamine is also subjective. It does matter what you think about the activity, how you what experiences you've had. So I might have a big spike in dopamine eating one food, and you would be like, ugh. I don't like that, and I'm ugh.
Molly Watts:And you would not have that same dopamine spike. So it's not the food, but it's actually how I feel about the food, what I think about the food that is more likely. Now there are some foods like chocolate that actually raises your dopamine level. I think dopamine I mean, chocolate is like raises it, like, one point, like, one point o times your normal level, and that's from the the ingredients in it. But if you like chocolate, you might even have a higher spike in dopamine.
Molly Watts:So eating your favorite food, dopamine increases about two times your baseline level. Physical activity, like running or dancing. But what if you really love to run? What if you really love to dance? Could be more.
Molly Watts:But it's also typically on average. Right? And these are averages. So, again, right, all of us human beings are different. We start with different levels of base levels of dopamine, and our bodies react to dopamine differently, but also on average around two times for physical activity like running or dancing.
Molly Watts:Alcohol or nicotine, two and a half to three times. So you can see right there, alcohol is a little higher than things like eating your favorite food or physical activity, but it's also not up there like some very well known drugs like cocaine, which is up to five times your baseline. Amphetamines, ten times your baseline. What's fascinating is that the size of the spike isn't always tied to how fulfilling the activity feels long term. Now that probably doesn't surprise you.
Molly Watts:Right? Because we all know that the way that we feel doesn't last when it comes to an external source like a drug. For example, something like spending time in nature or engaging in a creative project might not create a massive dopamine spike, but it does build a deeper sense of satisfaction and calm long term. So we have to start looking at how we spend our time and understanding that all of it impacts our brain's health and our brain's neurochemistry. And we were looking for that homeostasis where we're getting into a really peaceful homeostasis.
Molly Watts:And when I say peaceful, that doesn't mean that you were never experiencing the spikes and little spikes of dopamine. That's not what we're looking for, but we are wanting to bring it back to that base level faster so that we don't experience the trough where the dopamine goes down below that baseline level. High dopamine activities, like maybe drinking alcohol, might feel great in the moment, but they also can lower our baseline over time. And this is one reason why some people report feeling flat or unmotivated during dry uary when they're taking that thirty one day break without alcohol providing those quick dopamine bursts or those spikes, it takes time for our brains to recalibrate. Now, I've got some ideas for you on how you can make sure that your dopamine system stays balanced and that you still feel motivated and joyful, and there are some science backed ways to support your brain, especially during dry urea.
Molly Watts:Really, these are good for any time. The thing about dopamine that we wanna do, we wanna create differences, and I'll talk about that a little bit more in a minute. But we want to have novelty in how we are treating our brain, and novelty in terms of what we're doing and also what we're not doing. And I'm gonna say something more on that in a minute. So here are some ideas for, again, boosting dopamine.
Molly Watts:Number one, focus on effort based rewards. Dopamine loves a challenge. Now that does not mean you have to go out and run a half marathon. It doesn't mean you have to climb a mountain. Things that require effort like cooking a new recipe if you haven't ever done it before, learning a new skill, even tackling a workout, yes, that you haven't tried before.
Molly Watts:Okay? This releases dopamine when you achieve these small wins. I talk all the time about small steps leading to big wins. These small wins, right, are important. The effort itself, when you try something new and something that is challenging, is where the magic happens with dopamine.
Molly Watts:Number two, prioritize movement. Exercise is simply one of the best ways to naturally boost dopamine. Whether it's a walk outside, yoga, or, you know, a high intensity workout, movement stimulates dopamine and other, those other feel good chemicals like serotonin. Try dopamine fasting activities. Now what does that mean?
