【ドーパミン中毒】スタンフォード大学医学部「冷たいシャワーの効果とは」／朝一番のエクササイズが効果的な理由／苦痛と快楽の感情はシーソーのように行き来する【PIVOT GLOBAL】

Summary

今日の社会では、デジタルなものがドーパミンを過剰に刺激し、人々が中毒状態に陥りやすくなっています。この動画では、ドーパミンについての基本的な知識とその影響、そして適切に利用するためのヒントが紹介されています。ドーパミンの過剰な上昇と下降を避け、健康的な生活習慣を作るためには、デジタルデトックスなどの小さな痛みを意図的に与えることが重要だと説明されています。私たちが直面する誘惑に対し、計画的にデジタルデバイスから離れ、適度な痛みを感じる経験を積むことで、健康的にドーパミンを享受できるのです。

Takeaways

• 😊 ドーパミンは快楽、報酬、動機付けに関連する神経伝達物質です。
• 😥 突然のドーパミン放出の増加は、ドーパミン不足状態の反動を引き起こす可能性があり、離脱症状やクレーブを引き起こします。
• 🤔 楽しみと痛みは脳内で同時に作用し、天秤のように均衡を保とうとします。
• ✨ 意識的に痛みや難しいことに挑戦することで、徐々にドーパミンを放出でき、離脱症状を避けられます。
• 🚫 デジタル機器や食べ物の過剰な使用は、ドーパミンの過剰放出を引き起こす可能性があります。
• ⏰ 24時間デジタル機器から離れることで、ドーパミン経路のリセットと注意力の再配分が可能になります。
• 🚶‍♀️ 朝早く起きて運動することで、間接的にドーパミンを得られます。
• 🧘‍♀️ デジタル機器とは適度な距離を置き、オフにすることで、より落ち着いた心を得られます。
• 🛑 薬物やアルコールに頼るのではなく、心理的なレジリエンスを養うことが大切です。
• ⚖️ 仕事への執着もまた、ドーパミン経路への適応を引き起こす可能性があります。仕事とプライベートの適切なバランスを見つけることが重要です。

Q & A

ドーパミンとはどのような物質ですか?

ドーパミンは脳内で作られる神経伝達物質です。神経細胞と神経細胞の間の隙間(シナプス)を越えて信号を伝達する役割を果たしています。主に快楽、報酬、動機付けに関与しており、ストレス解消の最終的な経路とされています。

ドーパミンの過剰放出による有害な影響は何ですか?

突然大量のドーパミンが放出されると、脳はそれを処理するのに追われ、ドーパミン受容体を抑制して麻痺状態に陥ります。つまりドーパミン濃度は基準値を下回り、離脱症状やクレービングが生じるのです。これが「ハングオーバー」の原因となります。

ドーパミンが適切に作用するには、どのようにすべきですか?

飲酒や甘いものなど、一時的な快楽に頼るのではなく、規則正しい運動や断食などの方法で、徐々にドーパミン放出を増やすことが大切です。そうすれば持続的なドーパミン上昇を得られ、離脱症状に陥ることがありません。

デジタル機器の過剰使用とドーパミンとの関係は?

デジタル機器は常に新しい刺激を与えるため、大量のドーパミンを放出させます。しかし、過剰に使用し続けると、脳の報酬系が麻痺し、デジタル機器の虜になってしまうのです。デジタル機器からの一時的な離脱を心がけることが大切です。

ワーカホリックもドーパミン依存症の一つですか?

はい、その通りです。仕事そのものが報酬刺激となり、ドーパミン放出を引き起こします。しかし過剰になれば脳が適応し、仕事への喜びを失ってしまいます。仕事とプライベートのバランスを保つことが重要です。

プレゼンや重要な会議に向けて、一時的に覚醒剤を使うのはどうでしょうか?

長期的に見れば、覚醒剤の使用は逆効果になる可能性が高いです。本来のストレス解消力を高めるためにも、運動や瞑想などの自然な方法が望ましいでしょう。

ドーパミンの安定的な放出を促す具体的な方法には、どのようなものがありますか?

