how to trick your brain to *enjoy* studying

Summary

This script explores how to enhance dopamine release during studying to make it more pleasurable. It introduces the 'pleasure scale' to rank activities by dopamine release and suggests lowering one's baseline dopamine level through activities like walking without a phone and mindfulness. The script also advises making studying more enjoyable by considering factors like environment, study materials, and breaking tasks into smaller, rewarding goals. Skillshare is highlighted as a resource for learning new skills, and the importance of studying for personal growth, not just grades, is emphasized.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with happiness and pleasure, and it's released during enjoyable activities but not as much during studying.
• 📉 The 'pleasure scale' ranks activities based on dopamine release, with studying typically at the lower end compared to activities like scrolling on a phone.
• 🔄 Understanding your baseline dopamine level can help in making studying feel less painful by aligning it with your regular activities' dopamine release.
• 🚶‍♂️ Taking a daily walk without technology can help lower your baseline dopamine level, making studying feel more enjoyable.
• 🚫 Implementing a no-screen rule at the start and end of the day can help reduce dopamine stimulation from devices and refocus your mind.
• 🧘 Practicing mindfulness or meditation can balance dopamine levels, reduce stress, and increase focus, making studying more pleasurable.
• 📚 Skillshare offers a wide range of classes to learn new skills, which can make the learning process enjoyable and productive.
• 🏞️ Changing your study environment or using ambient sounds can make studying more pleasurable by simulating novel and interesting settings.
• ✏️ Using new study tools or materials can introduce novelty and make the act of studying feel more exciting.
• 📝 Creating a granular to-do list and associating tasks with rewards can turn studying into a game-like experience, increasing enjoyment.
• 🕒 Studying at different times of the day can affect productivity and enjoyment; tackling difficult tasks early can reduce the burden and increase satisfaction.
• 🤝 Studying with friends can make the process more enjoyable and reduce stress, but it requires discipline to stay focused.

Q & A

What is the primary function of dopamine in the brain?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain associated with feelings of happiness and pleasure.

How does the level of dopamine affect our perception of activities like studying?

The level of dopamine released during an activity influences our perception of pleasure. Lower dopamine release makes activities like studying feel less enjoyable.

What is the concept of a 'pleasure scale' mentioned in the script?

The 'pleasure scale' is a conceptual tool used to rank activities based on the amount of dopamine they release, with higher levels of dopamine associated with more pleasurable activities.

What is meant by 'baseline dopamine level'?

The 'baseline dopamine level' refers to the average amount of dopamine released by the activities a person engages in regularly, which affects how pleasurable or painful other activities, like studying, feel in comparison.

Why is it suggested to take a 10 to 15-minute walk every day without a phone?

Taking a walk without a phone helps to lower the baseline dopamine level by reducing constant exposure to the dopamine-releasing stimuli that phones provide.

What is the significance of implementing a no screen rule for the first and last 30 minutes of the day?

The no screen rule helps to establish control over technology use and reduces the influence of dopamine-releasing activities early and late in the day, potentially lowering the baseline dopamine level.

How does meditation help in managing dopamine levels?

Meditation helps balance out distracting dopamine, lower stress hormones like cortisol, and increase focus, contributing to a healthier baseline dopamine level.

What is the role of Skillshare in making studying more enjoyable as mentioned in the script?

Skillshare is an online platform offering classes across various skills, which can make learning fun by providing engaging content and practical projects, thus moving studying up the pleasure scale.

Why is it recommended to study in different environments or use ambiance videos?

Changing the study environment or using ambiance videos can introduce novelty and make studying more pleasurable by simulating different settings that might be more conducive to focus and enjoyment.

How can creating a granular to-do list enhance the study experience?

A granular to-do list allows for the immediate gratification of checking off small tasks, which can hack the brain's reward system and make studying feel more like a rewarding game.

What is the significance of studying with others and how can it affect the study experience?

Studying with others can make the process more enjoyable by providing social interaction and support, but it requires discipline to ensure that the focus remains on studying rather than getting distracted.

