It is often touted as the main chemical responsible for the feeling of pleasure, but as neuroscientist Andrew Huberman explains, “The pleasure that arrives from achieving things also involves dopamine but is mainly the consequences of other molecules” [9][10]. So, dopamine seems to be more involved with the motivation to pursue goals rather than the reward that comes from achieving them.

From a scientific standpoint, dopamine is both a neurotransmitter and a neuromodulator.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger that a neuron, or brain cell, releases into the synapse (the area where neurons meet) in order to communicate with another neuron [10][8].

It is released from a bubble-like structure in the neuron called a pre-synaptic vesicle and transmitted through the synaptic cleft (the space between the two neurons) where it attaches to a receptor at the postsynaptic neuron [7]. This is the process your brain uses to communicate information and control things like movement and emotion.

By contrast, a neuromodulator is a chemical that oversees the communication of multiple neurons. 

Huberman explains the difference by saying, “Neuromodulators are different that neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are involved in the dialogue between neurons, nerve cells. And neurotransmitters mediate local communication…whereas neuromodulators influence the communication of many neurons” [9][10]. Neuromodulators modify the effects of neurotransmitters [7].

Dopamine serves many important functions, but for this article, the main focus is on dopamine’s effects on mental health and subjective wellbeing.

The simple takeaway is that dopamine “is a molecule in the brain and body that is closely linked to our sense of motivation” as Huberman describes it. “It can also enhance our depth of focus and lower our threshold for taking action toward specific goals” [9][10].

It is what allows us to feel motivated to pursue goals. When dopamine levels are elevated, we tend to focus our attention outwardly on personal goals and have an increased motivation or drive to pursue them.

This type of study hasn’t been done in humans for obvious ethical reasons, but since rats and humans share a very similar dopamine reward pathway, we can extrapolate this same mechanism to humans [16][17].

We’ve all likely seen a milder version of this play out in someone we know or even ourselves. Huberman gives a common example of this during one of his podcasts on dopamine, “If you’ve ever interacted with somebody who just doesn’t seem to have any drive, they’ve given up, or you’ve interacted with somebody who seems to have endless drive and energy, what you are looking at in those two circumstances is without question a difference in the level of dopamine circulating in their system” [14][15].

According to Huberman, “dopamine has everything to do with how you feel right now…it has everything to do with how you will feel in an hour from now, has everything to do with your level of desire and your willingness to push through effort”. It determines how excited we are, how motivated we are, and how willing we are to lean into life and pursue things [14][15].

Dopamine also plays an important role in movement. This is highlighted in diseases like Parkinson’s Disease where the dopaminergic neurons have degenerated, causing low levels of dopamine in certain areas of the brain. This leads to the classic motor control deficits seen in people with Parkinson’s: tremors, poor motor coordination and balance, rigidity, etc. [18].

In the context of our ancestral environment, back when we were hunter-gatherers, living outside and having to expend massive amounts of energy to procure food, water, and shelter, our dopamine reward pathway served us very well. It was what incentivized us to hunt for food, find water, build a shelter, explore, etc.

We know that dopamine is what drives reward-seeking behavior, and we also know from animal studies that when dopamine is lowered, reward-seeking behavior is reduced or halted altogether [19][20][21][22].

Dopamine is produced in several different brain areas where it’s used in different pathways that govern various functions:

• Mesocorticolimbic System
  • Mesolimbic Pathway (also known as the Dopamine Reward Pathway) – Here dopamine is produced by neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and then released into the ventral striatum, which includes the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle [25].
  • Mesocortical Pathway – Here dopamine is produced by neurons in the (VTA) and then released into the prefrontal cortex where it’s involved in cognition, emotion, and executive function.
• Nigrostriatal pathway – Here dopamine is produced by neurons in the substantia nigra and then released into the dorsal striatum where it is involved in locomotion and movement.
• Tuberoinfundibular pathway – Here dopamine is produced by neurons in the hypothalamus and then released into the pituitary gland where it is involved in the secretion of certain hormones [27][28][29].

The mesocorticolimbic system is the pathway that influences motivation, drive, craving. “This is the pathway that gets really disrupted in addictions where in particular drugs that influence the release of dopamine like cocaine and methamphetamine…they tap into this pathway”, Huberman says. It’s the classic reward pathway in all mammals [31][32].

Baseline, Peaks, and Troughs

The way it works is we all have a baseline level of dopamine, which we can think of as our “reservoir” of dopamine. We can experience peaks in dopamine above baseline, which are triggered by certain substances and behaviors, as well as drops in dopamine below baseline, which are referred to as troughs [14][15].

Our reservoir of dopamine is what we draw from to create those dopamine peaks. And when those peaks come down, they can come down to baseline or they can drop lower than baseline, which would be the “trough” [14][15].

Relationship Between Peaks and Troughs

The important thing to remember is that the peaks and the troughs have a relationship to each other. Namely, the depth of the trough is proportional to the height of the peak.

So, the higher the peak in dopamine, the lower the dopamine will fall below baseline afterwards.

For example, if you cross the finish line of a race and you’re mildly happy, it won’t drop as much below baseline compared to if you cross the finish line and you are ecstatic. Huberman says, “The so-called postpartum depression that people experience after giving birth or after some big win, a graduation or any kind of celebration, that post-partum drop in mood and affect and motivation is the drop in baseline dopamine” [14][15].

He gives an analogy of a wave pool, “If the height of those waves and the frequency of those waves is very, very large, some of that water, which here I’m using as an analogy to dopamine, can slosh out of the wave pool, and the baseline drops. However, if those peaks are small enough or they are seldom enough, well then the baseline that is the water level in that pool stays more or less constant” [14][15].

Dopamine levels do eventually come back up out of the trough back to baseline. However, it may take days [15], but the good news is there are ways to speed up this process, which we’ll discuss soon.