毎朝5時前に起き、すぐに運動を始めるのがよいでしょう。カフェインや砂糖は控えめにし、デジタル機器の使用も最小限に抑えましょう。代わりに、冷水浴や断食など、体に負荷をかける習慣を心がけることが重要です。

ドーパミンの過剰刺激から脱却するのに、どのくらいの期間が必要でしょうか?

24時間のデジタル機器離脱では、依存症から完全に抜け出すことはできません。しかし、離脱の重要性を認識し、継続的な努力を重ねることで、徐々にドーパミン受容体を正常化できるはずです。

ドーパミン放出を適切に制御するための基本的な心構えは何ですか?

自分の快楽追求を批判的に見つめ直し、一時的な満足感に惑わされないことが重要です。「ちょうど良い痛み」を積極的に受け入れ、ドーパミンを間接的に獲得する努力を惜しまないことが大切です。

ドーパミン依存症から抜け出す最善の方法は何でしょうか?

まず、自分の依存症を自覚することが第一歩です。次に、デジタル機器の使用時間を厳しく制限し、運動や冷水浴、断食といった苦行を積極的に取り入れましょう。そうすることで、健全なドーパミン放出を取り戻し、穏やかな心の安らぎを得られるはずです。

Outlines

00:00

🧠 ドーパミンの「高まり」と「落ち込み」

私たちの脳はドーパミンを一定のレベルで放出していますが、新しい刺激や快楽を得ると一時的にドーパミンのレベルが上がります。しかし、その上がり過ぎた分を補正するため、脳はドーパミンの放出を抑え過ぎて、本来のベースラインを下回る状態(「ドーパミン不足」)に陥ります。この高まりと落ち込みのサイクルが中毒を引き起こす主な原因となります。

05:00

🤪 「グレムリン」による快楽と痛みのバランス

快楽と痛みは、脳内でシーソーのようなバランスを保っています。多くの快楽を得ると、脳は「グレムリン」を痛みの側に送り込み、バランスを保とうとします。しかし、それ以上に多くのグレムリンが痛みの側に留まり、完全には均衡が取れなくなります。その結果、快楽を得るためにはさらに強い刺激が必要となり、中毒が進行してしまいます。

10:01

⛄️ 「痛み」を意図的に与えることで快楽を得る

運動やアイシングなど、意図的に「痛み」を体験することで、グレムリンを快楽の側に移動させ、ドーパミンを間接的に放出させることができます。この場合、ドーパミンは突発的に放出されるのではなく、徐々に上昇し、持続的に高いレベルを維持できるため、ドーパミン不足に陥ることなく、健康的に快楽を得られます。しかし、極端な苦行や自傷行為は避けるべきです。

15:04

📲 デジタル機器とドーパミン

現代社会では、デジタル機器やソーシャルメディアを通じて手軽に強力なドーパミンの放出を引き起こすことができます。しかし、その分だけドーパミン不足の状態も深刻になりがちです。デジタル機器からの一時的断ち切りや、物理的な距離を置くことで、ドーパミン経路をリセットできます。デジタル機器の力強さを認識し、意識的に時間と頻度を制限する必要があります。

20:06

💻 仕事中毒とドーパミン

仕事は外的な賞賛を通じてドーパミンの放出を引き起こし、中毒性を持つことがあります。しかし、時間が経つにつれて脳は適応し、同じ効果を得るためにはより強い刺激が必要となります。適度な努力は良いですが、過度の没頭は「仕事の喜び」を失わせかねません。健康的なバランスを保つためには、仕事以外の活動や休息も大切です。

Keywords

💡ドーパミン

ドーパミンは、脳内で生成される神経伝達物質の一種です。神経細胞間の伝達を媒介する役割を果たし、快感、報酬、動機付けの経験に関与しています。この動画では、ドーパミンがさまざまな嗜癖行動を駆動する主要な原因として説明されています。「ドーパミンの健全なベースラインから大きく逸脱すると、依存状態につながる」というメッセージが伝えられています。

💡中毒

この動画では、「依存」や「嗜癖」の状態を指す言葉として「中毒」が使われています。これは、享楽的な行動や物質を過剰に求めて、コントロールできなくなる状態を意味します。動画では、ドーパミンの急激な上昇と下降が、この中毒状態を生み出す原因として説明されています。具体例としては、デジタルメディアやお菓子などの過剰な摂取が示されています。

