“Dopamine Detox: Fact or Fiction? Exploring the Trend and Benefits”

2023-05-31 05:06:01

Do you notice that you are always looking for new stimuli on social media during work? Then it’s high time for a ‘dopamine detox’. At least, that’s what TikTok says, which recently breathed new life into the term. They recommend banning all fast stimuli such as social media, fast food, news apps and alcohol for a week (or longer). The result is a ‘hard reset’ of your brain. But does it work?

“I felt like I was always in need the next thing , to stimulation, to pleasure.” Speaking is TikTok star Julie Theis (@psychadvice). Under the strumming of a dejected piano, she explains to her 415,000 followers how she locked herself in a hotel room for a weekend, without movies, music, social media and alcohol. She felt like she was distracting herself from her own emotions. Through the so-called ‘dopamine detox’ she was finally able to face it head on: “It was uncomfortable, but it was worth it.”

What is a dopamine detox?

The trend of the dopamine detox started five years ago in Silicon Valley, then under the name of ‘dopamine fasting’. During such a detox, the aim is to become less dependent on the neurotransmitter dopamine. This so-called ‘happiness hormone’ makes us feel pleasure and pleasure, and is part of the system in our brain that rewards us when we perform actions that help us survive. Think about eating and reproducing yourself. Dopamine motivates us to take action. Our brains are therefore designed to look for those behaviors that release dopamine.

In the 21st century, under the impulse of hyper-fast social media, our brains would have become “addicted” to stimuli that give us dopamine. Fast food, sugars, games, drugs, online shopping, social media, binge watching: it all creates a dopamine kick that makes you want more. That’s why some say, a bit like inveterate smokers, we should go ‘cold turkey’ and cut all those stimuli. This is the only way we can calm our brain.

Are we addicted to dopamine?

It’s not because we crave pleasure that we are actually addicted to dopamine. When TikTok talks about dopamine addiction, they’re mainly talking about our dependence on our cell phones and our excessive screen time. But it’s not that we lose control over our online behavior to such an extent, that our environment suffers as a result or that serious withdrawal symptoms appear when we stop. Too much screen time is a “neurotoxic habit”, says neurologist Steven Laureys in Nina. «Your brain also needs other stimuli. Pay attention: if you do too much of the same thing, you will eventually get a headache.”

Is a detox useful?

It’s worth realizing that we can’t do without dopamine. Without that ‘happiness hormone’ we threaten to incur all kinds of psychological problems. You are tired, have difficulty concentrating and suffer from a lack of motivation. In severe cases, it leads to depression. Although too much dopamine is also linked to mental problems such as schizophrenia or, ironically, addictions. But as mentioned earlier, in most cases we cannot speak of an internet addiction that disrupts our dopamine balance to such an extent. Just banning social media for a certain period of time will not be enough. Bite-sized plot-driven Netflix series, citizens of McDo, drugs and online shopping still give us more than enough stimuli that our brains crave.

So is detoxing for a while the same as hitting the reset button of your brain? No. But that does not mean that such a detox is completely useless. After all, detox gurus recommend replacing your screen time with meditation, evening walks, sunlight, exercise, and adequate sleep—all habits proven to have a positive effect on our health. In other words, what they preach is not so radically different from what both scientists and many of them believe ‘inspirational bloggers’ Overwrite. To learn long-term habits, a hard detox is usually not a sustainable option. Compare it with diets: you also build that up gradually in order to persevere. Of course, nothing stops you from challenging yourself by not drinking, binging and scrolling for a week, but it’s not a miracle solution.

What do you avoid during a detox?

– Social media

– YouTube/Netflix/Disney+

– Cinema

– Alcohol

– Drugs

– Shopping

– Fast food

– News apps

– porn/sex

– Gaming

What is allowed?

– Meditation

– To walk

– To play sports

– Healthy food

– Read

– Creative pursuits

– …

This article first appeared on Metro: https://www.metrotime.be/nl/what-about/dopamine-detox-moeten-we-afkicken-van-dopamine