Molly Watts:It means activities like meditation, journaling, or simply sitting quiet without stimulation might not give you that dopamine spike, but they actually help reset your system. And think of it, you can think of it as clearing the clutter so that your baseline levels can stabilize. And that's what I was talking about just a minute ago, about it doesn't these the actual, you know, staying away from and taking a pause in activities and doing something quiet, meditation. I say it I've said it here on Think Thursday before, meditation, deep breathing. These are scientifically proven to be very, very good for your brain, and they help you reset that base level of dopamine and bring it back up so that you're not always looking, you know, so you haven't fallen into a trough that you're trying to, you know, get yourself out of with unhealthy habits.
Molly Watts:Number four, celebrate your progress. During dry January, during dryuary, don't just focus on what you're giving up. Obviously, celebrate what you are gaining. With each alcohol free day, recognize your progress and give your brain a positive feedback loop. I just talked about earlier how what you think about what you are doing is important.
Molly Watts:You can increase dopamine from activities simply by changing your narrative around them. So don't keep telling yourself that you hate what you're doing. Try to find something positive in what you're doing and keep reminding your brain with that thought, with that sentence. Thoughts are just sentences in our brain and we get to write them. We get to write what's important.
Molly Watts:We get to remind our brain how we want to think about something because if we think differently, we will feel differently. And if you feel like you like something or you're looking forward to it, guess what? You are raising the dopamine levels. Number five, connect with others. Social connection is a powerful dopamine booster.
Molly Watts:A meaningful conversation, a virtual check-in with a friend, these are things that really can create a lasting satisfaction and, again, raise those baseline levels. As you move through dryuary, it's important to remember that dopamine isn't just about quick hits or instant gratification. It's about creating a life that feels rewarding and balanced in the long run. Here's another takeaway from the molecule of more. Like I said, dopamine loves novelty and future oriented thinking.
Molly Watts:So that means setting goals, big or small, can keep your brain engaged and motivated. Use this month to think about what you want to create create in your life beyond dry uary. Maybe it's building healthier habits, trying a new hobby, or just being more intentional and enjoying those intentional moments with your family and friends. Remember, your brain is incredibly adaptable. And so if you have felt stuck or unmotivated, know that with time, effort, and intention and and some of the right habits, you can recalibrate your dope your dopamine system to support a more fulfilling and joyful life.
Molly Watts:And this is possible. And you don't have to do thirty one day breaks to do that. You can achieve a dopamine reset by incorporating some of these activities like we've talked about. Now let's wrap up with a quick recap here. Number one, dopamine drives our pursuit of rewards, and it is the key to motivation and habit formation.
Molly Watts:During dryuary, it's kinda normal to feel a shift as your brain adjusts to, fewer dopamine spikes from alcohol, especially if you're an a habit daily habit drinker. Supporting your dopamine system with movement, effort based rewards, social connection, and mindfulness can help you stay balanced and energized. And I hope that you are no matter what you are using this month for, whether you are doing a full thirty one days, if you are prioritizing alcohol free days, when you are not drinking alcohol, if you feel any dip in your mood, remember, that's probably because you have trained your brain to expect the reward, to expect the dopamine from alcohol, and you're going to have to find alternate activities, find other ways to boost that dopamine, and trust me, healthier ways are there, and I want you to take them. I want you to take that opportunity. Take the opportunity on a daily basis, and you are going to feel better for the rest of your life.
Molly Watts:Thank you so much for being here, and I just want to share with you that I also created a little, dopamine healthy healthy dopamine boosters guide is what I'll call it. The healthy dopamine boosters guide, and it is available in the show notes this week down here for ThinkThursday. So if you wanna grab a copy of that, all you gotta do is go into the show notes, and, you can, click on the link, and you can download it. So I hope that you have a great week ahead. For those of you that are doing dry uary, if you would like to, you can actually sign up for some free group coaching.
Molly Watts:I've been doing group coaching every week this month, and you just have to go to it's, I'll put the link in the show notes, but I believe it's subscribe hold on. Let me think about this. It is SubscribePage.com/202five. Subscribe Page Com / 2 0 2 five, but I'll put it in the show notes too. Alright, everybody.
Molly Watts:Have a great weekend, and I will see you on Monday. Choose peace.