💡ドーパミン不足状態

ドーパミンが一時的に過剰に放出された後、脳はその効果を打ち消すために、ドーパミン伝達を標準レベル以下に抑制します。この結果生じるドーパミンの不足状態は、「引き離し」「二日酔い」のような不快感や欲求を引き起こし、さらに嗜癖行動を求める原因になります。この「ドーパミン不足状態」は、中毒の悪循環の鍵となる概念として動画で説明されています。

💡ホメオスタシス

ホメオスタシスとは、生体内の諸機能が一定の状態に保たれる仕組みを指します。動画では、脳がドーパミンの放出量を一定に保とうとする働きを説明する際にこの用語が使われています。ドーパミンの過剰放出後、脳はホメオスタシスを回復するために、ドーパミンの抑制を行います。ホメオスタシスの維持メカニズムが、中毒の根底にある原理として説明されています。

💡嗜癖物質

嗜癖物質とは、人間がその摂取を切望し、中毒を引き起こしがちな物質を指します。この動画では、お菓子、ドリンク、ニコチン、アルコール、デジタルメディアなどが嗜癖物質の例として挙げられています。これらは、短期的な快感を与えるものの、長期的にはドーパミン伝達の不均衡を招き、依存の原因になるとされています。嗜癖物質の過剰摂取を避けることが、中毒を防ぐ鍵になると説明されています。

💡新奇性

新奇性とは、何かが新しく珍しいことを指す概念です。動画では、新奇な体験や刺激がドーパミン放出を促すことが説明されています。新しいデジタルメディアコンテンツを消費する際のドーパミン放出は「新奇性」によって引き起こされています。新奇性は、人間の本来の快楽反応を増幅させ、中毒のリスクを高める要因として位置づけられています。

💡デジタルドラッグ

この動画では、動機付けや快楽を刺激するデジタルメディアのコンテンツを「デジタルドラッグ」と表現しています。この術語は、デジタル体験が中毒を引き起こす危険性を強調するために使われています。動画の中では、ソーシャルメディアやオンラインビデオなどが、実物質と同様の嗜癖性をもつ可能性があると警告されています。「デジタルドラッグ」は、デジタル時代の新たな依存対象としてこの動画の中心的な概念になっています。

💡ドーパミンバランス

動画では、脳内でドーパミン放出と抑制のバランスが保たれていることが健全な状態であると説明されています。ドーパミンバランスが崩れると、中毒状態に陥る危険性が高くなります。バランスの喪失を「シーソー」のメタファーで描写し、快楽と苦痛の双方がホメオスタシスを乱すとするユニークな視点が紹介されています。ドーパミンバランスを上手く維持することが、中毒を予防する鍵となる考え方が提示されています。

💡規則的な欲求充足

動画では、中毒を避けるためのヒントとして、「規則的な欲求充足」の重要性が強調されています。ドーパミンの過剰放出を防ぐには、嗜癖行動や物質摂取の「時間」「量」「頻度」をコントロールし、脳のホメオスタシスを乱さないようにする必要があります。つまり、不規則な過剰摂取ではなく、規則的で適度な欲求充足が健全なドーパミン調整の鍵となるのです。この考え方は動画の中心的な提言として繰り返し述べられています。

💡代替手段

嗜癖行動から脳内ドーパミンを得るのではなく、苦痛や難易度の高い経験から間接的にドーパミンを放出させる代替手段が、動画の中で提案されています。具体的には、運動、冷水浴、断食などの「苦しみ」を自ら課すことで、脳からドーパミンが徐々に放出されるというメカニズムが説明されます。この代替手段では、ドーパミン不足状態に陥ることなく、中毒性のない健全なドーパミン曲線を得られるとされています。嗜癖の悪循環からの脱却法として、この考え方が重要視されています。

Highlights

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in the experience of pleasure, reward, and motivation. It's the final common pathway for all reinforcing substances and behaviors.

If we have a huge and sudden upward spike in dopamine release, it's too much for our brain to handle. The brain then has to compensate by downregulating dopamine transmission not just to baseline but actually below baseline into a dopamine deficit state, which is the comedown, hangover, and craving for more.

