What is a dopamine detox?

Dopamine detox or dopamine fasting is a strategy to restore the responsiveness of the brain to dopamine and improve its tolerance to the substance that gives a feeling of pleasure. It means that you set a goal to engage in other activities that are not related to the release of dopamine such as avoiding social media, junk food, videos, or games for sometime to allow your brain to recharge.

When you’re getting those dopamine doses on those little impulse things consistently, your brain eventually dampens or lessens the effect dopamine has on you, thus it becomes very difficult to focus on other important yet less ‘dopamine’ things in life. A dopamine detox is undertaken with the intention of re-gaining this sensitivity so that one can work better, be more productive, and rediscover the pleasure of frills in life again.

Advantages to Taking a Break from Dopamine

There are many benefits of weaning yourself off from external dopamine especially where the prospects of getting it are daunting. Benefits may include:

– They also have better concentration and can focus on their work without being easily distracted.

– Great motivation and commitment

– It also means there are fewer opportunities to get distracted or put things off until the last minute.

– Less impulsive behaviour

– Increased appreciation of life’s daily tasks

– Increased cardiovascular disease

– Improved sleep quality

– Increased creativity due to the effects of boredom.

– Greater goal achievement

– Heightened self-discipline

In a way, a dopamine detox is simply allowing your prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain associated with decision-making abilities such as focus, and impulse control to regain its throne.

How long should you do dopamine detox?

Most professionals suggest that it is advisable to begin with a dopamine fasting or detoxing for 24 hours. This short time frame is more manageable and yet sufficiently long enough to get your dopamine receptors rejuvenated and start perceiving beneficial outcomes. Following first-time Sunday or weekend detox, individuals can opt for a two, three, or five-day detox.

Ideally, to achieve the best results it is recommended to choose a time period when you have not many social and/or working responsibilities, which would let your brain to rest. Another important step is to involve other members of the household, so you can get their help and fewer interruptions.

Dopamine detox rules and procedure 

To sum up, it can be useful to think through the plan and structure the dopamine detox period. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to approach it

1. Choose the number of days for the detox plan, often starting at 24 hours, as a suggestion. Choose the starting time and the time when it is over.

2. Decide which of your activities cause the release of dopamine to decrease. The main categories are:

       – Popular social networks, You tube videos, games, music, TV shows and movies.

       – Foods high in fats, oils and chemicals; carbonated soft drinks and other sugary products

      – Browsing stores, surfing the net or even participating in an auction.

      – Mindless web surfing

      – Smartphone notifications/checking texts

     – Sexual activity and pornography can be defined as a sexual practice that is performed during a sexual conduct and can be in the form of printed or computer generated images.

     – Caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine: The effects of the widely used drugs that have stimulant properties.

3. Engage in other activities other than looking at the computer monitor. Try to find activities that don’t involve screens such as, reading plain books, practicing mindfulness, exercising, praying, writing diaries, going for a walk, sketching or solving puzzles. Daily cleaning and tidiness of the house and washing dishes, sorting through your clothes, discarding unnecessary things that you no longer use, etc, can also do the trick.

4. This reduces temptation to cheat and increases accountability through the involvement of others. Inform people who you live with what you are doing to support the detox process so they can help.

5. Remove apps and temptations. Some tips are removing unnecessary applications from your starter interface, disabling notifications, and muting group conversations in advance. This is because the other electronic gadgets are also placed elsewhere to reduce temptation for more usage.

6. Pay attention to how you feel during the preparation of the food. Write down any psychological or physical signs that you begin to notice in yourself so you can document the process of how your brain and body work. Primary emotions and thoughts experienced at first may include such feelings as boredom, restlessness, irritation, and food cravings.

7. Break the detox gently. One should not jump back to their normal lives after a detox, instead, it should be done gradually. Pay attention to how the food tastes different, how other pleasurable activities are enhanced or how concentration is improved.

Exploring the details of the Dopamine Detox Diet

First of all, for a dopamine detox, it is crucial to minimize the use of digital entertainment/stimulation and, secondly, to change your diet. Reducing the number of foods that cause a rush of dopamine helps the system go farther in resetting the receptors.

Foods to avoid or strictly limit during your detox include:

– Added sugars: popcorn, cakes, candy, chocolates, cookies, pies, soda, beer

– Refined carbs: potato chips, white bread, pasta, crackers, pastries

-Fried and greasy foods: chips, French fries, pizza, chips, doughnuts 

– Stimulants: This is in the form of tea, energy drinks, wine, and beer.
– Nicotine and tobacco products is one of the topics that has a lot of importance in the current society most especially the emerging problems of the use of tobacco among young people.

Instead, focus your diet on whole, unprocessed foods like:

– Fresh fruits and vegetables

 – Nutrients such as legumes nuts and seeds

– Despite this, a majority of consumers prefer to eat eggs, poultry, fish and meat.

– Milk and yogurts, cottage cheese

– Examples of grains are rice, quinoa, oats and whole grain bread

Drinking plenty of water is also the second important tip and please bear this in mind. Herbal tea, electrolyte drinks or plain seltzer would be ideal to avoid the over indulgence of caffeine intake and sweet cravings.

It doesn’t take a long time to clean out your diet to see improvements in focus, energy, sleep, and mental state in as little as 1-5 days.

What to do during the Dopamine Detox

Challenges of dopamine fast include being bored for the first few days or weeks of the process. It can prevent you from over-watching the shows or using your time browsing through social media, which is also important when you have no internet.

Here are some screen-free ideas to try:

– Borrow books and literary materials such as magazines and newspapers.

– They should independently select a topic or write in a journal.

