Morning Dopamine

Upon waking, the very first activity that brings us dopamine, is how we will subconsciously seek dopamine for the remainder of the day.

What does it mean when the first thing we do is pick up our phones?

Our dopamine surges, and we will then continue to pick up our phones to get the same surge and feelings of reward, pleasure and satisfaction from an activity that doesn’t necessarily warrant it.

What is dopamine responsible for?

It is a neurotransmitter responsible for allowing you to feel pleasure, motivation, reward and satisfaction and surges when you have achieved something.

Depending on what those first pieces of information are, can determine your stress response and routine for the rest of the day.

When dopamine wears off, or we begin to feel a bit flatter, we will re-engage in behaviours that produce dopamine.

Instead…

• The first thing you should do is get sunlight (outdoors, not through glasses or a window), this triggers the release of dopamine

  • This also supports setting a healthy circadian rhythm

• We can teach ourselves to produce dopamine from other things

• Identify activities or behaviours that you would like to maximise, this could be reading, exercising, going for a walk, meditation, cooking a nutritious breakfast or spending time outdoors

• Delay the activities or behaviours that you would like to reduce your subconscious reliance on

• Remember, resetting reward pathways can be tricky - especially when long standing