La dopamine addiction
Attracted by this pleasant sensation, we are thus attracted by all that is capable of giving us pleasure all day long. Shooting with dopamine, our body offers itself small or large doses… depending on its degree of addiction. “These activities cause different sensations, because they pass through different pathways. Sight, hearing, taste… But if we don’t make the connection between Netflix or sugar, the brain is not mistaken,” explains the American neuro-endocrinologist Robert Lustig.
According to this professor practicing at the University of California, the human brain interprets and understands both practices in the same way: As a reward. A reward that remains punctual and above all short-lived, hence this perpetual desire to renew experiences of pleasure. Even worse ! By dint of receiving rewards, the latter lose their value over time and “use”. “By dint of being stimulated, the neurons of pleasure are saturated. They are inhibited. To find the same sensations, we ask for even more”, explains Professor Lustig.
A race for pleasure that takes place in a hypnotizing way. We are focused on our own pleasure, we abandon the rest, we lose concentration and insight… The brain is in a daze.
What is dopamine fasting?
Currently in vogue among the elite of Silicon Valley, this particular fast is indeed to deprive yourself of dopamine. A forced and voluntary weaning that helps to do without “artificial” stimulators of pleasure and to focus on the essentials. “The fact of ‘retiring’ probably makes life more interesting when you come back to it,” argues Cameron Sepah, clinical professor of psychiatry in San Francisco in an article published on LinkedIn. “By taking a break from behaviors that cause high dopamine release, especially repeatedly, our brain recovers,” says the specialist.
An argument that seems to convince more and more followers around the world but also in Morocco. “I was going through a bad patch and decided to do dopamine fasting for 40 days. No social networks, no television, no internet connection. I even quit coffee and artificial sugar just fruits. I assure you that I felt regenerated. A more lively mind and a lighter body. I felt liberated,” says Hind Herrak, a young employee from Casablanca.
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Liberating effect
A feeling of freedom that she shares with a good number of people who have managed to drop out for a period that can be long or short. “For me it was just for a fortnight. I was preparing for my end-of-year exams and I couldn’t concentrate. The idea then came to me to withdraw from social networks. And it was like a revelation. Much more time available, better concentration and improved efficiency,” says Réda Benâyach, a second-year dental internship student.
Since this first rather satisfactory experience, the young student has been renewing his dopamine fasting regularly. “A kind of cures that allow me to rest my brain and to re-experience the pleasure of repeating these practices afterwards”, he comments smiling.
Less sad
Along the same lines, a study conducted by the American journal Niemann Lab among 1,800 students at Texas A&M University was able to measure the effects of a week without Facebook. At the end of this targeted abstinence, the students said they were “significantly less sad”.
A rather positive effect for these voluntary fasters but which is not appreciated by everyone. “But why should we deprive ourselves of the only accessible pleasures? We unemployed people have nothing else to entertain us except social networks, the internet or television,” Rajaa replies. M, on a facebook group in reaction to a post advocating dopamine fasting. “I don’t have a problem becoming an addict since I have plenty of time to devote myself to it,” she quips.
Opposite effect ?
Far from being ironic, the detractors of dopamine fasting evoke an effect opposite to that so expected. According to Joydeep Bhattacharya who leads the research group on neuroscience and cognitive at the University of London, dopamine is produced during the anticipation of the reward and not when the latter is felt. “So during the fasting period, abstinence could stimulate the imagination of the fasting person. The latter will thus anticipate the future reward and his brain will automatically release dopamine,” explains the scientist.
A scientific fact which can also explain the difficulty in picking up and zapping gestures that have become automatic. Even the most fervent followers of fasting recognize that the temptation to take a look is the worst test to overcome in this fight against addiction. Do you believe you can do it?