Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction

What Hacker News said

Strong rec Spinnaker_ · 2021-11 · on “Dopamine Fasting: A Maladaptive Fad (2020)”

The author is attacking a position that doesn't really exist. You obviously don't fast from dopamine in general. You fast from dopamine peaks. Continuous spiking of dopamine causes your baseline levels to drop, and you feel shitty and unmotivated. A dopamine fast (of the spikes) is intended to let the levels rise back. If you have 2 hours there is no better guide than Andrew Huberman: [this video]

Strong rec asauce · 2022-07 · on “Ask HN: I'm in a rut. How did you get out of yours?”

I really recommend everyone to listen to Andrew Huberman's podcast [0] on Dopamine and how it affects motivation, focus, and satisfaction. Many people see Dopamine as just a pleasure chemical, but it actually directly influences motivation and focus. We also all have a somewhat set amount of dopamine in a day, so participating in activities that release a short peak of dopamine (drugs, masturbation, etc) means that we have less dopamine, and therefore less motivation for the rest of the day. I was also recently in a low motivation rut, however after making some lifestyle changes I feel much more motivated throughout the day. I stopped getting high, cut out all porn, and added 2 min of a cold

Strong rec waprin · 2022-10 · on “Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?”

This is an area I'm pretty passionate about. So first of all, it's pretty clear that you _do_ have some interests. You mention Feynman and Kazantzakis. That sounds like you're interested in the history of science and literature. That sounds pretty cool. Many people will recommend going to a professional which I won't try to dissuade you from but that's not mutually exclusive with examining your lifestyle. I'm obsessed with this podcast by Andrew Huberman (Stanford Neuroscientist) because he's talking about a scientific basis for stuff that has "felt" true to me for a while. Your food diet affects how you feel but your information diet does massively as well. There is a neurochemical basis fo

Strong rec sebmellen · 2024-01 · on “Could inflammation be the cause of myriad chronic conditions? (2019)”

I don't understand this comment at all. Huberman, to me, has provided the most nuanced understanding of dopamine and dopaminergic effects accessible to the broader public. There's a lot of clickbait around him, and no doubt many "influencer doctors" who make a bad name for themselves, but this is a very clear take on dopamine: [this video] . I wouldn't call it babble. (Huberman is also not a physician, but a PhD, which is an important distinction.)

Recommends mickelsen · 2021-09 · on “Ask HN: Have you ever spend days unable to do *any* work?”

Check out the latest episode from Huberman Labs regarding dopamine peaks and maintenance: [this video] Also an earlier one about addiction, good tips to apply here or similar situations. And it's OK to take some time off and switch to other activities, while your brain replenishes your desire to work on the background. I did, for a couple of months. I was actually in the same spot as you and the guy from another post ( [LINK] ), even thought I was getting some sort of early dementia, as my memory was also affected. The unable to start or keeping are also signs of burnout and ADHD. You could try asking others in your team to give you some extra hand-holding, motivation or accountability. Some bump

Recommends slothtrop · 2021-10 · on “Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit”

Also mine. Have gone long stretches between relapses during which time I've felt noticeably better. What typically happens is I'll rationalize its use after a spell, but will find I'll want to watch the next day, and the next. Particularly if sleep suffers, just to get some deliverance. From what I've learned, large sustained dopamine hits lead to deficits in baseline levels. I could intuit early on that some of my negative experience (including sleep) was linked to consumption, but managed to convince myself each time that I "just need to better manage it". Even if the truth stares you in the face it's hard. I like to think of it as a "mild" addiction owing to frequency (it wasn't always) b

Recommends kashyapc · 2021-10 · on “Dopamine, Smartphones and You: A battle for your time”

On understanding dopamine, FWIW, I recommend two excellent resources: one is Robert Sapolsky's 720-page tome, Behave —he gives a robust intro to dopamine in the second chapter, "One Second Before", and expands on it further in the book. The other is prof. Andrew Huberman's podcast. He recently did a 2-hour episode[1] on dopamine. The segment on smartphones and how they alter our dopamine circuits starts at 01:15:28[2] [1] [LINK] [2] [this video]

Recommends simple10 · 2021-11 · on “Dopamine Fasting: A Maladaptive Fad (2020)”

Has anyone here tried 24 hours isolation [1] to reset perception of time? It's related to dopamine fasts but reportedly more profound. Andrew Huberman from Stanford has an excellent podcast [2] on dopamine. He goes in depth on the importance of using dopamine in the pursuit of goals with a caution around the come down period after achieving goals. [1] [LINK] [2] [this video]