Repeated Peaks

Many drugs and supplements that increase dopamine make it more difficult to sustain the dopamine release over time. They will also make it harder to achieve those peaks that people are craving when they are in pursuit of things [14][15].

Why does this happen?

Well, Huberman says that it happens because “when you experience something or you crave something really desirable, really exciting to you, very pleasurable, what happens afterwards is your baseline level of dopamine drops” [14][15]. 

When this happens, subsequent peaks likely won’t be as high as the initial peak, due to the lower baseline level. Not only that, but the height of the peak relative to the baseline will be lower. And this difference in relative height is also what determines how satisfying, exciting, and pleasureful an experience is, not just the overall height of the peak [14][15].

This is where our dopamine history matters.

Dopamine History

“Your experience of life and your level of motivation and drive depends on how much dopamine you have relative to your recent experience.”, Huberman says.

A familiar example of this is to imagine that we are scrolling on social media and we see something we really like, there’s a peak in dopamine.

Then, we continue scrolling and come across something else, and we don’t find this post very interesting. “However, had you arrived at that second thing first, you might think that it was really interesting“, Huberman says. “If you had arrived to that second Instagram post three days later or four days later, you might find it extremely interesting” [14][15].

To reiterate: the amount of dopamine we experience from something depends on our baseline level of dopamine when we arrive there as well as our previous dopamine peaks, aka our dopamine history.

“This is why, when you repeatedly engage in something that you enjoy, your threshold for enjoyment goes up and up and up”, Huberman says, meaning that when we repeatedly do something we enjoy or that excites us, i.e. triggers peaks in dopamine levels, over time the requirement to achieve that same level of joy and excitement, that same height in dopamine peak above baseline, will be higher.

We’ll need more sugar, for example, more video games, more nicotine, etc. Otherwise, the same behavior will elicit less of a dopamine peak, “It kind of loses its edge. It starts to kind of feel less exciting for us”, he says [14][15].

Huberman describes addiction as “a progressive narrowing of the things that bring you pleasure” [14][15].

In the context of dopamine, it’s a state of dopamine depletion brought on by repeated engagement in substances or behaviors that elicit enormous releases in dopamine, things such as illegal drugs for example.

Our dopamine reservoir has been depleted. Our baseline level has dropped to severely low levels, and we are no longer able to achieve the same height in peaks, i.e. the same level of joy, from the same substances or behaviors. It affects how much joy we are able to feel from anything in life. [14][15].

How does addiction develop?

If we understand the way dopamine behaves in the brain, namely that after each major peak above baseline, there is an equivalent drop below baseline, and that repeated peaks lead to lower baseline levels over time, that we can understand how addiction develops [14][15].

“If you take something or do something that leads to huge increases in dopamine, afterward your baseline should drop because there isn’t a lot of dopamine around to keep your baseline going”, says Huberman [14][15]. The vesicles in the dopamine producing neurons have emptied out their dopamine stores, and now baseline levels are low until the brain can produce more dopamine.

It is during this time spent in the trough when the common symptoms, i.e. the feelings of depression, the lack of interest in other things, and the craving for more of the substance or behavior that produced that initial dopamine release, are experienced.

It is at this point that many people make the mistake of going and pursuing that substance or that behavior again, thinking it’s going to give them that same level of dopamine release or peak [14][15].

However, Huberman notes that, “Not only does it not give them a peak, their baseline gets lower and lower because they’re depleting dopamine more and more and more” [14][15]. And this is how addiction starts to develop.

“That drop below baseline triggers the desire and the pursuit for what? For more”, he says, “And so this sets in motion a vicious loop where people start pursuing peaks in dopamine that can come very fast without much effort and that’s one of the ways in which addictions start to take hold” [14][15].

Take the example of a cocaine addict.

Cocaine causes dramatic increases in dopamine very quickly [41]. So, if someone is abusing cocaine, they are typically using it because they are craving the dopamine and the subjective feelings that come with that rise in dopamine (alertness, euphoria, motivation, etc.).

Over time, if addiction develops, the situation can develop where they are only able to feel excitement or get the same level of dopamine release from the cocaine, causing them to lose interest in other things in life such as school, relationships, fitness, hobbies, etc. [14][15]. This can have a devastating impact on their life.

As an example, Huberman describes the sort of brain retraining that can happen in people who use cocaine:

“It reinforces the whole circuit so that short, we can even say hyper short, contingency is really what the system wants. So much so, that longer contingencies of, say, putting in the hard work of, you know, generating a fitness program or a professional program for yourself or an education program, which takes not just many days but many weeks and years. Well, none of that is going to lead to peaks in dopamine that are as high as the peaks in dopamine associated with cocaine. So that tells us something critical. It is both the duration between desire and effect, and when I say effect I mean the rewarding properties of dopamine that are experienced, that’s important. So very short gaps teach the system to expect and want short gaps. That makes it very hard to pursue things that take longer” [14][15]

It taps into biological queues that trigger the brain to release dopamine: novelty, social validation, tailored content, infinite scrolling, etc. And the algorithms make sure we see content we are interested in to keep us engaging as long as possible.

Using social media can drain our dopamine levels if not moderated. Even the big tech CEOs know this. Some of them won’t let their own kids use it [56][57].

Moderation is the key here. If you are someone who watches an episode or two every night before bed, and you’re still feeling motivated each day, maybe it’s not an issue for you.

However, if you’re someone who watches for multiple hours a day, and maybe you notice things like work, or school, or spending time with friends aren’t quite as interesting as they once were, consider taking a break from television and switch to less dopaminergic activities (exercise, reading non-fiction, etc.).

However, I always notice that, after several consecutive days of playing, things like my job or going to the gym start becoming much less exciting. Extremely boring, in fact. I feel less motivated, and it becomes a real chore to get through them. A period of abstinence from video games always resolves this issue for me.

Again, moderation is the key here, and everyone will have to be the judge for themselves about how much time they can spend playing without losing motivation or interest in other areas of their life.

