“What is a dopamine detox?”
If you are clueless about what a dopamine detox is, then let me explain. Primarily, a dopamine detox is where an individual decides to cut off all activities that usually enhance dopamine production in our brains. Examples of such activities are: endless scrolling on social media, prolonged periods of video gaming, addiction to substances and much more.
“Why should I even partake in something like this?”
In my experience, the dopamine detox enables an individual to get off the sensation of desiring more of something, such as more screen time or the augmented will to binge watch your favourite show. Not only will you reap the reward of increasing your attention span, but also to improve your overall morale and mood.
Due to the inevitable advancement in technology, our lives are heavily influenced by electronic devices. From the time you wake up due to an alarm set on your phone, watching the news on the television, messaging your friends and family saying how much you miss them, till the time you finally realise that you have been at it for hours, and now it’s very late and you must doze off.
“How would I even feel if I started following the dopamine detox protocol?”
Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to give out an opinion, as to each their own. However, what I have learned after interacting with my fellow mates who have undergone this detox is that, there’s a common tendency in all our experiences.
The first week is no walk in the park. You see, we humans have evolved throughout time, yet our main tendency has yet to change. We have had constant stimuli to entertain us and keep us hooked. During the prehistoric times, it was fighting animals for food, escaping life threats and being constantly on the run in order to survive. In today’s day and age, it’s a 360 degree turn in terms of the activities we do, but the result remains the same. Nowadays, we aimlessly scroll on Instagram, consuming mind-boggling amounts of content, of which there’s hardly anything that’s warranted for growth or development. Unless you are using it for marketing purposes, then it can be of some use.
After a week, the benefits are evident. Your mood will be more stable, no random sadness by seeing your friends partying on a Friday night, whereas you are at home studying good old Maths, or no random boosts of motivation by seeing a motivating clip from Denzel Washington saying, “If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying”. You need to remember this, these random mood swings can take a huge toll on your productivity and your willingness to do something. Another obvious benefit is that you will be able to focus on the task in hand. If you are on social media, or listening to Akon half of the time, you may hear the song on repeat in your head, as if someone selected the repeat option on Spotify. As you eliminate these poor habits, you are able to make informed decisions, alongside maintaining your peace of mind.
“What is the ideal duration for doing the dopamine detox?”
It is recommended to follow this practice for two weeks to a month. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that is present in our brain and body, that is responsible for pleasure, reward, motivation, and movement. Additionally, it plays a huge role in regulating mood, attention, learning, and feelings of pleasure.
Abstaining from continuous irrelevant actions that boost dopamine, is a very widely known practice, known as dopamine detox or monk mode. Dopamine detox is a very researched topic, and most of the results show that to maximise the benefits, two weeks is satisfactory.
Personal anecdotes
Given that I am a student, academics and my social life can get out of hand. What I mean is, sometimes socialising is amusing and warranted, but it can influence one’s behavioural patterns. Partying, meeting some mates, going on dinners, is one side of the coin with regards to socialising, another side is usage of social media. Due to its inexplicable and rapid growth in popularity, social media has become the new way of interacting, and as a 16 year old teen, I used to use it very often, and with that I mean 4-5 hours a day. That’s a lot! I couldn’t help but notice the time I was spending on Instagram was absolutely wasteful. Since I had my board exams coming right up, I decided to do a dopamine detox and see the results for myself. On Youtube, there are hundreds and thousands of influencers preaching about monk mode and dopamine detox. Well, it was time.
I used to go through my phone searching for Instagram, and there were many occasions where I had dressed immaculately, or was travelling around the world. I felt an innumerable amount of urges to post something. Not only was Instagram not downloaded, but also none of my acquaintances were aware of my experiences. Privacy has become challenging to protect, hence, abstaining from using social media too much is necessary. Focusing on subjects such as Accounting, Business and more were as easy as rest and play, due to my mind concentrating on the only thing I was providing it with, academics and learning. Work life balance is a known concept in Business, where typically employees are able to allocate the right amount of time and efforts towards their work, and their life outside work. Similarly, one should prioritise things to get the best result.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier on in this blog, dopamine detox has proven to be useful to me and many others. However, to each their own. If you are a student who wishes to improve their grades, then this is an absolute cheat code for you. If you are a person who spends a lot of time on social media or the internet in general, this will help to clear your mind, by acting as a get away from the world of technology. If you are a person who is addicted to bad habits, this is a reminder that you are what you feed your body. For example, you cannot fill up an electric car with gas. Take care of your body and mind, to unleash your true potential, and remember, strive everyday towards improving and mastering oneself in order to make yourself unassailable.