{"id":141108,"date":"2025-05-29T10:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/141108\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T10:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:05:10","slug":"how-to-escape-dopamine-addiction-and-train-your-brain-to-be-truly-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/141108\/","title":{"rendered":"How to escape dopamine addiction and train your brain to be truly happy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"STYLE\"<\/p>\n

What is at the root of true happiness<\/a>? If you ask the Finns, who were recently named the happiest nation for the eighth year running, it\u2019s predominantly about having trust in your community, combined with resilience and realism. If you ask \u2018wellness\u2019 influencers, it could be anything from glucose monitors and probiotics to eating more dark chocolate. <\/p>\n

But amid all the noise, TJ Power\u2019s message cuts through. A trained neuroscientist, Power has written a bestselling book called the \u201cDOSE effect\u201d. That stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins \u2014 aka the chemicals that power our states of wellbeing<\/a>. We need a balance of all four. As Power puts it, \u201cThose four chemicals are pivotal to the experience we\u2019re having in our day-to-day life.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all have very different effects on the body. Dopamine is credited with a general sense of wellbeing and motivation; oxytocin (often called the \u201cbonding hormone\u201d) rewards close interpersonal connections. Serotonin creates a feeling of emotional stability, while endorphins are the body\u2019s antidote to inflammation and stress, activated mainly through exercise. <\/p>\n

Put together, these chemicals are responsible for making us feel happy, connected, motivated and productive. However, our modern-day lifestyles are seriously harming them. \u201cIf you went back 50 years, these chemicals would be working a hell of a lot better,\u201d Power says. \u201cWe had much more community. We were more connected. We spent more time outside. Our life was physically way more active.\u201d Power gave up lecturing at the University of Exeter, so strongly did he believe in the need to share his message widely, and teach people to get their chemicals back in alignment. He wants us to follow often quite simple ways to push back against the modern malaise and put us back in touch with what makes us feel good, naturally. While several things interfere with them (including alcohol and online shopping), chief among the culprits is the mobile phone. <\/p>\n

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Pixabay<\/p>\n

A world of dopamine addicts <\/p>\n

Apps such as Instagram and TikTok work by hijacking the body\u2019s natural dopamine reward system \u2014 the result being something that Power calls living in \u201cdopamine land\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re living in dopamine land, you\u2019re obsessed with constantly checking your phone,\u201d he says. \u201cYou might be obsessively thinking about money. You might be struggling with sugar, alcohol, burnout, overwhelm, and your whole life is centred around quick pleasure via technology<\/a>. In the lifestyle of dopamine land, things like oxytocin might be going by the wayside.\u201d And though dopamine might spike when you pick up your phone, it\u2019ll also crash after you put it down, fuelling a vicious circle of quick highs and nagging lows.<\/p>\n

Plus, Power says, our phones are far more than a distraction: they\u2019re also taking us away from other things that could be more beneficial for us \u2014 \u201clike hanging out with friends and socialising and chilling out and reading and creating. All the activities humanity used to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re the loneliest we\u2019ve ever been as a species<\/p>\n

Power credits his own DOSE evolution to playing \u201chigh level golf\u201d as a child, which came with a psychologist. \u201cWhen I was 10, I started learning about how your brain works,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

In his teens, that was followed by what he calls an \u201caddiction to dopamine and alcohol and phones\u201d, and a \u201cpretty significant period of grief\u201d. Power put his neuroscience degree to use and \u201cput myself on my own kind of DOSE protocol to try and sort out my brain health\u201d. It worked, and the results are in his book. <\/p>\n

So how can we inject a little more DOSE into our lives? For one, cut down on phone time. Though Power is at pains to stress how normal it is for us to be addicted to our phone, he recommends trying to go without it, especially in the mornings. \u201cThe absolute number one place to start is what happens when you open your eyes first thing in the morning,\u201d he says. Because the brain is programmed to look for dopamine \u2014 the reward chemical that social media<\/a> is so good at generating in us \u2014 that usually means reaching for the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can learn to slightly delay the speed in which we experience dopamine via the phone, it\u2019s very beneficial,\u201d he says. Instead, splashing the face with cold water will boost dopamine levels; while any morning routines that delay the moment it gets picked up will help. <\/p>\n

Give yourself the full DOSE <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pixabay<\/p>\n

Plus, it\u2019s important not to neglect the other chemicals \u2014 such as endorphins, for instance, which evolved to help us combat stress through physical action. \u201cNowadays we just remain sedentary all day, while these things stress us out more and more,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving an understanding in our brain that we need to physically get stress out of our body through movement is really important, whether it\u2019s walking or a gym workout.\u201d Then there\u2019s oxytocin. \u201cAll we\u2019re really looking for in life is the feeling of love and connection,\u201d Power says. \u201cThe modern world is not ideal for building strong, connected relationships. We\u2019re the loneliest we\u2019ve ever been as a species.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recommends trying to interact more with people: in your local community, friends and colleagues. Things like saying good morning, having a chat with people on the dog walk: \u201chaving little moments of fleeting connection is really positive for our brain chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above all, he says, it\u2019s important to be kind to yourself. \u201cIt\u2019s so normal to be hooked on phones,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it is fuelling a lot of overwhelming stress in our brain. So a little bit of space from it could be beneficial.\u201d Baby steps.<\/p>\n

TJ Power: The DOSE Effect Masterclass, June 7, Cheltenham Science Festival, cheltenhamfestivals.org. The DOSE Effect is out now (HarperCollins)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is at the root of true happiness? If you ask the Finns, who were recently named the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4383,105,182,53,16,15,4950],"class_list":{"0":"post-141108","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-happiness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-social-media","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-wellbeing"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114590563202874951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}