Pleasure and pain are collocated in the brain and work like opposite sides of a balance. Any deviation from neutrality causes the brain to work hard to restore a level balance.

The brain adapts to increased dopamine by wanting to bring the balance level again, with 'neuro-adaptation gremlins' hopping on the pain side of the balance to tilt it back towards pain.

If we continue to consume a substance or behavior over time, the initial deflection to pleasure gets weaker and shorter, but the after-response to pain gets stronger and longer, leading to an addicted brain.

We can intentionally press on the pain side of the balance through exercise, cold water immersion, fasting, or other ascetic practices, which will cause the gremlins to hop over to the pleasure side, indirectly releasing dopamine without going into a deficit state.

In the modern world, almost every aspect of human life has become 'druggified' - made more potent, accessible, abundant, and novel, making it difficult to avoid the constant bombardment of pleasures.

We need to plan out what we're going to use, how much, and how often, and intentionally insulate ourselves from the constant bombardment of pleasures, as well as intentionally seek out difficult, painful, or inconvenient ways of doing things.

For digital drugs, we can try intermittent fasting from digital media, taking a 24-hour break from our devices, and creating physical distance by leaving the house without a phone.

Powering down the device when it cannot transmit or receive can create a quieting of the mind, knowing the device is not in transmit mode.

We want to find ways to build psychological resilience and not rely on substances or anything that works immediately, as they have the possibility of becoming addictive.

Work itself has become 'druggified' and more reinforcing, accessible, and abundant by our devices. It's okay to pursue excellence in work but important to find a balance.

It's difficult to tell when it's the right timing to find the balance, as the brain adapts no matter what the source of dopamine is. If you overdo it, it will eventually stop working, and you'll enter a compulsive loop of craving.

Dr. Lembke starts her day with pain, getting out of bed within five minutes of waking up, exercising, and avoiding caffeine and sugar to set herself up in a better way for the whole day.

Dr. Lembke commits to watching no more than about 15 minutes of digital media a day, no more than a couple of times a week, and preferably with other people.

Transcripts

made more Bountiful and abundant Tik

Tock literally is infinite it never runs

out made more novel dopamine is very

sensitive to novelty and not not only

are these drugs everywhere they also

chase us down like they'll show up in

our inbox or they'll show up on our news

feed right it's very hard to avoid them

the problem is uh that if we have a huge

and sudden upward spike in dopamine

release it's too much for our brain to

Handle by downregulating dopamine

transmission not just to Baseline but

actually below Baseline into this

dopamine deficit State and that's the

come down The Hangover the Tik Tock

video right digital drugs this would be

things like um you know intermittent

fasting from digital media taking a

break from your

[Music]

