Dopamine Fasting?

[DJ Sanchez]

Thoughts on dopamine fasting? This could be where a lot of the nofap benefits come from. Extending it to other places where instant gratification is an issue could increase the benefits further.

I've had good results from it. Just posting it here to put it out there.

 

[gaze]

been wanting to try it..besides the no eating part. How’d you feel before and after? my main issue is “information overload”..with social media and all i feel like my brain takes in way too much stuff and my attention span is fcked.

 

[Attakai]

What in specific are you avoiding?

 

[gaze]

What in specific are you avoiding?

From what i understand a dopamine fast is like 24 hours with no TV, Cell phone, music, entertainment, etc. It’s basically avoiding all things that raise dopamine because our dopamine sensors have become very desensitized due to the non stop stimulatory things around us all the time.

 

[Tarmander]

dopamine fasting is a fancy phrase for boredom.

 

[gaze]

dopamine fasting is a fancy phrase for boredom.

pretty much yea. A voluntary boredom that will ease a non stop artificially stimulated brain for at least a day and hopefully stimulate more imagination

 

[aussiebaldguy]

I went into mountains for 30 days, with a bunch of people, without phones radios...at first there were some with drawal symptoms, but returning to normal society i guess taught me that life could be lived without such complexity

 

[PeatPeeve]

Some years ago I spent a month volunteering on an organic farm that belonged to a health retreat in Portugal. The retreat was run by a couple of nutritionists who treated people with all sorts of ailments by tailoring nutrition for each individual case. The place was isolated and surrounded by nature, and there was no internet access. Days were spent doing physical labour - landscaping, watering and such - and the food was all organic and very peaty. Meals were served on a terrace overlooking a river, with grapes and figs dangling above. ***t was amazing. I have never felt as good as I did during that time. Attention span was for sure recovering as well.

 

[Aymen]

nice title

 

[DJ Sanchez]

been wanting to try it..besides the no eating part. How’d you feel before and after? my main issue is “information overload”..with social media and all i feel like my brain takes in way too much stuff and my attention span is fcked.

I understand that people take it to the extreme, what I try to do is essentially recreate the environment one would have while camping. So I do listen to music, and play music. I read books but stay away from the internet, I eat, and spend as much time outside as I can.

Just getting away from the "information overload" is enough of a benefit to warrant trying it. Having time to think, helps me a lot. I also notice that conversation with people becomes easier as if a the clouds in my brain have been removed. The anxiety I normally have while talking with people is gone, and I actually enjoy it.

There is withdraw the first couple times you try it, but I goes away relatively quickly, and you end in a much better mental state then when you began.

 

[DJ Sanchez]

Some years ago I spent a month volunteering on an organic farm that belonged to a health retreat in Portugal. The retreat was run by a couple of nutritionists who treated people with all sorts of ailments by tailoring nutrition for each individual case. The place was isolated and surrounded by nature, and there was no internet access. Days were spent doing physical labour - landscaping, watering and such - and the food was all organic and very peaty. Meals were served on a terrace overlooking a river, with grapes and figs dangling above. ***t was amazing. I have never felt as good as I did during that time. Attention span was for sure recovering as well.

That sounds awesome!

 

[DJ Sanchez]

dopamine fasting is a fancy phrase for boredom.

haha, "boredom?" wouldn't have been as good of a title though.

 

[vulture]

dopamine fasting is a fancy phrase for boredom.

lol

Some years ago I spent a month volunteering on an organic farm that belonged to a health retreat in Portugal. The retreat was run by a couple of nutritionists who treated people with all sorts of ailments by tailoring nutrition for each individual case. The place was isolated and surrounded by nature, and there was no internet access. Days were spent doing physical labour - landscaping, watering and such - and the food was all organic and very peaty. Meals were served on a terrace overlooking a river, with grapes and figs dangling above. ***t was amazing. I have never felt as good as I did during that time. Attention span was for sure recovering as well.

Can you give us a name or something?

Today there's a lot of information and stimulus going on for hours and hours, usually when I use public transportation about half of the people, or more if they are young, are hypnotised to their mobile phones sliding an endless caroussel of pictures and videos (instagram mainly) almost unaware of their environment (which doesn't seem crazy to understand considering a big city environment)

 

[Tarmander]

pretty much yea. A voluntary boredom that will ease a non stop artificially stimulated brain for at least a day and hopefully stimulate more imagination

Not bashing boredom. Boredom, depression, temporary nihilism, listlessness...all renew dopamine receptors. Like a rough hangover

 

[vulture]

Not bashing boredom. Boredom, depression, temporary nihilism, listlessness...all renew dopamine receptors. Like a rough hangover

I would instead try to change the environment. I mean, in nature, one is full of stimulu, but is not a hot female in bikinil, or someone shooting other people, or an explosion, there's all kind of living stuff all around you, birds, plants, insects, clean air, etc...
That's why I asked about that farm. I have listened about people who went to a farm and asked just for a bed and food in exchange of labour, that way you could stay about 2 months (AFAIK the time needed to settle new habits) and see how you feel that way.

 

[Tarmander]

I would instead try to change the environment. I mean, in nature, one is full of stimulu, but is not a hot female in bikinil, or someone shooting other people, or an explosion, there's all kind of living stuff all around you, birds, plants, insects, clean air, etc...
That's why I asked about that farm. I have listened about people who went to a farm and asked just for a bed and food in exchange of labour, that way you could stay about 2 months (AFAIK the time needed to settle new habits) and see how you feel that way.

Yeah you want to lower your baseline for entertainment by avoiding all that stuff like you said

 

[Sativa]

One easy way is to use strategic substances (plenty of natural options) with specific pharmacological properties, that tone & re-balance the dopamine system; there are many options. One mechanism is called 'dopamine receptor upregulation', and it involves encouraging the growth/generation of more Dopamine receptors.
This could also involve substances which eradicate the stress response (cortisol, adrenaline etc) as well as (strategically) dampening serotonin signalling. Attending to the Glutamate (nmda), Opioid & GABA systems would be worthwhile too, since these are inherently linked to the Dopamine system. All of these systems can be tonified/enhanced/re-balanced etc.

It would work well alongside other approaches like camping in nature/reducing electronics etc

 

[milkboi]

Today I got rid of my smartphone for good and will only have access to the internet for 2h/day (will taper down to 1,5h-1H). I'm looking for improvements in focus, mood, productivity and health.

 

[methylenewhite]

Not bashing boredom. Boredom, depression, temporary nihilism, listlessness...all renew dopamine receptors. Like a rough hangover

Nah. Decreases dopamine receptors density. AFAIk.

 

[success23]

Just take some BCAA on an empty stomach. Lowers exessive dopamine quite nice.