Pornography addiction is very common in our world today, with one study showing around 11 percent of men claiming to have an addiction [60]. This isn’t very surprising since it’s so readily available, easy to access, and extremely dopaminergic [59].

Aside from its effects on dopamine levels, it can lead to relationship issues and distortions in what a healthy sexual relationship looks like [61][62]. This behavior is best avoided altogether in my opinion.

Ultra-processed foods, the kind that make up 60% of the American diet [51], are an example of foods that are hyper-palatable.

They are specifically designed by food scientists to enhance the rewarding properties of food like food texture, shape, sensory specific satiety, bliss point, etc. with the obvious goal of procuring more customers and generating more revenue [67].

These foods hijack the brain’s dopamine reward system [63][64][65], providing levels of dopamine release that our hunter-gather ancestors never would have experienced from the types of foods that were available to them.

Constantly eating foods that spike our dopamine levels above normal levels will lead to lower baseline dopamine over time as well as reduced pleasure from less palatable foods like whole foods: red meat, chicken, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc.

One study led by NIH circadian biologist, Dr. Samer Hattar, found that “if you expose animals to light at night, independent of disruption of sleep or sleep related rhythms known as circadian rhythms, can directly affect depression and learning and memory”. He posits that since mice and humans share the same types of photoreceptors that they studied, humans who are exposed to artificial light at night will experience the same negative effects experienced by the mice [72][73].

A review summarizing the evidence linking light exposure to mood found that depressed mood from nighttime light exposure was a result of impaired neurotransmission [69].

Another study done on mice showed that mice who were exposed to dim light at night for four weeks displayed depressive symptoms and reduced BDNF mRNA expression in the hippocampus compared to mice exposed to a typical light–dark cycle [70].

I always try to avoid lights after sunset, and from personal experience, anytime I am exposed to artificial light late at night, I notice a slight decrease in my levels of motivation the next day.

Ultra-processed foods now make up 60% of the standard American diet [51]. Ultra-processed foods are full of unhealthy ingredients like hydrogenated seed oils, high fructose corn syrup, synthetic food dyes, refined sugar and flour, artificial flavors, preservatives, etc., and many of them can be contaminated with high levels of mycotoxins and heavy metals [46][47][48]. These foods can contribute to inflammation and oxidative stress that lead to lower levels of dopamine [49][50][52][53][54][85].

After years of personal experience with elimination diets and working with multiple functional medicine practitioners, I strongly believe removing ultra-processed foods from our diet is the most impactful thing we can do to improve our mental health.

A healthy diet of whole foods, with liberal amounts of nutrient dense animal foods, fruits, and vegetables is a good solution. I personally follow the Animal-Based Diet popularized by Dr. Paul Saladino.

Two key characteristics of an unhealthy gut:

1. Dysbiosis (or microbial imbalances)
2. Intestinal Hyperpermeability (aka Leaky Gut)

Dysbiosis

Overgrowths of opportunistic and/or pathogenic microbes in the gut combined with low levels of beneficial microbes, a situation referred to as dysbiosis, can lead to increased inflammation in the body.

One review describes this process by stating, “the dysbiotic changes in the gut microbiota could influence inflammation and CNS function through changes in activation of vagal and/or spinal nerve pathways” [55]. They describe how alterations in the gut microbiome can induce depressive-like symptoms and behaviors through interactions with the gut-brain axis, which is a bi-directional communication system between the brain and the gut.

These overgrowths tend to happen when there is damage to the microbiome from things like pesticides, poor diet, antibiotics, etc. or when there is immune suppression from things like mold toxicity.

These things kill off too many of the beneficial microbes and create an opportunity for other microbes to over grow. Thus, the name “opportunistic” microbes.

This is extremely common in our society due to heavy pesticide use, antibiotic use, ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, etc.

Intestinal Hyperpermeability (Leaky Gut)

When the intestinal lining is damaged, it can lead to a situation known as intestinal hyperpermeability, or leaky gut, where the tight junctions on the lining of the gut, which filter molecules that pass through the gut lining into the body, break down and begin allowing undigested food particles, bacterial fragments, toxic microbial metabolic byproducts (like LPS), and other neurotoxins into the bloodstream.

This leads to a systemic immune response that has been shown to increase the levels of inflammation and cause depressive symptoms [83][85][91]. This is also extremely common in our society due to the same causes mentioned above.

These two things are what drive inflammation and toxicity in the gut which leads to inflammation in the brain (by way of the gut-brain axis), leading to lowered dopamine levels.

Which things contribute to poor gut health?

• Ultra-processed foods
• Insufficient nutrition
• Overuse of over-the-counter medications (NSAIDs, etc.)
• Antibiotic use
• Pesticides like glyphosate (in the environment and sprayed on our food)
• Use of toxic personal care and household cleaning products
• Insufficient sun exposure
• Too much time indoors
• Sedentary lifestyle/lack of exercise
• Insufficient sleep
• Alcohol
• Mold toxicity
• Chronic infections

Not only do things we ingest impact our gut health, but our lifestyle matters just as much. For example, sunshine, time in nature, and exercise have all been proven to cause positive changes in our microbiome [99][100][101].

In the world of medicine that focuses on root-cause solutions, functional medicine, most practitioners will agree that one’s gut health determines the health of one’s entire body.

After working with multiple functional medicine practitioners over the last six years, listening to hundreds of podcast episodes on the subject, it’s clear to me that when people address the health of their gut, they experience massive improvements in their health, their mental health most of all.

Dairy can be a huge trigger for mood disorders, autoimmune disorders, skin issues, brain fog, etc. Dairy is a huge trigger for me, and I’ve heard it many times from other people.

Mikhaila Peterson and her father, Jordan Peterson, are two people who’ve put their life-long mood disorders into remission by adopting a strict elimination diet. Mikhaila has mentioned food sensitivities as being a massive trigger for her depression and autoimmune diseases. Jordan has said the same.