phone

for

so Dr L welcome to P Welcome to our show

thank you for inviting me I'm really

excited to be

here so uh I read your book dopamine

nation is really great I highly

recommend it to our audience uh because

we are on the startup community and I

think we're kind kind of addicted to

work um I'm also kind of addicted to

work so was very good so uh I want to

start off by asking you uh What uh

what's the definition of dopamine

dopamine is a chemical that we make in

our brain it is a neurotransmitter

neurotransmitters are the molecules that

bridge that gap between neurons neurons

send the electrical signals that make

our circuits that make us who we are but

neurons don't touch end to end there's a

little gap between them and that Gap is

called a synapse and neurotransmitters

allow for fine-tune modulation of those

electrical circuits so dopamine is a

neurotransmitter it has different

functions but one of the most important

functions is that it's involved in the

experience of pleasure reward and

motivation it's not the only

neurotransmitter involved in that

process but it is probably the final

common pathway for all reinforce foring

substances and

behaviors it's interesting that there's

kind of a Feelgood line and sometimes

you go above the line which you feel

good but sometimes you go below could

you elaborate on that yeah sure you said

it really well so we're always releasing

dopamine at a kind of Baseline tonic

rate it's kind of like the heartbeat of

the brain and when we ingest something

that uh tastes good um or we do

something that is new or novel or

important to our survival basically we

increase dopamine firing above Baseline

which again makes us feel good which is

the mechanism by which we are encouraged

to do it again and you know when you

think of natural natural rewards like

food clothing shelter finding a mate

dopamine is essentially our survival

neurotransmitter it gets us to work

really hard to get those things that we

need for basic survival

the problem is uh that if we have a huge

and sudden upward spike in dopamine

release it's too much for our brain to

handle so then the brain has to

compensate or adapt by downregulating

dopamine transmission not just to

Baseline but actually below Baseline

into this dopamine deficit State and

that's the come down The Hangover the

Blue Monday craving that moment of

wanting to watch one more Tik Tock video

right before it goes back up to Baseline

firing so you mean uh for instance if

you drink a can of soda or have ice

cream or Ramen or you on your phone you

kind of feel good your dopamine goes up

but the consequence is that it goes not

only to the Baseline but below the

Baseline exactly so we pay a price for

these instant quick pleasures especially

if they don't require much upfront work

so if you think about um the world that

humans have lived in for most of our

existence it's been a world of scarcity

and everpresent danger where in order to

find food clothing shelter and a mate we

had to walk tens of kilometers every day

we had to withstand terrible cold we had

to go hungry and so in that state of

hunger and uh need and exhaustion

dopamine levels go down we find our

reward and then it brings us back up to

our Baseline homeostatic position but

today we can sit on the couch swipe

right or swipe left and get this huge

Spike of dopamine and you know that's

way more than we really were evolved to

manage and so the result is that we're

getting this kind of compensatory

dopamine deficit state or this come down

so what's the difference between instant

uh Spike and uh like a constant Spike

because uh for instance I kind of I like

my job and I like to uh because it's a

startup and I like like changing the

media landscape in Japan but at the same

time I can understand that maybe uh when

I'm on social media or eating ice cream

that's so instant so what's the

difference between instant Spike and a

constant Spike which might be good for

our mental health right so um you know

if you have that sudden increase in

dopamine which we get with intoxic

which we get with sweet food which we

get with orgasm and sex which we get

with um you know all kinds of digital

media because digital media is very

potent goes right to our visual cortex

releases dopamine in the reward

circuitry you get that sudden upward

deflection right which does feel really

good but it's followed by a compensatory

downward deflection this dopamine

deficit state which feels really bad and

also importantly sets up the state of

craving which has us wanting to do it

again to get out of that dopamine pit

and not only get back to Baseline but

maybe even get above Baseline again so

it's the cycle of intoxication

withdrawal dopamine freefall craving

drug seeking intoxication withdrawal

this kind of sine wave that is really um

what happens in addiction and also what

creates the kind of compulsive cycle

where we ingest more of our drug or

behavior than we really want to or than

we really plan to and we it's difficult

to stop um even even when we you know we

when we want

to so uh you talked about in your book

uh some tips how to prevent that and I

like the analogy of Gins could you

explain to us what what you mean by that

yeah so to understand what happens as we

go from adaptive healthy use into

maladaptive compulsive addictive use

it's really to essential to understand

that Pleasure and Pain are collocated in

the brain and work like opposite sides

of a balance so imagine like a teeter

totter or a seesaw in a kid's playground

a beam on a central fulcrum and that

represents how we process Pleasure and

Pain we evolved over millions of years

of evolution to reflexively approach

pleasure and avoid pain as a way to

survive in a world of

scarcity now there are certain rules

governing this balance and the first and

most important rule is that the balance