Why is it important to consider 'why' you study and how can it change your perspective on education?

Focusing on the purpose of learning beyond grades can shift the perspective to appreciate the value of education in personal development, making the study experience more meaningful and enjoyable.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Dopamine and the Pleasure Scale

This paragraph introduces dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with happiness and pleasure. It explains how different activities release varying levels of dopamine, creating a 'pleasure scale'. The narrator suggests that the baseline dopamine level, influenced by regular activities, affects how enjoyable or painful studying feels. To make studying more enjoyable, one can either increase dopamine release during study or lower the baseline dopamine level through activities like walking, reducing screen time, and practicing mindfulness.

05:01

📚 Making Studying More Enjoyable with Skillshare

The paragraph discusses strategies to make studying more enjoyable by moving it up the pleasure scale. It introduces Skillshare, an online platform offering classes in various skills, as a resource to make learning fun. The narrator suggests considering five factors—where, what, how, when, and who—to enhance the study experience. It emphasizes the importance of studying in a pleasant environment, using new study materials, and employing techniques like creating granular to-do lists with rewards to make studying feel like a game.

10:02

🕒 Study Timing and the Importance of 'Why'

This paragraph focuses on the timing of studying and the motivation behind it. It suggests tackling difficult assignments early in the day and using the time right before bed for light review sessions to aid memory consolidation. The narrator also stresses the importance of studying with friends for certain assignments to make the process more enjoyable, but warns against it before major exams without proper discipline. Lastly, it encourages students to shift their perspective on studying from a grade-focused approach to one that values learning and personal growth.

Keywords

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of happiness, pleasure, and reward. In the video, it is described as the 'key to enjoying' various activities, and its release is linked to pleasurable experiences such as eating snacks or hanging out with friends. The video discusses how dopamine levels can affect one's motivation and enjoyment of studying, aiming to 'trick' the brain into releasing dopamine during study sessions to make them more enjoyable.

💡Pleasure Scale

The Pleasure Scale is a concept used in the video to illustrate the varying amounts of dopamine different activities can produce. It's a hypothetical scale where activities are ranked based on how much pleasure or dopamine they generate. For example, studying is at the lower end of the scale, while scrolling on a phone is at the higher end. The video uses this scale to discuss how one's baseline dopamine level can affect the perceived pleasure of studying.

💡Baseline Dopamine Level

Baseline dopamine level refers to the average amount of dopamine that an individual experiences during their regular activities. The video explains that if this baseline is too high, as might be the case with frequent smartphone use or consumption of sugary snacks, studying can feel less enjoyable by comparison. The video suggests lowering this baseline to make studying feel less of a chore.

💡Dopamine Detox

A Dopamine Detox, as mentioned in the video, is a process of reducing the baseline dopamine level to make activities like studying more appealing. This can involve practices like going for walks without a phone, implementing a no-screen rule at certain times of the day, or practicing mindfulness. The video suggests these activities to help lower the constant stimulation from high dopamine-releasing activities.

💡Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged with whatever we’re experiencing in the moment. The video recommends mindfulness or meditation as a way to lower baseline dopamine levels by reducing the distractions and stress that can come from constant dopamine stimulation. It provides a simple meditation routine to help achieve this state.

💡Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning platform that is mentioned as a sponsor of the video. It offers classes on a wide range of topics, from web development to mindfulness, and is presented as a resource to make learning more enjoyable by providing access to a variety of skills and knowledge that can enhance one's studies or personal development.

💡Learning Paths

Learning Paths on Skillshare are curated collections of classes designed to help users master specific skills. The video mentions the Creative Productivity Learning Path as an example, suggesting that such paths can help students enhance their learning experience by providing structured learning experiences that align with their interests.

💡Ambiance

Ambiance refers to the surrounding conditions, environment, or atmosphere. In the context of the video, ambiance is used to describe the background sounds or environments that can be found on platforms like YouTube, which can help students create a more enjoyable study environment by simulating different settings such as a cafe or a forest.

