How to Reset Your Dopamine (And Change Your Life)

To set yourself up for a productive day, start with these simple actions:

• Brush your teeth
• Splash your face with cold water
• Make your bed

1. Phone Fasting

Avoid checking your phone for at least 30 minutes after waking up and 60 minutes before bed. This prevents dopamine depletion and increases focus.

Additionally, allow yourself to feel boredom. Dopamine is naturally produced and stored during moments of boredom, ready to be used later.

2. Find Your Flow

The first 15 minutes of any task are the hardest. But once you push through, you enter a flow state, where focus and productivity increase effortlessly.

3. Cold Water Immersion

Cold exposure triggers a dopamine response similar to drugs, but with a crucial difference:

• Drugs cause a spike followed by a crash within 90 minutes.
• Cold water exposure leads to a steady increase in dopamine levels, lasting up to 2 hours.

A simple way to incorporate this is by ending your shower with 30 seconds of cold water.

4. Define Your Path

Having clear goals and a structured plan prevents your brain from wasting dopamine on distractions. A well-defined purpose makes it easier to stay focused and motivated.

Pain and pleasure exist on a scale. If we chase too much pleasure, we develop a tolerance, requiring bigger dopamine hits while experiencing stronger withdrawals.

But if we start with pain or challenging stimuli (e.g., cold showers), the pleasure comes naturally and more consistently over time. With repeated exposure, the discomfort decreases, and the pleasure arrives more quickly.

By balancing pain and pleasure intentionally, we can reset our dopamine system, increase motivation, and sustain long-term focus.