A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dopamine Detox

Dopamine detoxing is trending with wellness influencers, many of whom are recommending it to followers. But is it a good idea? And what exactly is a dopamine detox? There are many problems with this wellness trend, but the biggest one is that most people misunderstand it. 

If your care recipient has any addictive tendencies or addictive behaviors, you might be tempted to get them into a dopamine detox, but be careful. A dopamine detox can do more harm than good. Many people who support dopamine fasting or detoxing describe it as an extreme practice. 

In this post, we will provide: 

• important background information on dopamine and its role in the brain and body
• The dopamine detox
• How dopamine can be harmful
• Safe alternatives to a dopamine detox. We also talk about who can benefit from a safe detox and how to do it. 

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What Is Dopamine? 

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that send messages between nerve cells. It is made in the brain and sends signals between nerves in the brain by attaching to dopamine receptors. Dopamine is also made in other parts of the body. Dopamine is involved in several important processes in the brain and body: 

• Learning
• Movement
• Heart rate
• Attention
• Kidney function
• Sleep
• Pain
• Lactation
• Blood vessel function

Most famously, dopamine is involved in what is often called the pleasure pathway or reward system in the brain. When you experience something pleasurable, such as a sweet treat or attention from someone you care about, the brain releases dopamine, and you feel good. 

This pleasurable dopamine release is part of a learning process. You associate the experience with pleasure, a reward, which means you are likely to do it again. The dopamine pathway helps promote useful behaviors, like connecting socially with others. 

Low dopamine levels can make you feel tired or depressed. It can also cause difficulty with concentration, mood swings, poor sleep, and memory loss. High dopamine levels or a dopamine spike can cause euphoria and high energy levels. High dopamine can also cause poor sleep, aggression, and impulsive behaviors. 

About Dopamine and Addiction

Discussions of addiction often involve dopamine. This is because of its role in pleasure and reward. The dopamine reward system can help encourage you to engage in healthy behaviors, such as exercise and socializing. 

It can also encourage you to engage in less healthy or even harmful behaviors. Sugar is an example most people are familiar with. When you eat something sweet and tasty, your brain releases dopamine, and you feel good. You have learned that sweet foods give you pleasure, and you’re likely to return to them again and again. 

At one point in human evolution, this was useful. It promoted survival by encouraging people to eat foods with natural sugars, like fruits, which provided them with a lot of the energy they needed. Today, with sugar so readily available, this particular reward can lead to bad eating habits and poor health. 

A so-called sugar addiction can be harmful, but even worse is addiction to drugs. The brain’s reward pathway is involved when people use illicit drugs or abuse some types of prescription drugs. These substances trigger a huge release of dopamine, which people call a high. 

This big dopamine reward pushes you to use the substance again. It’s as if the drug is hijacking the natural brain’s reward system. Over time, drug use causes changes to the system that result in a dopamine deficit when you’re not using the drug. This pushes you even further to keep using the drug. Eventually, you need to use more and more of it, not to get a high, but just to feel normal due to dopamine deficiency. This leads to addiction. 

What Is A Dopamine Detox? 

A trending idea in wellness is that minimizing dopamine release through a process called a dopamine detox, or dopamine fasting, can reset the brain’s pleasure and reward system. A dopamine reset or detox period involves avoiding activities that trigger pleasure and excessive dopamine release. These activities are known as dopamine triggers. 

According to Harvard Health, the idea of a dopamine detox originated with psychiatrist Dr. Christian Sepah and a proven mental health treatment called cognitive behavioral therapy. Dr. Sepah’s idea was that we can benefit from being less reliant on unhealthy behaviors that are very stimulating and that release a lot of dopamine. 

Dr. Sepah specified six types of compulsive behaviors that a person could gain better control over through dopamine fasting: 

• Emotional or compulsive eating
• Excessive internet and social media use
• Gaming, gambling, and shopping
• Thrill seeking
• Pornography use and masturbation
• Recreational drugs and alcohol use

Dr. Sepah’s idea of a dopamine detox is to take a break from these and other more intense stimuli and to find pleasure in simpler activities, such as meditation, mindfulness, or time spent in nature. 

He hoped this would be a way for his patients to control harmful behaviors and lessen their dependence on them. He reportedly used the term dopamine detox to help his idea catch on, not intending it to be taken literally. 

Many people have taken the idea of a dopamine detox literally. The concept has strayed from Dr. Sepah’s original ideas and intentions. Many wellness influencers tout a dopamine detox as a literal break from anything that increases pleasure and dopamine release, even healthy behaviors. Dr. Sepah did not intend that people would eliminate every stimulating activity.

Why Is Dopamine Fasting Controversial?

While many wellness professionals and influencers have embraced and promoted the idea of dopamine detoxes, mental health and medical professionals find it controversial for a few reasons: 

• The term detox implies a toxic substance. Detoxes are usually associated with something harmful, like drugs, alcohol, or excessive sugar. Dopamine is a natural, necessary chemical, not a bad substance that should be eliminated or purged. The idea of a dopamine detox is misleading. 
• Dopamine detoxes are often extreme and involve limiting every pleasurable activity. While limiting unhealthy habits, like excessive social media scrolling or drug abuse, is good, many people doing a dopamine detox also limit healthy activities. Your care recipient should not limit exercise, socializing, and other healthy behaviors. 
• The reward system in the brain is complicated. Dopamine is just one part of the pathway. The idea of a dopamine detox simplifies this complexity. Limiting any dopamine-releasing activity does not shut down the reward system. The idea of a detox of just dopamine is misleading. 

