Huberman Lab
Podcast Notes Key Takeaways * The dopamine system doesn’t care about the specific goal or pursuit – it’s about pursuing anything, healthy or not * If we expose regularly expose ourselves to things that trigger high levels of dopamine release, we will lower our baseline levels of dopamine over time * From a thought to action: desire for things increases dopamine, level of dopamine drops below baseline, drop below baseline triggers motivation to bring dopamine level back up by pursuing the thing you wanted in the first place + You want to relieve the pain of not having that thing * Three fundamentals of the dopamine system drive you toward learning: (1) desire – I want that; (2) motivation – drives you toward action; (3) reward or lack of reward * Addictions are the progressive narrowing of things that give us pleasure + “It’s both the duration between desire and effect (rewarding property of dopamine that are experienced) that teach the system to want and expect short gaps, which makes it hard to pursue things that take longer.” – Dr. Andew Huberman * If you enjoy an activity, protect that feeling by making sure you don’t attach reward or other dopamine-releasing behaviors to that behavior + If you stack too many dopamine-releasing things to something you already enjoy, you may experience less interest/desire/motivation to do that thing * To overcome procrastination: figure out something that sucks (but is safe) to steepen the trough which will bring you back to baseline dopamine faster + For example cold shower/water immersion – this will remind your brain you can do hard things
Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org
In this episode, I explain how dopamine dynamics — meaning changes and interactions between our baseline and peak levels of dopamine drive our cravings and sense of motivation. I also explain how to leverage dopamine dynamics to overcome procrastination. I cover behavioral, cognitive, nutrition-based and supplementation-based tools to optimize baseline and peak dopamine levels to ensure a persistently motivated state. I also discuss how to boost motivation when you are in a rut, why you might not want to stack behaviors/substances that spike dopamine and how build and maintain a “growth mindset” for pursuing goals of any kind. Dopamine is an incredibly powerful neuromodulator involved in basic functions (e.g., hunger, romantic attraction, etc.) and feats of cognitive and physical performance; by understanding the dynamics of dopamine, listeners ought to be better positioned to overcome procrastination, maintain motivation, and improve confidence.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Dopamine
(00:02:32) Sponsors: Eight Sleep, WHOOP, ROKA, Momentous
(00:06:27) Dopamine Brain Circuits
(00:14:53) Goals & Addiction
(00:17:13) Dopamine Dynamics, “Wave Pool” analogy
(00:20:28) Craving, Motivation, Pursuit & Reward Prediction Error
(00:28:26) Sponsor: AG1 (Athletic Greens)
(00:29:40) Feedback Cues & Reward Contingent Learning, “Scoreboard”
(00:37:40) Addiction; Pleasure & Pain Imbalance
(00:44:55) Dopamine Release & Addictive Substances/Behaviors
(00:50:43) Addiction Recovery, Binding Behaviors
(00:53:25) Tools: Maintain Baseline Dopamine Levels
(01:02:08) Sponsor: InsideTracker
(01:03:26) Tool: Deliberate Cold Exposure & Dopamine
(01:09:38) Prescriptions & Supplementation: L-Tyrosine, Mucuna Pruriens
(01:18:58) Dopamine Trough Recovery, Postpartum Depression
(01:23:31) Dopamine Dynamics, “Dopamine Stacking”; Intrinsic Motivation
(01:38:10) Making Effort the Reward, Growth Mindset
(01:41:49) Tool: Overcome Procrastination
(01:52:16) Tool: Meditation & Procrastination
(01:57:01) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
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