Leverage Dopamine to Overcome Procrastination & Optimize Effort

In this episode, I explain how dopamine dynamics — meaning changes and interactions between our baseline and peak levels of dopamine drive our cravings and sense of motivation. I also explain how to leverage dopamine dynamics to overcome procrastination. I cover behavioral, cognitive, nutrition-based and supplementation-based tools to optimize baseline and peak dopamine levels to ensure a persistently motivated state. I also discuss how to boost motivation when you are in a rut, why you might not want to stack behaviors/substances that spike dopamine and how to build and maintain a “growth mindset” for pursuing goals of any kind. Dopamine is an incredibly powerful neuromodulator involved in basic functions (e.g., hunger, romantic attraction, etc.) and feats of cognitive and physical performance; by understanding the dynamics of dopamine, listeners ought to be better positioned to overcome procrastination, maintain motivation, and improve confidence.

Articles

• Pain modulates dopamine neurons via a spinal–parabrachial–mesencephalic circuit (Nature Neuroscience)
• Dopamine, Updated: Reward Prediction Error and Beyond (Current Opinion in Neurobiology)
• Human physiological responses to immersion into water of different temperatures (European Journal of Applied Physiology)
• Effect of tyrosine on cognitive function and blood pressure under stress (Brain Research Bulletin)
• Tyrosine Improves Working Memory in a Multitasking Environment (Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior)

Books

• Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (by Dr. Anna Lembke)

Other Resources

• Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)