Dopamine is Like a Pair of Gonads.

Too low, and you're dragging. But too high, and you’re always wishing for more.

Author

Jacob Katz
May 21, 2024

Welcome back to The Renewal - the weekly newsletter on science-supported tools for everyday life.

Dopamine is like a good pair of gonads. Too low, and you're dragging. But too high, and you’re always wishing for more.

It’s all about wanting. This hormone drives our desires, keeps us motivated, and pushes me to write this newsletter.

This little molecule shapes our lives. Our emotions. How capable we feel. When levels are low, we’re sad boys: unmotivated, have more menty b’s (mental breakdowns), and feel tired.

We have a baseline of dopamine which spikes or drops based on actions, compounds, and even thoughts.

Our personal baseline is influenced by genetics, behaviors, sleep, nutrition, and previous days' dopamine levels.

Here’s how to keep that baseline healthy:

Morning Sunlight: Remember, your mom was wrong. View early morning sunlight for 10-30 minutes daily. 8-11am. No sunglasses. Don't stare at the sun; eyeglasses and contacts are fine. This releases dopamine and even changes the genes your body expresses.

Caffeine: Aim to have your caffeine at least 90 minutes after waking up. This allows your body to use its own resources for energy first. It makes dopamine receptors more available (making your body more sensitive to dopamine). Avoid caffeine close to bedtime. I steer clear after 2 p.m., with rare exceptions - damn espresso martinis.

Eat Tyrosine-Rich Foods: Red meats, nuts, or hard fermented cheese. Tyrosine is a building block of dopamine. A diet rich in tyrosine sustains natural dopamine production. Plant-based sources are easy to find too.

Avoid Bright Lights Late: From 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., avoid bright lights. Set the mood.

Avoid Melatonin Supplements: Melatonin might seem like a magic sleep potion, but it’s more like a clumsy wizard. And he’s messing with your dopamine levels and sleep patterns. Melatonin is only good for jet lag.

Managing Dopamine Peaks

If you don’t manage your dopamine highs, your baseline dopamine levels will drop, and suddenly, everything feels like a soggy biscuit.

Use Random Intermittent Rewards (RIRT): This is gold. Literally. Casinos use it to keep you playing:

  1. 🗿 Celebrate Randomly: Celebrate your wins, but not every time. Sometimes, break the emergency piggy bank for hookers and blow; other times, stone-face it and keep trucking. It's like playing dopamine hide and seek. Keeps your brain on its toes and your motivation alive.

  2. 🚴🏻‍♀️ Love the Grind: Think of it as Stockholm Syndrome but for your productivity. Once you love the journey, you’ve found that sweet, sweet dopamine nectar.

Dopamine Boosters

  1. Chocolate: +50% Chocolate is good for you. The darker the better 😉.

  2. Sex: +100% Men burn an average of 101 calories during sex, or about 4.2 calories burned per minute. Women burn an average of 69 calories during sex, or 3.2 calories burned per minute. (that’s based on 24 minutes so increase or decrease based on personal abilities)

  3. Exercise: +50-100% Play some football, go to pilates, spin, bike instead of taking the tube - Forest is best.

  4. Meditation: +65% Meditate don’t medicate.

  5. Gardening: +25% Harvesting your green babies is good for the soul.

  6. Music: +10-15% Unless you’re Drake listening to Kendrick’s new drop. Kung Fu Kenny went for the neck on that new tune bruv.

  7. Sunlight: +40-50% See above.

  8. Cold Exposure: 250% Cold showers are great for hangovers too. With cold exposure, your dopamine boost lasts for hours.

  9. Green Tea: - 10-20% - Contains L-theanine, kind of tastes like grass but in a good way.

  10. Caffeine: +30-40% Also see above.

  11. Probiotics: +20-30% Yogurt. Buttermilk. Cottage Cheese. Tempeh. Miso Soup. Sauerkraut. And obviously, kombucha.

  12. Creativity: +20-30% Drawing, writing, sinking boats - my boat will be named Soggy Dingy.

  13. Social Interaction: +50-100% We are social beings. Don’t ignore that fact.

  14. Gratitude Practice: +10-20% Treat everyday like Thanksgiving, except for the part where we glorify colonization. What are you thankful for? It’s a small habit with big rewards.

  15. Massage Therapy: +30-40% Treat. Yo. Self.

  16. Dancing: +60-80% Jury is still out, but I think I’m a fun dancer. Try closing your eyes and dance like you’re alone.

  17. Spicy Foods: +20-30% The more melanin you have, the easier this is.

  18. Video Games: 100% Punch some trees or play Beerio Kart.

So by now you’re guzzling dry scoops of pre-workout, blasting your favorite hype music (Big Booty Mix Volume 11), surrounded by your bros, popping nootropics like candy, and you’re all having a dandy gardening sesh.

Your dopamine levels are wildin.

And here I come to ruin your day!

You may enter full goblin mode soon. Layering all these dopamine boosters leads to a massive crash later - a sugar rush, but for your motivation. Avoid the crash by switching it up randomly.

Do some workouts without music or just stick to caffeine. Keep your brain guessing and your motivation steady.

Fun section with drugs!

I jest, but take this seriously. If you use drugs know that it has a negative impact on your dopamine levels. While dopamine itself is neither good nor bad, the methods used to increase it can have positive or negative impacts on overall health and well-being.

  1. Amphetamines: +1000% Today’s activity is sponsored by: Adderall, aka study milk. Whoosh, now you have the strength to fold the laundry that’s been on your chair for 3 days.

  2. Methamphetamine: +1200% Yeah I do M.E.T.H. - Math, English, Technology & science, History. You should do M.E.T.H too!

  3. Cocaine: +300-400% Booger sugar is for bears, try coffee instead.

  4. Nicotine: “Just one more hit bro, please.” Cigs, Zyns, cigars, vapes, pipes, cud (chewing tobacco), dry herb vaporizers, wet and dry snuff.  It’s chemically addictive so watch your back.

  5. Opioids (e.g., heroin, morphine): +150-200% Doctors in the 90’s doing their best Oprah impression with OxyContin. YOU GET MORE PAINKILLERS! AND YOU GET MORE PAINKILLERS!

  6. Alcohol: +40-50% “I’m never drinking again…”

  7. MDMA (Ecstasy): +200-300% Basically a constant feeling of when the scissors glide through the wrapping paper.

  8. THC (cannabis, Devil’s Lettuce, Ganja, Mary Jane, Harambe’s Hemp): +100% Only for medicinal purposes, obviously.

  9. LSD: +100% LSD + birth control = a trip without the kids.

  10. Ketamine: +100-150% Don’t let the horse catch you looking in his medicine cabinet.

📬 Forward this to a friend if you want them to live longer.

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