Dr. Sepah and other mental health and medical professionals have tried to clarify the real meaning of a dopamine detox and to avoid misunderstandings. The intent is not to actually reduce dopamine but to reduce harmful, impulsive, and unhealthy behaviors. 

Does A Dopamine Detox Work? 

The dopamine detox, as many people understand it, does not work. You cannot and should not eliminate dopamine from your brain and body. Research has consistently debunked the idea of an absolute dopamine detox. 

One of the major findings of related research is that dopamine is too complex to simply be detoxed. Scientists still don’t fully understand dopamine and how it functions in the brain and the body. This reason alone debunks the idea of an actual detox. 

Researchers say that there can be benefits to taking breaks from pleasurable activities. You might find greater pleasure in them after a break. However, doing so does not reset dopamine levels as many proponents claim. A so-called detox from the activity or behavior is not enough to unlearn it or prevent cravings for it. 

Unfortunately, while the idea of a fast being able to reset bad behaviors seems enticing, researchers say it simply isn’t effective. The habit is still there. It takes a lot of work to break bad habits, including learning new habits and behaviors. 

Not only does a dopamine detox not work in the way some people expect it to, but it could actually be harmful, say researchers. Very low dopamine is associated with health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

One study of dopamine fasting found that extreme detoxes were bad for mental health and physical fitness. Because exercise increases dopamine levels, extreme fasters stop being active or working out. Dopamine detoxes also often involve restrictive eating, which can lead to malnutrition. Researchers also found that extreme dopamine detoxers experienced loneliness and anxiety.

The same study also found benefits of safer, more measured detoxes that don’t involve giving up all pleasurable activities. These included fewer impulsive behaviors, fewer feelings of being overwhelmed, and improved mental clarity and concentration. 

Who Can Benefit From A Safe Dopamine Detox? 

While the term ‘dopamine detox’ is misleading, the original idea is sound. Dr. Sepah’s approach to reducing compulsive behaviors is grounded in real science and can help many people. Both you and your care recipient could potentially benefit from a healthy and safe dopamine detox, one that doesn’t actually seek to eliminate all dopamine or pleasurable activities. 

You or your loved one could benefit if some of your activities have become compulsive or even show signs of addiction. For example, if you constantly scroll through social media, check your device every few minutes, and try but fail to limit your screen time, you could benefit from stepping away from these behaviors for a while. 

If your loved one struggles with addiction to drugs or alcohol, they need professional treatment. They could also potentially benefit from some of the ideas of a dopamine detox. This should not be a replacement for professional care, but could be a good supplement. 

Most people can benefit from some degree of dopamine fasting. Technology is to blame for the near-constant stimulation we experience. Stepping away from overstimulating or high-dopamine activities can be helpful for most of us. 

How To Do A Safe Dopamine Detox

Although there is a lot of misunderstanding about dopamine fasting in the wellness industry, the core idea is useful. A safe dopamine detox can be a good way to reconnect with healthier habits and reduce unhealthy ones. 

Here are some ideas to help you and your care recipient approach a dopamine detox in a healthy, safe way: 

• Develop Awareness. Being aware of your unhealthy behaviors or habits is the first step in changing them. Think about your unhealthy behaviors and how much time they occupy. If you’re not sure, track it. Keep track of how much time you spend scrolling or how many times you check your phone for alerts. This awareness will help you make positive changes. 
• Try Mindfulness Activities. A great way to build more awareness in every aspect of your life is through mindfulness. Mindfulness simply means paying attention to what is happening in the current moment, not the past or future. Mindfulness meditation is a simple but powerful tool for improving your ability to do this. Another easy activity is to walk outside while paying attention to what you see, hear, smell, and feel. The more you practice these habits, the easier it is to be mindful. 
• Create Fasting Windows. Extreme dopamine detoxers try to eliminate all dopamine-producing behaviors completely. This isn’t reasonable or helpful. Instead of taking this extreme measure, set aside times when you will fast from your chosen “bad behaviors.” For example, you might decide to stop using all devices two hours before bedtime. If you’re trying to cut down on alcohol, designate a day or even a week when you won’t drink. 
• Engage in Healthy Behaviors. A big problem with extreme dopamine detoxing is giving up healthy activities. While you work on detoxing from unhealthy behaviors, add in more healthy ones, even if they boost your dopamine levels. You and your loved one could go for more walks together to socialize and get exercise. Instead of scrolling on your phone, read a book or talk to a friend. 

Dopamine fasting is a problematic wellness trend due to misunderstandings of what it really means. Now that you know more about dopamine and its role in our behaviors, you can benefit from a safe detox. You can also guide your loved one to make positive changes that will help them better manage or reduce unhealthy behaviors. 

References

1. Harvard Health Publishing. (2024, April 18). Dopamine: The pathway to pleasure. Harvard Health.
2. Grinspoon, P. (2020, February 26). Dopamine fasting: Misunderstanding science spawns a maladaptive fad. Harvard Health Blog.
3. Thomasy, H. (2024, July 31). Debunking the dopamine detox trend. The Scientist.
4. Desai, D., Patel, J., Saiyed, F., Upadhyay, H., Kariya, P., & Patel, J. (2024). A literature review on holistic well-being and dopamine fasting: An integrated approach. Cureus, 16(6), e61643. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.61643