Mold

Mold toxicity is a real and actually very common issue.

Practitioners who specialize in treating mold illness say it’s an extremely common issue that can be a blocker for people in achieving their health goals.

Mold is everywhere. It’s unavoidable. However, the issue is that when people are exposed to certain types of mycotoxins from water damaged buildings or they are exposed to too high of levels for too long, and it begins to accumulate in the body and cause issues.

In addition, according to Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker, a pioneer in treating patients with mold toxicity, 24% of the population have a genetic susceptibility to mold-related health issues that prevents them from being able to effectively clear mycotoxins from their body [53]. This means that 1 in 4 people will suffer health issues when exposed to too much mold for too long.

These issues may not even be things most people would correlate to mold. Things like chronic headaches, persistent fatige, brain fog, depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, digestive issues, skin issues, etc. are all symptoms that can arise from mold exposure.

Mold toxins, or mycotoxins, can suppress the immune system, cause leaky gut, cause dysbiosis, and it can prevent people from getting well until they remove themselves from the moldy environment and follow the correct protocols to detoxify their bodies.

Mycotoxins have been shown to reduce dopamine levels in the brain [102][103][104]. In addition, mold illness practitioners often report a pattern of low dopamine levels in their patients.

Where is the mold coming from?

The main source of exposure for people is typically their house, their car, or their workplace. Buildings are extremely vulnerable to mold due to modern building practices and the materials used (like drywall).

Here are a few statistics on the prevalence of mold in buildings in the United States:

• 50% of all buildings have experienced some degree of water damage, which can lead to mold growth.
• According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 85% of office buildings have had past water damage, and 45% have current leaks.
• A study by Spengler across 12,842 homes found a 50% prevalence of dampness and mold.
• The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS) indicates that 87% of environmental exposure occurs indoors.
• A study conducted by the National Center for Healthy Housing found that over 60% of homes tested had at least one indoor mold problem (NCHH).
• The American Society of Home Inspectors reported finding mold in over 80% of homes during inspections (ASHI) [93][94].

Heavy metals

Heavy metals are naturally occurring, metallic elements that are used in industrial, agricultural, and manufacturing processes.

They are widely used in our country and, as a result, are pervasive in the environment and in the products that we interact with every day [105].

They appear in many of the foods that we eat, at varying levels [46][47][48]. For example, certain types of seafood such as tuna, shark, and swordfish are known to contain high levels of mercury, which can lead to mercury poisoning over time if eaten too often (this happened to Tony Robbins).

These compounds are toxic to the body and accumulate in our organs and in our brain.

One study notes that, “Because of their high degree of toxicity, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury rank among the priority metals that are of public health significance. These metallic elements are considered systemic toxicants that are known to induce multiple organ damage, even at lower levels of exposure” [105].

Studies show that chronic exposure to these metals can cause significant decreases in dopamine levels in the brain, even at low levels [95][96][97][98][106][107].

Heavy metals are supposed to be regulated by the FDA and the EPA. The problem is that their policies are based on levels that would cause acute toxicity rather than the effects of cumulative exposure from low levels of multiple types of metals over a period of time.

Pesticides

Pesticides like glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the popular weedkiller, RoundUp, as well as about five hundred other herbicide products, are used in agriculture, forestry, and lawn care for various applications. They are sprayed on the foods that we eat to regulate plant growth.

Glyphosate is a toxic chemical that has been shown to cause oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain [107][108][109][110][111]. To avoid this chemical, eat organic as much as possible. If you can’t due to financial constraints, refer the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen list for a list of the most heavily sprayed crops and the least sprayed crops.

Poor diet can contribute to this, but it is most likely due to the fact that the average person spends most of their time indoors and doesn’t get adequate amounts of sunlight each day.

Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to reduce dopamine signaling in the brain, leading to decreased dopamine sensitivity, which means we don’t get the same amount of dopamine release from pleasurable activities like eating food or listening to music [113][115].

Raising Vitamin D levels has been shown to reverse this.

All of these nutrients can be found in abundance in animal foods like red meat, pork, chicken, eggs, dairy, etc.

These nutrients can also be supplemented, although it’s important to consult a doctor before supplementing with iron as too much can be harmful.

Put simply:

• Remove ultra-processed foods from your diet – This should include all forms of foods that contain any of the following combinations of ingredients: refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, refined flour, vegetable and seed oils, preservatives, artificial flavors, processed dairy, and any added ingredients you can’t pronounce.

In addition:

• Reduce exposure to environmental toxins like mold, heavy metals, plastics, pesticides, etc.
• Switch all personal care and household cleaning products to non-toxic brands
• Switch to eating only organic (or mostly organic) foods
• Stop treating your yard with weed-killing chemicals
• If necessary, work with a functional medicine practitioner to check for gut microbiome imbalances and mold toxicity.

Elimination diets allow people to remove common immune-triggering foods like gluten or dairy and give their immune system time to calm down. For people with sensitivities, they tend to report profound improvements in mood, skin, energy, digestion, and much more.

Elimination diets can be used short term or long-term depending on the person. Some people use them for 4-6 weeks; some people remain on them permanently.

I personally believe that food sensitivities are a symptom of imbalances in the microbiome and leaky gut and that if you can improve these two things, food sensitivities tend to go away.

