Today, I want to talk about dopamine, one of the most misunderstood yet critical aspects of our existence. This topic changed my life, and I wish I could share it with everyone around me because, quite frankly, it saved me. Dopamine is rarely discussed, and while I’m not a conspiracy theorist, I can’t ignore the fact that big tech companies have little interest in helping us understand its profound influence on our minds and bodies. After all, understanding dopamine could empower us to reclaim control over our lives, a power they currently hold.
I’ve previously written about the «Vitality Era,» a dream of a future where humanity thrives in abundance, clean energy, advanced technology, and the freedom to devote our time to creation, science, art, and intellectual pursuits. To achieve this vision, I believe we need two revolutions: an energy revolution and an intellectual revolution. Today, I want to focus on the latter. Unlocking the full potential of humanity starts with revolutionizing our minds, and at the heart of this transformation lies dopamine.
What Is Dopamine, and Why Does It Matter?
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, the chemical in our brains that drives motivation. It’s why we crave food, seek connection, and pursue goals, it’s the force behind our survival instincts. During my neuroscience research, I saw firsthand how essential dopamine is, shaping everything from our decisions to our emotions. But here’s the problem: the system that once helped us thrive as hunter-gatherers is now under attack. Modern life exploits dopamine, overwhelming its balance and turning a tool for survival into a source of struggle.
The Modern Problem with Dopamine
The problem is simple but devastating: human lifestyles have evolved far faster than our bodies can adapt. While our ancestors roamed the Earth as hunter-gatherers, relying on scarce resources for survival, we now live in a world where everything is available with a tap on a screen. Our bodies, still biologically wired for the Paleolithic era, can’t cope with this abundance, and dopamine is one of the biggest casualties.
Dopamine-driven businesses have exploited this vulnerability, turning it into a goldmine. From illegal drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine to legal but equally addictive substances like sugar, caffeine, and nicotine, these industries profit by hijacking our brain’s reward system. But recently, a new and even more insidious form of dopamine exploitation has emerged: social media.
Social media platforms, equipped with advanced algorithms, are designed to keep you engaged. They know your preferences better than you know yourself, feeding you perfectly tailored content that maximizes dopamine spikes. Bright colors, catchy sounds, endless scrolling, it’s all engineered to trap your attention. And before you know it, hours have slipped away, leaving you in a zombie-like state.
In the short term, this constant engagement leaves you distracted and mentally checked out. In the medium term, you become addicted, unable to part with your phone for even a few minutes. And in the long term, things get worse, much worse. Chronic dopamine overstimulation leads to desensitization. Like a drug addict needing a higher dose just to feel normal, your baseline dopamine levels drop. You feel anxious, unmotivated, and even depressed. Creativity, imagination, memory, and cognitive skills suffer as your brain struggles to function under this constant strain. In 2024, the term «brainrot» emerged to describe this phenomenon, and it’s painfully accurate.
Breaking Free: Regaining Control of Your Mind
The good news is that there’s a way out. The bad news? It’s not easy. Escaping this cycle requires a significant lifestyle change, but the rewards are life-changing. The first step is understanding the concept of dopamine fasting.
Dopamine fasting involves intentionally cutting out behaviors that overstimulate your brain’s reward system. There are different levels of fasting, but the basic principles are straightforward:
- Level 1: Reduce Screen Time
Start by deleting apps like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook that hijack your attention. Limit screen time and consider deactivating your social media accounts. - Level 2: Address Other Addictive Behaviors
Go beyond screens and reduce other dopamine-stimulating activities like binge-eating junk food, long hot showers, drinking alcohol, smoking, and even excessive music consumption. - Level 3: The Monk Life
For those willing to go all in, some retreats offer complete dopamine fasts, no speaking, no screens, no human interaction. These extreme resets can profoundly enhance mental clarity and self-awareness. Interestingly, I’ve heard that people who rely heavily on creativity, like movie producers, songwriters, and scientists, often use such practices to recharge their minds and unlock new levels of inspiration.
When I first explain this to people, the most common reaction is, “If I cut out all these things, how will I enjoy life?” It’s a valid question. We’ve been conditioned to believe that happiness comes from constant stimulation ,drinking on Fridays, binge-watching Netflix on a rainy day, or scrolling through social media. But here’s the thing: dopamine fasting doesn’t take joy away, it transforms it.
As you reset your brain’s sensitivity to dopamine, something incredible happens. You start finding joy in simple things, a sunset, the smell of rain, a walk around your block. I remember experiencing immense happiness after just a two-day dopamine fast, simply sitting at a restaurant with my wife and daughter, enjoying breakfast. It wasn’t the food or the setting, it was the clarity and presence that made it so profound.
The Bigger Picture: A Path to the Vitality Era
Ultimately, regaining control over your mind is about more than personal happiness. It’s about unlocking humanity’s full potential. A world of free minds, thinkers, creators, scientists, artists, can lead us into the Vitality Era. By breaking free from the chains of overstimulation, we can build a future where human intellect and creativity flourish.
So, fight back. Take control of your mind. Don’t let corporations or addictions dictate your happiness. Free yourself from the prison of overstimulation and rediscover what it truly means to live. When you gain control of your mind, you gain control of your life, and that’s the first step toward a better world for all of us.
Javier Saldaña 
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