Dopamine Fasting

Hacking Your ADHD

Hey team! I’ve recently been seeing a lot more stuff around the concept of dopamine fasting.

Now, I’m going to start by saying that I’m entering this conversation with a bit of trepidation because it comes from a side of the internet that… well, they tend to have good intentions, but this basically amounts to bro science despite the backing it does have.

The idea behind dopamine fasting is to reduce or eliminate activities that provide instant gratification and a quick release of dopamine. So, someone going through a dopamine fast might give up using their phone, watching TV, video games, junk food, and alcohol, plus anything else they see as their go-to dopamine activities for, say a 24-hour period. I know, sounds like torture.

The idea here is that because we’ve glutted our brains on all these easy dopamine activities, we want to try to “reset” the process to regain a more sensitive system that isn’t seeking that quick hit all the time.

In today’s episode, we’ll break down this concept and examine whether it works (hint: I already called it bro science) and what, if anything, we can still gain from the ideas. Support me on Patreon Ask me a question on my Contact Page Find the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/190 This Episode's Top Tips

1. When dopamine fasting, you are trying to reduce or eliminate activities like watching TV, playing video games, eating junk food, and drinking alcohol that would give you a quick release of dopamine. While there may be some benefits in abstaining from these activities, the idea of doing a dopamine fast to reset your system doesn’t hold much water.
2. Instead of trying to use a dopamine fast to create a quick fix, it’s better to examine your habits and daily activities that lead to feeling like you need one and see how you can modulate those.
3. With ADHD, we often are understimulated, and by doing something slightly stimulating, like playing with a fidget toy, can help improve our focus and concentration.