• Social media – Getting off social media can have profound effects on dopamine levels. As a personal anecdote, aside from the slow dissipation of joy that comes from comparing yourself to others, the constant surges in dopamine from funny reels, interesting information, likes, comments, etc. made it very difficult for me to focus at my job, get adequate pleasure from hanging out with friends and family, and pursue personal hobbies like exercising and reading. Removing social media apps from my phone has allowed me to have better focus and more interest in things like work, exercise, reading, and learning.
• Television – Netflix is fun, and I still use it. However, binging a show 6 hours a day every day is going to deplete your dopamine levels over time. Limiting it to 1-2 hours in the evening before bed works best for me.
• Video Games – Very fun. Very rewarding. However, with prolonged use I notice reductions in motivation to do anything productive.
• Pornography – This is one of those activities that I believe everyone should stop engaging in. Aside from distorting how we view relationships and draining us of our lifeforce, pornography causes long-term dysfunction to the dopamine reward system. It teaches the brain to crave quick increases in dopamine that require little to no prior effort to obtain. This is a bad thing. Eliminating this will not only purify your thoughts, but it will allow your dopamine reward system to resensitize and rewire itself towards more normal, healthier pathways.
• Hyper-Palatable Foods – Sugar is probably the biggest thing here. Science shows that sugar can be more rewarding and addictive than cocaine [130]. Sugar causes huge surges in dopamine and will no doubt lead to reductions in baseline levels over time. This logic applies to any food that we experience great pleasure from eating, whether it be sweet, salty, savory, or even worse, a combination of all three.
• Alcohol Consumption – None is best. Less is better.
• Nicotine Consumption – Nicotine can be a useful tool. It has been shown to enhance cognition and improve cognitive performance. However, similar to sugar, it can be highly addictive, causing reduced dopamine levels over time.

*See bonus section at the bottom of this page for 5 ways to manage dopamine peaks for ongoing motivation*

Stanford addiction expert and author of Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, says doing hard things causes your brain to adapt to the pain by shifting its neurochemistry in a direction that allows for pleasure to emerge. It’s one of our brain’s primary tasks is to maintain homeostasis, and it tries to maintain a balance between pleasure and pain, which she refers to as the brain’s pleasure-pain balance [139].

Dr. Lembke describes this process by saying, “Pleasure and pain are collocated, which means that the same parts of the brain that process pleasure also process pain” [139]. They work like a balance so when we feel pleasure, our balance tips one way, and when we feel pain, our balance tips in the opposite direction.

One of the overriding rules about this balance is that it wants to stay level. So, it doesn’t want to remain tipped one way for very long, to pleasure or to pain. This means that with any deviation from homeostasis, the brain will work very hard to restore balance. She says “the way the brain does that is with any stimulus to one side, there will be a tip in equal and opposite amount to the other side” [139].

The “pain” is the craving we experience for more of that thing that gave us the pleasure. For example, when we press on the pleasure side of the balance like with alcohol or sugar, our brain immediately adapts by shifting towards the pain side of the balance in the form of a crash, a comedown, or a hangover, aka a drop in dopamine below baseline.

Dr. Lembke says that in the world we live in today, she recommends intentionally doing things that are difficult or painful. This is because if we intentionally press on that pain side of the balance with exercise or a cold shower, for example, our brain will press down on the pleasure side of the balance, and “we will get our dopamine indirectly by paying for it up front” [139].

This is good news because it means there are actions we can take to directly increase our baseline dopamine levels.

Do these increases in dopamine lead to a drop below baseline?

Nope.

Dr. Lembke says things like exercise, cold showers, intermittent fasting, i.e. things that are difficult to do, are much less vulnerable to the compulsive craving that comes from overuse due to both the upfront effort that’s required to achieve the dopamine and the fact that the dopamine tends to return back to baseline without ever going into a dopamine-deficit state.

So, the next time you think of something you have to do or something that you could do but that you really don’t want to do, lean into it knowing that you are positively affecting your dopamine levels. It could be a difficult or boring task you have to perform, an intense workout or run, a study session, a cold plunge, etc.

It also increases blood flow to the brain, reduces inflammation in the brain, increases BDNF, reduces all-cause mortality, and rewards us for our efforts by giving us a very pleasurable feeling in the form endorphins and endocannabinoids. It even produces improved outcomes for individuals with stimulant use disorders [136].

Benefits:

1. Increases dopamine release that persists for 7 days after rest
2. Preserves and protects dopamine neurons
3. Improves mood and cognition
4. Ameliorates depression and anxiety
5. Attenuates drug-seeking behavior in addicted individuals
6. Slows the progression of and reduces symptoms of Parkinson’s [133][134][135]

Mechanism of Action:

1. Increased dopamine release
2. Reduced D1R (D1 Receptor)-like binding
   • Contributes to exercise-induced reduction in drug-seeking behavior
   • Increasing D1R-like binding is linked to worsening of addictive behavior [133]
3. Increased D2R (D2 Receptor)-like binding
   • Decreasing D2R-like binding exacerbates addictive behaviors [133]
4. Increased number of D2-like receptors
   • Directly leads to attenuation of drug and alcohol consumption
   • Decreased levels of D2 receptors have been linked with increased addictive behavior and impulsivity [133]
5. Increased Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) levels
   • TH is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of dopamine, meaning our TH levels determine our dopamine levels [133]
   • The higher our TH levels, the more dopamine we are able to make
6. Increased Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
   • BDNF is partly required for exercised-induced dopamine release [135]
   • BDNF promotes the growth, differentiation, maturation, and survival of brain cells [137]

Each type of exercise elicits different responses in the dopamine reward pathway:

1. High Intensity Interval Training
   • Increases D2R expression
   • Increases D2 receptor availability
2. Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise
   • Reduces D1R-like binding
   • Increases D2R-like binding
   • Increases dopamine receptor levels
   • Increased dopamine release that persists for 7 days after rest
3. Resistance Training
   • Increases dopamine release that persists for hours after rest

Aerobic and anaerobic exercise seem to be the most effective at raising dopamine levels. This includes things like running and biking for moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and HIIT exercises like CrossFit or sprinting for anaerobic exercise.

Some studies conclude that dopamine release tends to increase as exercise intensity increases [133][138], leading to the recommendation to prioritize higher intensity training such as HIIT if the goal is optimizing dopamine levels.

In addition to the mechanisms above, Huberman says that if you are someone who enjoys exercise, you will get an immediate boost in dopamine while you’re doing it, in addition to the long-term gradual increases that come from it [10][14].