wants to remain level such that with any

deviation from neutrality our brains are

going to work really hard to restore a

level balance so again if I W if I eat

some chocolate that releases a little

bit of dopamine in my reward pathway my

balance tilts to the side of pleasure

but no sooner has that happened then my

brain will adapt to that increased

dopamine by wanting to bring it level

again and I like to imagine that as

these neuro adaptation Gremlins hopping

on the pain side of the balance to bring

it level again but the Gremlins really

like it on the balance so they don't get

off as soon as it's level they stay on

until my balance has tilted in equal and

opposite amount to the side of pain and

that again is the come down the uh The

Hangover that craving for one more piece

of chocolate now if I don't have another

piece of chocolate the Gremlins get the

memo that their work is done they hop

off and balance or homeostasis is

restored but if I continue to consume

chocolate over days to weeks to months

to years then essentially what happens

is that initial deflection to pleasure

gets weaker and shorter but that after

response to pain gets stronger and

longer or another way to think about

that is the Gremlins start to multiply

and pretty soon I've got enough Gremlins

to fill this whole room and they're

camped out on the pain side of the

balance and now I've entered into

addicted brain right now I've changed my

honic or Joy setep Point such that I

need more of my drug and more potent

forms not to get high and feel good but

just to level the balance and feel

normal and when I'm not using I'm

walking around with a balance tilted to

the side of pain I'm in a dopamine

deficit State experiencing the Universal

symptoms of withdrawal from any

addictive substance which are anxiety

irritability depression insomnia and

craving so you're saying that it's like

a seesaw and if if you have too much

pleasure the Seesaw tilt so that the uh

glamin will hop on the other side to

keep the balance so in your book so is

this what you're saying that uh to so if

you think backwards uh in order to gain

pleasure you can like intentionally put

uh pain on your body or your mental

health so in turn the glamin will hop on

the other side to give pleasure to us

yeah right so you intuited exactly you

know sort of well what what can we do

about this and what we can do is we can

avoid intoxicants if we're going to use

them use them in moderation leaving

enough time in between for the Gremlins

to hop off and for homeostasis to be

restored but the other thing that we can

do is we can intentionally press on the

pain side of the balance for example

through exercise through ice cold water

immersion through intermittent fasting

or other aesthetic practices and when we

press on the pain side of the balance

those Gremlins will hop over on the

pleasure side of the balance and we will

get our dopamine indirectly by paying

for it up front and the big difference

here is that unlike with intoxicants

where we get that Spike of dopamine

followed by freefall to into that

dopamine deficit State when we get our

dopamine indirectly by doing things that

are painful or difficult or hard we see

a grual rise in dopamine over that

period of exercise for example and then

dopamine levels will remain elevated for

hours after stopping exercise before

going back down to the Baseline tonic

position and we never go into that

dopamine deficit state which remember is

the state that sets us up for the

craving that drives that compulsive use

so it's a really nice way to get your

dopamine because it's relatively immune

to this problem of compulsive overc

consumption because you're not going

into that dopamine deficit State you're

doing the work first having said that I

want to emphasize that some people

actually can get addicted to things like

exercise or things like fasting or some

people cut on themselves right as a way

to release endogenous opioids that

releases a dopamine that's not good

right that's too much or too extreme

aversion that's not what we're talking

about here we're talking about right

size pain not too much not too little

but just the right amount such that we

get that healthy dopamine we restore

balance in between and we don't set up

that that Loop of compulsive overc

consumption yeah I think that was the

most interesting part of your book um so

you touched upon like practical tips

such as fasting and I me having a cold

shower could you give us some advice or

good examples how we should keep the

good balance of pain let me just

emphasize that in in the modern world

it's really difficult because almost

every aspect of human life today has

become drug aied in some way made more

potent right M releases a lot of

dopamine U made more accessible with our

digital devices we have 247 access made

more Bountiful and abundant Tik Tok

literally is in infite it never runs out

made more novel dopamine is very

sensitive to novelty and not not only

are these drugs everywhere and I include

behaviors in in when I use the word

drugs but they also chase us down like

they'll show up in our inbox or they'll

show up on our news feed right it's very

hard to avoid

them so what we essentially need to do

is before we are actually tempted we

need to plan out what we're going to use

use how much and how often and we need

to really intentionally insulate

ourselves from the constant bombardment

of Pleasures as well as intentionally

seek out difficult painful or

inconvenient ways of doing doing these

things and there are so many ways to do

this right um I mean if if we're talking

about digital drugs if this would be

things like um you know intermittent

fasting from digital media taking a

break from your phone for a full 24-hour

period you know 24 hours is not enough

to probably reset reward Pathways no but

it is enough it is enough to sort of get