💡Granular To-Do List

A granular to-do list is a highly detailed and specific task list that breaks down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable parts. The video suggests creating such a list to make studying more enjoyable by providing a sense of gratification and progress as each small task is completed, which can help hack the brain's reward system.

💡Memory Consolidation

Memory consolidation is the process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories. The video mentions that studying right before bed can aid in memory consolidation, suggesting that even though it's beneficial to study earlier in the day, a light review session before sleep can also be advantageous for learning.

💡Discord

Discord is a communication platform mentioned in the video as a place where students can connect and collaborate. The video creator invites students to join their Discord server, which has a community of over 180,000 students, to make studying more social and enjoyable.

Highlights

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with happiness and pleasure.

Activities in our lives release different amounts of dopamine, creating a pleasure scale.

Baseline dopamine level is determined by regular activities and their dopamine release.

High baseline dopamine levels can make studying feel less enjoyable.

Lowering baseline dopamine levels can make studying feel less painful.

Going on walks without technology can help lower dopamine levels.

Implementing a no screen rule at the start and end of the day can reduce dopamine intake.

Meditation can balance dopamine levels and increase focus.

Skillshare offers classes to learn new skills and make studying more enjoyable.

Changing the study environment can make the process more pleasurable.

Using new or different study materials can introduce novelty and increase enjoyment.

Creating a granular to-do list can provide immediate gratification during studying.

Studying earlier in the day can lead to better focus and productivity.

Studying with friends can make the process more enjoyable but requires discipline.

Changing the perspective on why you study can make it feel more meaningful.

Education is about personal development and learning to approach complex problems.