The animal-based diet is popularized by Paul Saladino M.D., and he advocates for organic, pasture-raised, grass-finished red meat, organ meats, lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, fish, and raw dairy as the foundation of every meal. In addition, he recommends including carbohydrates in the form of raw honey and organic fruits and fruit juices.

Animal foods are rich in B vitamins, vitamin D, and magnesium, all of which are required for dopamine production.

We believe a whole foods diet with the majority of calories coming from animal foods is the best option for dopamine levels in that it provides everything in abundance that your body needs to produce dopamine: the correct amino acids like tyrosine along with the right vitamins and cofactors like vitamin B6 and folate, while also not being super restrictive.

This diet ensures that the following nutrients are given to your body in abundance, ensuring that it has enough raw materials to synthesize dopamine:

• Tyrosine – An amino acid that serves as the precursor to dopamine.
• Phenylalanine – Another amino acid that acts as a precursor, serving as the building block for dopamine production.
• Vitamin B6: Essential for converting L-DOPA (a precursor to dopamine) into dopamine.
• Folate (Vitamin B9): Plays a role in converting tyrosine to L-DOPA.
• Magnesium: Involved in neurotransmitter function and supports dopamine receptor health.
• Vitamin D: May help regulate dopamine synthesis.
• Iron: Acts as a cofactor for tyrosine hydroxylase, an enzyme crucial in dopamine synthesis

Huberman notes that, “Nutrition, no doubt, plays a role in your baseline level of dopamine because tyrosine is the rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of dopamine.” He says it’s imperative that we receive adequate amounts of nutrients, in particular tyrosine, in order to have sufficient levels of dopamine [10][14].

It is during sleep that our brain undergoes a housekeeping process. Memories from the day are consolidated, new pathways are reinforced, toxic metabolic waste is cleared from the brain, and our brain is restored for optimal function the next day.

Studies show that when sleep is deprived, the brain cannot adequately clear itself of accumulated waste products, and this leads to significant deficits in cognition, mood, judgement, and even motor function [121][126].

Two studies were conducted to measure the neurologic effects of sleep deprivation. They subjected healthy adults to restricted hours of sleep for 14 days. Some participants were subjected to 4 hours of sleep per night, some to 6 hours, and the rest to 8 hours.

Their baseline cognitive abilities were measured before the experiment. After 14 days, the results showed that “those with only 4 or 6 hour of sleep had lower scores on all testing, including lapses of attention, reduced cognitive thought, slowed working memory, depressed mood, and delayed reaction times” [126]. Those who got 7 or more hours of sleep showed no significant differences in test scores.

This demonstrates just how important sleep is for our brain and mental health.

How does sleep impact dopamine levels?

According to Huberman, “Getting sufficient sleep each night literally restores your dopamine reserves” [10][14]. This is corroborated by one study showing that impaired sleep reduces the brain’s ability to receive and use dopamine [127].

How much sleep do we need?

Studies show that 7 – 9 hours is optimal, with reductions in cognition beginning at less than 6.5 hours [126][142].

Dr. Matthew Walker, sleep researcher and professor of neuroscience, has previously said that the percentage of people that can get less than 6.5 hours of sleep per night and not experience any decline in cognitive ability is approximately zero.

This means that, excluding any outliers, almost everyone needs between 6.5 and 9 hours of sleep per night for optimal brain health, including optimal dopamine levels.

How to improve sleep:

1. Temperature – The temperature in your room should be cold. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 63 – 67 degrees Fahrenheit for the ambient temperature in your room.
2. Light – Eliminate sources of artificial light after sunset. No screens, no overhead lights. If you need to use lights, make them dim, and use blue light blocking glasses. You can use Himalayan salt lamps or purchase dimmable light bulbs that filter out blue light.
3. No meals 2-3 hours before bed – Heavy meals are taxing on the digestive system and will impair sleep. Try to have your last meal of the day 2-3 hours before bedtime.

For the entirety of human history, we have risen and fallen with the sun. Only in the last couple hundred years has this gotten really out of sync, and this has led to many people having health issues due to circadian rhythm disruption.

Huberman has said that “it [viewing morning sunlight] sets in motion a dopamine-related cascade in neuromodulators, dopamine, and hormones that lead to states of wellbeing, elevated mood, alertness, etc. throughout the day.” Viewing morning sunlight increases dopamine levels, up to 50%, in the brain by both triggering its release and, if done consistently, by increasing levels of gene expression for certain dopamine receptors.

I can personally attest the effects of this. I have been viewing morning sunlight for around three years now, and the improvements in sleep, circadian rhythm, focus, attention, and alertness throughout the day are significant.

The effects for me are akin to drinking a small cup of coffee, but instead of a wired, anxious alertness, I experience a calm, positive improvement in wakefulness accompanied by a noticeable desire to plan and accomplish tasks for the day.

What protocol should I follow?

Huberman recommends the following:

• Aim for 10-30 minutes of morning sunlight daily
• 5-10 minutes on a clear day
• 10-20 minutes on a cloudy day
• 20-30 minutes on a very overcast day
• Without sunglasses, face the sun and look 20-50 degrees below the sun, not directly at the sun. Although the first few minutes of sunrise are an exception where looking directly at the sun is not harmful.

This is huge one for me. I strictly avoid artificial lights after sunset due to the fact that it noticeably affects my mood and cognition the next day. Of course, a few minutes of light here or there probably won’t make a difference, but sustained exposure in a house with every light turned on for example has noticeable effects on me personally.

UV-B containing sunlight (sunlight present during the midday) and UV-A sunlight (present during late morning before noon) are effective at boosting health and raising baseline dopamine levels.

It’s well known that low sunlight exposure can lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder [122]. About 5% of the US population, some sources indicating up to 38% of Americans, experience SAD per year, typically lasting about 40% of the year [123][124]. This is thought to be due to a reduction in neurotransmitters, including dopamine. Reduced vitamin D levels also play a role.