the sense of just how addicted we've all

become right and to begin to think about

withdrawal that we experience and the

ways in which our attention is almost

always on some level occupied by our by

our device taking up brain space that we

then therefore don't have for other

things it's enough time to recognize the

ways in which we're constantly in

reactive mode reacting to stimuli

instead of creative mode where we're

sitting quietly and letting our thoughts

just naturally unspool in their in their

own organic way um so I think that

24-hour digital fast and and importantly

you know I I used to be hopeful that

like different apps could help us sort

of limit our use but now I really think

to be healthy in this digital age we

really have to literally take a break

from the device itself and create

physical distance leave the house

without our phone on us which is very

anxiety-provoking for people right but

like literally go out without the device

and get that physical distance from it

so that we can begin to let our dopamine

reward Pathways start to reset

themselves experience our attention in a

new and different way open up our

sensory experience take in more natural

cues these are all the types of things

that we can

try what do you do personally uh other

than uh going off your home what

experience have you had okay well so I

start my day with pain um I I I wake up

around 5:00 A.M when it's still dark and

as much as I want to stay in my bed I

force myself to get out of bed within

about five minutes of waking I find if I

stay longer uh it's it gets even more

difficult um so those sort of heroic

first five minutes I get out of bed and

I try to exercise it's not super intense

exercise I do a stretching routine or I

go walking or I go swimming um but it it

sets me up in a better way for the whole

day because it essenti

is a way to um you know again get that

dopamine indirectly by paying for it up

front I try to avoid things like

caffeine I don't eat sugar that's

actually new for me I've given up sugar

recently it was extremely difficult

initially because I was eating sugar

every day multiple times a day and I

went into you know sugar withdrawal but

now I'm trying not to eat sugar and I

think that's been very helpful um I

actually I own a smartphone but I don't

use it it it's mostly turned off and I

use it as a tool when I need to

communicate or use ride share or Maps or

what have you I have really been

impressed by the benefit of actually um

powering down my device when the device

cannot transmit or receive I personally

experience a kind of quieting of my mind

knowing that the device is not in

transmit mode m kind of curious if other

people find this as useful um you know I

know that my patients report it's useful

so not just you know uh creating that

distance with the device but also just

turning the device off um and then only

powering it up when I need to use it for

a specific purpose um I for digital

media it's it's I'm very prone to

wanting to watch YouTube by myself as a

way to entertain and change my feelings

so I'm try to commit to to watching no

more than about 15 minutes a day no more

than a couple times a week and

preferably with other people so these

are the types of uh you know types of

strategies that that I that I try to um

use um I know what you mean because I

used to like wine but I I'm doing like a

little experiment the past four months I

stopped drinking alcohol and it's I'm so

healthy right now great yes but at the

same time um sometimes we kind of need

that boost you know when we have to give

a presentation uh we have to have

important meeting I something to drink

coffee Red Bull so what's the difference

between like energizing yourself and

staying calm uh theout the days

yeah well I mean you know different

different drugs will have a different

impact stimulants will like Red Bull

caffeine nicotine will will you know

initially um sort of perk us up

sedatives like opioids alcohol will calm

us down but I I don't think that that's

the best way in the long run to either

perk ourselves up or cal cal calm

ourselves down because with repeated um

exposure over time again our brains

adapt we need more and more to get the

same effect then that drug turns on us

and does the opposite of what we'd hope

for for example I hear from lots of

cannabis users that uh you know would

initially help their anxiety and sleep

now makes them anxious and gives them

insomnia so uh what what we want to look

for is um other ways to kind of um find

the psychological resilience that we

need to do these tasks it can be very

hard but I really urge people to try to

not rely on substances or any anything

that works immediately um has you know

the the the possibility of becoming of

being

addictive so uh throughout this talk we

talked about a lot of digital dopamine

and um so do you think that uh given the

fact that there's so much technology so

much information our human brains or

mental um body are not used to the

modern world or do do you think that

way I guess we could talk a little bit

about workaholism here in Silicon Valley

we're seeing more and more people who

are you know addicted to work right and

they get all these external accolades

but at some point they they lose their

joy in that right CU are the brain adapt

no matter what your source of dopamine

if you overdo it then it'll eventually

stop working and then you'll be in that

compulsive Loop of craving I think it's

also really important to acknowledge

that work itself has become drug aied

and made more reinforcing more

accessible more abundant by our devices

it feels good in the short term but in

the long term it's not really I think

what most of us want so it's okay to

pursue excellence in work and take

didn't work but it's so important to

find that balance how can you tell when

when it's the right timing to get that

balance

people