Transcripts

this molecule which has six carbon atoms

11 hydrogen atoms one nitrogen atom and

two oxygen atoms is the key to enjoying

studying you might also know this

molecule as dopamine dopamine is the

neurotransmitter in your brain that's

associated with feelings of happiness

and pleasure while you're eating snacks

watching movies or hanging out with

friends your brain is releasing a ton of

dopamine but when you go to your desk to

work on some homework well it's not

releasing as much the ultimate goal here

is to trick your brain into releasing

dopamine while you're studying but

before we jump into that let's talk

about dopamine itself I like to imagine

that different activities in our lives

give us different amounts of dopamine

and we can put these activities on

something I like to call the pleasure

scale studying is all the way down here

listening to music is probably here

eating sugary snacks is here and then

scrolling on your phone is all the way

up here of course there are hundreds of

other activities that can and do give us

dopamine now before we discuss anything

else I want you to ask yourself one

question where is my Baseline dopamine

level is it all the way down here is it

all the way up here or is it somewhere

in the middle because here's the truth

the farther ahead your Baseline dopamine

level is from studying the worse

studying is going to feel to you but

gohar what is a baseline dopamine level

well think about the activities you

engage in regularly the average amount

of dopamine these activities release is

your Baseline level so for example if

you spend most most of your day

scrolling through Tik Tok while eating

candy and watching movies in the

background chances are your Baseline

dopamine level is all the way up here

meaning that this is what normal life

feels like to you so when you have to

study which is all the way down here on

the pleasure scale it's going to feel

very painful on the other hand if you

live a healthier lifestyle for example

if you exercise limit your phone usage

and avoid eating High processed foods

your Baseline level is probably in a

lower healthier range so in this

situation studying doesn't feel as

painful by the way this notion of a

baseline dopamine level is not some

precise measure it's simply a framework

that I came with to assess my own

behavior so now to trick our brains to

enjoy studying there are two things that

we can do first we can make the act of

studying itself release more dopamine

which in essence means moving it up the

pleasure scale but there's also

something else that we can do we can

lower our Baseline dopamine level so

this way when we have to study it feels

less L painful and ideally we want to do

both of these all right first let's talk

about how to lower your Baseline

dopamine level some people also call

this a dopamine detox the first tip I

have is to go on a 10 to 15 minute walk

every single day no music no phone just

you your thoughts and nature for many of

us our phones aren't just a tool that we

use they feel like an extension of our

being I mean just think about it this

way is your phone ever out of Arms Reach

chances are you said no this dopamine

box is sitting next to us 24/7 I mean

it's sitting next to me right now the

goal should be to bring this down just a

little bit I'll be honest going on a

walk without your phone is going to feel

really weird at first because we are so

used to holding our phones or having it

in our pockets so when you first go

outside without it you are going to feel

like you're missing something but after

some time you are going to overcome that

feeling and it might even feel freeing

as you go on these walks I encourage you

to just sit with your thoughts to

observe the smells the sights The Sounds

because in today's era I feel like we

seldom take time to observe the world

around us tip number two is to implement

a no screen rule for the first 30

minutes of the day and the last 30

minutes of the day remember you are in

control of your phone not the other way

around if you grab your phone first

thing when you wake up you are

implicitly surrendering yourself before

the day has even started this sounds a

little intense I know but my goal isn't

to get you to abandon your phone all I'm

saying is that you should give yourself

the first 30 minutes of the day to

stretch drink some water maybe regain

Consciousness I'll admit there are some

mornings when I grab my phone first

thing and I mean first thing like before

my vision has even kicked in and no

surprise these end up being the mornings

that I feel the laziest tip number three

is to practice mindfulness or meditation

for 10 minutes every single day now the

main benefit here is that meditation is

a great way to balance out all the

distracting dopamine you might be

getting throughout the day it's also a

great way to lower cortisol which is

your stress hormone as well as increase

focus and here's a very simple five-step

meditation routine first find a quiet

place where you won't be disturbed for

10 minutes second sit in a comfortable

position either in a chair or on the

floor make sure your back is straight

but not tense third start a timer for 10

minutes fourth close your eyes and focus

on your breath try to notice the

sensation of air flowing in and out

fifth be present don't try to judge or

fight any random thoughts simply

acknowledge them and return your focus

to your breath after implementing these

habits hopefully you can lower your

Baseline dopamine level but it still

might be far away from studying on the

pleasure scale so now the goal isn't to

move your Baseline level even lower

instead it's to move studying up the

pleasure scale so we can make learning

fun and you know what else makes

learning fun the sponsor of this video

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trial of skillshare get started today