Adequate sunlight exposure, therefore, is an effective way we can increase our neurotransmitters, including dopamine, and improve our health simultaneously. 

Sunlight expert and author of The Sunlight Rx, Heathar Shepard, uses a sunlight exposure protocol to assist in eliminating chronic health issues in her clients. She used this protocol on herself to heal chronic health issues related to a traumatic brain injury she experienced after a decade of trying every other conventional and alternative health modality she could think of to no avail.

She recommends getting sunlight at the following times:

1. Sunrise – UV light is absent. Sunlight spectrum is mostly infrared and blue light. It triggers the release of cortisol and optimizes energy production in the cells. It helps regulate neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, and has positive effects on alertness, mood, and cognition.
2. Late morning – UV-A is the predominant light. This activates and replenishes stores of dopamine, serotonin and melatonin.
3. Midday – UV-B index is highest, being careful not to burn – This stimulates vitamin  D production, rebuilds and restores hormone levels, improves carbohydrate metabolism and diversifies the gut microbiome.
4. Sunset – Predominant light is red light. Stimulates healing mechanisms in the mitochondria, recycles hormones, and reinforces circadian rhythm.

For more details on the Sunlight Rx protocol, I’d highly recommend checking out her E-book: https://heatharshepard.com/the-sunlight-rx-e-book/

Even more interesting, these peaks in dopamine levels were not followed by a drop below baseline [131]. This suggests that cold water immersion is one dopamine-releasing activity that we can engage in that doesn’t deplete us of our dopamine levels over time, which is great news.

Another study took subjects, placed them in moderately cold water (68 degrees Fahrenheit) for five minutes, and measured their subjective changes in mood.

The subjects reported feeling more alert, attentive, proud, inspired, less distressed, and less nervous after the five-minute cold-water bath. The authors mentioned that “regular swimming in cold water reduces fatigue, lessens depressive symptoms, and improves general well-being” and that these benefits can be realized even from a single exposure [132].

As evidenced by the scientific literature, cold water exposure can produce significant and immediate effects on our mental health and wellbeing with people reporting elevated mood, positive emotional state, decrease in negative emotional state, increased vigor, and improved energy, all after a single exposure.

As a personal anecdote, I have been practicing cold water exposure for several years in the form of cold showers each morning and full body immersion in a chilled cold plunge on occasion.

I can personally attest to the increase in mental and physical energy as well as improved mood and emotional state after taking a dip in the cold plunge or taking a cold shower. It has become something a look forward to every morning to kick start my day.

The recommended minimum effective dose is to aim for 11 minutes per week of cold-water exposure.

Studies suggest that hypomethylation (low methylation) can disrupt dopamine synthesis and lead to abnormal dopamine levels [140].

As a personal anecdote, it took me about 3 years of supplementing with nutrients that support methylation (B2, B6, B12, folate) to pinpoint that they were the reason behind my noticeably improved mood, drive, outlook on life, and increased resilience to things like food sensitivities, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol (things that would normally cause severe mood swings).

Every time I would run out of my methylated B vitamins for a week or two, my mood became more dysregulated, it felt like my zest for life decreased, and I was back with severe mood swings from consuming things I am sensitive to but that the reactions up to that point had been tempered substantially.

What should have been an obvious conclusion after the first time took me about three separate instances of running out of my methylation supplement, experiencing a decline in mental health, reintroducing the methylation supplement, and the symptoms disappearing before I realized this supplement was having a profound effect on me.

How can I find out if I am a poor methylator?

To figure out if you have poor methylation, you have several options:

1. Take a DNA test to check for MTHFR genetic mutations
   • The StrateGene and Genova Methylation Panel are good options.
2. Have your blood homocysteine levels measured
   • Having elevated homocysteine in the blood is a key indicator of impaired methylation
   • This can be tested through labs like LabCorp or Quest (or the Genova test above)
3. Experiment with methylation support supplements
   • This is usually the cheaper and more accurate option.
   • Try supplementing with riboflavin, B12, B6, methylfolate (not folic acid), trimethylglycine (betaine anhydrous), and see if you notice changes in mood or energy.
   • If you notice any changes in energy, mood, or vitality, that may be a good indicator that your methylation needed some support.
   • There are many health companies that have their own methylation support formulations.
   • Although I have no financial affiliation with them, I personally use Vital Nutrients’ B6 + B Complex and Bulk Supplements’ Trimethylglycine.

This involves not allowing yourself to experience huge peaks in dopamine every time you experience a win. I.e. don’t allow that internal celebration (the dopamine release) to be too great every single time you achieve a goal unless you are prepared to experience the crash that follows.

This schedule is what keeps people playing blackjack for hours at a casino because they aren’t winning every single hand. Rather, they are winning a hand every now and then, at random.

Huberman describes it further by saying, “When we expect something to happen, we are highly motivated to pursue it. If it happens…we get the reward. The reward comes in various chemical forms including dopamine, and we are more likely to engage in that behavior again. This is the basis of casino gambling. This is how they keep you going back again and again and again, even though on average the house really does win” [14][15].

He says this schedule is the most powerful schedule for dopamine release and maintaining motivation.

“It works 100% of the time”, he says, “You can use RIRT to your advantage, to stay motivated in any pursuit. The key is to celebrate your wins, but do not celebrate every win. When you succeed in reaching a milestone, sometimes enjoy that; other times (at random), just keep going” [10].

We can use this intermittent reinforcement schedule to our advantage for healthy pursuits such as starting a business, sports, school, relationships, etc.