– Prepare a new dish or experiment with a new recipe.

– Yoga, stretching or walking is also helpful and can also be done.

– Take your lunch to the porch and watch while the birds fly around and the bees buzz.

– If they prefer indoor games then they can play board games or cards.

– It is recommended to complete a puzzle or use an adult colouring book

– Experience a podcast or a book in the form of an audiobook.

– Composes music, performs on an instrument

– Sculpt, sketch, or engage in any form of art with paints and DIY materials.

– It helps to clear up many of the mundane chores and projects that have been set aside due to lack of time.

– Sneak some of your home organization system into this room

– Wash (face and hands or full body), apply lotion and cut nails.

– If you’re finding it difficult to manage stress, you can try meditation, prayer or reflection.

Anything that provides a break and just lets your mind relax a little and is not sustained by dopamine hits is good. If possible, start seeking other activities that will not demand for computers, gadgets or other related devices for entertainment.

Dopamine Detox Symptoms

Do not be shocked by the odd psychological and physical discomfort you feel when you deny your brain dopamine overnight. Common symptoms, especially in the first 12 hours, include,

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

– Irritability

– Restlessness

– Boredom

– Cravings

– Low motivation

– Brain fog

– Sadness or negativity

– Lack of enjoyment

Physical Symptoms

– Tiredness and tiredness

– Headaches

– Muscle tension and stiffness 

– Changes in appetite

– Stretching of the GI tract due to chronic constipation

– Poor sleep quality

All these feelings are totally normal and signify that your brain is rewiring when it is not being fed artificial highs from constant TV shows, sweets and internet surfing. That is the reason why the first day is often the most challenging in the situation.

These symptoms should in the long run recede, although they may be experienced from time to time. Other benefits include increased energy, productivity, inspiration, and efficiency, more appreciation for simple things in life and tasks, and better ability to regulate oneself.

Guideline to Follow While Taking a Dopamine Detox

Here are some additional tips to make your dopamine detox easier:

– It is highly recommended to first try it for a week, but no more than 24 hours, so that the first attempt does not seem too strenuous.

– Choose a time when little else is going on, and set aside other activities or plans.

– Encourage housemates to join and be a part of it so that they may be of help in ensuring that one does the right thing.

– Preemptively uninstall any apps that may distract or entertain and block any websites which might cause one to spend time on the app.

– Ensure that you have balanced and healthy meals and snacks that are allowed to be consumed when on a detoxification process.

– This way, one can organize other activities to prevent boredom from setting in.

– Steer clear of individuals and environments that pose a risk to the success of your detox.

– In case of making a mistake, it is very important to correct it and continue as planned.

– try to remember any psychological or physical sign that may be present with you

– It is important to return to things gradually after the detox

– Use consequences and modifications for behaviour and life choices afterward

Real Threats Associated with Ultra Low Dopamine Levels

While short dopamine resets are generally safe, taking detoxing to extremes carries risks including:

– Prolonged food and fluid fasting to near starvation status; this means that for patients who are on total fasting the body is starved of nutrients for weeks.

– Lack of companionship and contact with other people

– STRESS, mood swings or even an inability to focus due lack of activities to engage in or plans to follow.

– Neurotransmitter depletion leading to poor performance, poor concentration and poor motivation

– Incorrect migration of developing an unhealthy relationship with routine behaviours like eating

If you have struggled with any form of eating disorder or substance abuse, depression, or anxiety, consult with your healthcare provider before going on a strict and long dopamine detox.

Trust yourself and your instincts; if you feel aches and pains or go through a tough time emotionally, relax some of these rules. Instead of becoming a punishment for oneself, dieting should be about getting to a middle ground.

Who Should Dopamine Detox?

A short dopamine reset can benefit most healthy adults struggling with:

– Lack of motivation, low drive and reduced interest in life

– This condition is characterized by inability to concentrate and poor time management.

– Excessive and pointless consumption of social networks and fast food

– The OCD traits include excessive use of smartphones, checking them frequently and constantly.

You may also want to try a detox if you are going to have an important project or an examination, which would require you to focus and have better discipline.

Young people should not try to detoxify their body in a regular way because their brain is still in the process of development. However, restricting the entertainment media, changing to whole food, and setting a certain time to step back from technological and social media can have the same impact of positively influencing one’s mental health.

Measures to Use in Future after Detox

A complete removal of dopamine gives the mind a wash, although the primary goal is to focus on lasting changes. To sustain benefits over time:

– Slowly allow the subjects to engage themselves in entertainment and technology consumption, with proper measly restrictions per day

– Uninstall apps that you use for procrastination and which distract you from everyday work.

– It is better to follow a mainly whole food diet and minimize the added sugar intake

– Maintain newer passion that one may have developed during his/her detox period

– Sleep well, exercise and maintain the health of the body by eating good foods.
– Social control may be performed by practicing mindfulness so as to overcome impulsivity which is a self-impelling force.

– Avoid most social media, pornography, gossip magazines, and shopping malls.

Another form of transitioning is to take a 24 hour tune-up detox when you begin to decipher previous compulsive behaviours coming back into your life.

The Takeaway

A dopamine detox or fast helps reduce the substances that trigger the release of dopamine in your brain, and hence gives your brain a much-needed breather to get back into shape and regain your faculties- concentration, motivation, discipline, etc. Despite the first few days or weeks being slightly uncomfortable, the pros associated with mental and physical health are worthwhile. Avoid jumping from detox to the next fad diet or plan, instead, use the detox period to adopt better habits and lifestyle changes that can be maintained after the detox is over. But do not push restrictive behaviors to hazardous limits, that will not be a positive way to advise people.