and now back to the video okay so for

this next part of the video we're going

to talk about how to make studying more

enjoyable in other words move it up the

pleasure scale to do this you have to

consider five different factors where

what how when who and why first we have

to consider where if you're always

studying in a dark dingy environment

something as simple as studying in a

different room can make studying more

pleasurable back in college I would love

studying in different campus libraries

particularly Barker Library which was

located right underneath the MIT Dome

here take a look at a few pictures and

tell me this doesn't look mesmerizing

but if you're not in college yet you

could study at your local library

instead or maybe a cafe or even outside

choose a place that's novel but not

distracting for example you don't want

to study in a place with too many people

or too much noise even if it feels like

a fun place to be now if you don't feel

like walking or driving somewhere to

study don't worry because you can still

make it feel like you're studying

somewhere new just head to YouTube and

search up Ambiance and instantly you

will find videos each between 2 and 10

hours long that will transport you into

different worlds for example do you want

to study in a bookstore Cafe while

listening to Jazz no well what about a

cozy wooden house in the forest while

listening to some rainfall or what about

a cabin or what about a spaceship or

what about Hogwarts not going to lie I

sometimes throw that one on while

working I would definitely recommend

next you have to consider what you study

with I mean doesn't it always feel

exciting to study with a new notebook or

a new in of pens or pencils no am I the

only one I remember back when I was

taking AP Cal I got the ti84 plus C

which is that fancy graphing calculator

with a colored screen I kid you not just

because I had that calculator I actually

enjoyed doing my Cal homework for the

first few weeks of that class now the

point here isn't to go out and buy a

bunch of expensive things to make

studying more fun if you have the budget

to buy a few new things great but the

main point here is to introduce just a

pinch of novelty and that could be as

small as using a pen instead of a pencil

or Cornell notes instead of the outline

method actually I'm not the biggest fan

of Cornell notes so maybe not that okay

so we just talked about where and what

now I want you to think about how you

study now the problem with how we study

is that the payoff is all the way at the

end only after studying for 2 3 or 4

hours when we can finally check studying

off our to-do list do we feel that sense

of gratification but while we study we

usually feel pretty miserable so we have

to figure out a way to feel that sense

of gratification not just just after

studying but while studying and this

requires us to hack our brains reward

system so I have a question for you what

is the most satisfying feeling as a

student besides doing well on an exam

it's checking things off your to-do list

so the trick here is to create a super

granular to-do list on a sticky note and

place it next to you while you're

studying this way you can feel the

satisfaction of checking things off

while you're working and not just after

for example you can write things down

like read five pages read 10 pages read

15 Pages or write one paragraph two

paragraphs three paragraphs by having

this granular to-do list studying will

start to feel like a game and obviously

games are pretty fun now if you want to

take this even one step further you can

associate each thing on your checklist

with a different reward for example next

to read 10 pages you could put down take

a 5-minute break or grab a snack so now

you're going to feel the pleasure both

of checking things off and getting

rewarded for making progress this is

literally a way to turn studying into a

fun video game and if this doesn't move

it up the pleasure scale then I don't

know what will next I want you to focus

on when you study now this is totally up

to personal preference but I feel much

better when I tackle hard homework

assignments earlier in the day so for

example back in high school I would do

homework right after school or better

yet even during school I can't even

begin to explain how great it felt to

finish homework during study hall and

this was especially the case during my

senior year when I was taking 5 AP

classes and also applying to colleges I

would also try to squeeze and work in

between classes for example if I got to

class A few minutes early or if I had a

few free minutes at the end of a class I

would just pull out a homework

assignment and answer the first question

right then and there this way once I got

home I no longer felt that burden of

starting an assignment from scratch

instead I just had to keep the momentum

going now I will add one caveat to this

however numerous studies show that

studying right before bed can help with

memory consolidation however I'm still

going to stick to my original point I

still think it's beneficial to study as

early as possible in the day however

right before bed maybe you can throw in

a Light review session all right next I

want you to consider who you study with

now I'll be honest finding a friend to

work with is one of the easiest ways to

make studying more fun yes you have

someone who can quiz you or explain

Concepts but you also have someone who

can help reduce the stress some of my

best memories from college come from

when I was studying with my friends at 1

or 2: a.m. and it was during these late

night study sessions when we had some of

our funniest moments which does lead me

to one caveat you should only study with

your friends for certain kinds of

assignments studying with them the night

before a big exam might be a recipe for

disaster if yall don't know how to stay

disciplined and focused now

unfortunately my friends and I did not

have that discipline all the time which

is why we wouldn't really study together

before huge midterms or finals but

during the week we would always get

together for pets or anything else that

wasn't as important and then finally I

want you to consider why you study many

students study just for the grade not

for the sake of actually learning the

content and look I don't blame you I I'm

not jumping for joy at the thought of

learning about Hamlet or the KB cycle

but education is a privilege and to be

well read in this era where the world is

more distracting and distracted than

ever is a gift so I want you to switch

your perspective instead of thinking I

have to study this think I get to study

this this one subtle shift can make

studying feel so much more enjoyable and

meaningful and yes while I understand

that the individual topics might feel a

bit irrelevant school isn't just about

learning a bunch of random facts and

formulas though it might feel like that

at times school is instead about who you

become in the process regardless of

whether you want to be a doctor a lawyer

an engineer or even if you don't want to

go to college you will have to learn to

synthesize information think critically

and approach complex problems all of

which are skills you learn as a student

so even if School feels irrelevant or

pointless owledge the benefits and how

that develops you as a person to survive

in the real world so hopefully with the

these six key aspects in mind you can

make studying feel not only bearable but

also enjoyable and if you want to make

studying feel even more enjoyable feel

free to join my Discord which has over

180,000 students from all around the

world you can join my newsletter the

studio student for weekly study tips and

you can always subscribe for more tips

thanks for watching and I'll see you

again next week