“Remember“, he says, “the brain does not know external rewards — no dopamine is dripped in your brain — it only knows the associations of events with internal chemical (in this case, dopamine) release. Don’t underestimate the extent to which the dopamine system and the sense of whether you are on the right track are under your cognitive control. The prefrontal cortex (the executive control portion of your brain) is part of the dopamine pathway and provides subjective, top-down control (a “belief effect”) for motivation levels. These are not placebo or small effects. Telling yourself you are moving toward your goals is a huge stimulator of dopamine release — and under your control. Of course, you can’t lie to yourself and say you’ve won when you lost, but as you progress toward milestones, register it in your mind” [10].

While this layering of dopamine-triggering sources does increase our dopamine and gives us energy to pursue our goals, it also causes a crash afterwards and ultimately undermines our longer-term motivation [10].

Instead, we should use dopamine sources on the random intermittent reward schedule and avoid layering in multiple sources every time we are performing an activity that those sources support.

One important thing to remember is that the schedule has to be random. It can’t be a schedule we’ve created for ourselves since that would be predictable and wouldn’t affect our dopamine levels the same way.

What would this look like in a practical sense?

A good example would be someone who semi-enjoys exercise but mainly forces themselves to do it. However, they like to make it more pleasureful by giving themselves a cup of coffee or pre-workout beforehand. And then they listen to their favorite music during the exercise.

According to Huberman “that all sounds great, right?”, he says, “well, it is great except that by layering together all these things to try and achieve that dopamine release, and by getting a big peak in dopamine, you’re actually increasing the number of conditions required to achieve pleasure from that activity again” [10].

The way we can make sure that we can continue to experience the same level of motivation and enjoyment for the activities that we love is to make sure that the peak in dopamine, if it’s high, doesn’t occur too often, and if it does occur often, that we try to vary how much dopamine release we experience each time.

In the case of exercise, that might look like removing some of the dopamine-releasing chemicals that we take beforehand, such as caffeine. We could plan on always exercising without it, but every once in a while, we use it.

Another example could be flipping a coin to decide if we are going to allow ourselves to listen to music while we run.

The whole point is to try to remove multiple sources of dopamine release from the activities that we want to continue to enjoy.

Huberman says that rewarding hard work actually makes us less likely to lean into hard work. “When we receive rewards, even if we give ourselves rewards for something, we tend to associate less pleasure with the actual activity itself that evoked the reward”, he says [10].

When we engage in an activity solely because of the reward we are going to give ourselves at the end, we actually start to extend the time bin over which we are perceiving that experience, and we start to dissociate the neural circuits for dopamine reward that would have normally been active during the activity. And because the reward arrives at the end, we experience less and less pleasure from that particular activity while we’re doing it [10].

We see an example of this in a famous study done on children who enjoyed drawing.

The study selected two groups of children who enjoyed drawing and began giving one group rewards for their drawings, while not giving any rewards to the other group. What they found soon after was that the children who received rewards for their drawings showed significantly less interest in drawing and began drawing less [141].

This demonstrates that when consistently we give ourselves rewards for performing activities, such as a pint of ice cream after a workout or a slice of sourdough with honey after a long run, this can take away our intrinsic interest in those activities over time, making them much harder to engage in.

The antidote to this is to make effort itself the reward.

What does it mean to make effort the reward?

“What’s been found over and over again, is that if people journal about something or they practice some form appreciation for something, or they think of some aspect of something that they enjoy, the amount of dopamine that that behavior will evoke tends to go up”, says Huberman [10].

This means that if we can figure out a way to make the effort it takes to achieve our goals rewarding, this will increase our dopamine while we are doing it and make us more likely to continue doing it.

So how can we do this in real life?

One way is we can find some aspect of that behavior that we can enjoy. For example, when we exercise, we could tell ourselves that by enduring the pain of this difficult activity, we are simultaneously increasing our dopamine levels by way of the pleasure-pain balance.

Another way we could make the effort of exercise rewarding is by understanding all of the positive changes happening in the body as run or lift weights. Knowing that we are making our body and brains healthier while in the midst of intense exercise, makes us more likely to continue engaging in that effort.

Furthermore, we could tell ourselves that by engaging in intense exercise we are making progress towards our goals, if indeed our goal is to reach a higher level of fitness, physique, strength, etc. Telling ourselves that by going just a little bit longer or working just a little bit harder, we will be even closer to our goals, this can be experienced as a “win” that will give us a dopamine boost to keep us motivated.

Huberman also recommends adopting a “Growth Mindset.”

By shifting into a growth mindset, i.e. that we can learn to do anything, we will “find the rewards, meaning the dopamine release, inside of effort if you repeat this over and over again”, Huberman says [10].

We can tell ourselves that effort is the good part, and by doing that we can evoke dopamine release from the friction of the challenge we happen to be in.

We all need to balance being healthy with letting loose and experiencing pleasurable things in life sometimes. The key is balance.

But how do we engage in things that bring us pleasure while avoiding that dreaded drop in dopamine below baseline, aka the trough?

Well, we can’t really avoid the trough altogether, but we can shorten the duration of time spent in the trough by doing hard things.

This is consistent with what Dr. Anna Lembke talks about with the brain’s pleasure-pain balance, i.e. if we intentionally pursue difficult things, our brain will adapt and shift away from the pain side and shift toward its pleasure side in order to maintain homeostasis.

This means that when we are in that dopamine-depleted state, we can engage in difficult things like exercise, cold plunge, or fasting, and the subjective pain of that effort will bring our dopamine levels back up to baseline much quicker than they would have if left simply to time.

In the context of pursuing our goals, if we ever find ourselves in a dopamine-depleted state of no motivation, procrastination, and fatigue, Huberman says that if we simply “do something that’s harder than being in that a-motivated state, in other words doing something that’s more effortful, even painful, you can rebound yourself out of that dopamine trough much more quickly” [10].

In addition to that, both Dr. Anna Lembke and Huberman note that not only can engaging in effort bring us back up to baseline, it can actually raise our baseline to a higher level than it was before.

The next time you find yourself tired or unmotivated, try taking a cold shower. This has been my go-to and works very well.