If you frequently visit the “How to Be Productive” section of TikTok, you’ve probably encountered the latest strategies to maintain focus and avoid procrastination. The key is to start your day with a low dopamine routine.
According to the low dopamine trend in the morning, the activities you engage in during the first 90 minutes after waking up determine your brain’s cravings for the rest of the day.
If your first interaction after turning off your alarm is to open Facebook or Instagram, you’ll get your initial dopamine fix from your smartphone. As a result, when you’re working at your desk and find your focus slipping, you’ll find it difficult to resist reaching for your phone for another dopamine hit, as warned by TikTok.
Instead of engaging activities, low dopamine mornings focus on calming or mundane tasks. This approach prevents your brain from feeling a lack of dopamine when you start working.
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For instance, you can swap reading the morning news for a light chore, or replace a high-intensity workout with a leisurely walk, yoga session, or meditation.
However, the concept of low dopamine mornings is more complex than popular trends suggest. While dopamine is often dubbed the “reward chemical,” its functionality is multifaceted.
Neurotransmitters play a role in various bodily processes, including movement, attention regulation, milk production, and forming associations between activities and pleasure.
These associations are not limited to joyous experiences. Unpleasant stimuli can also trigger a dopamine release, reinforcing aversion to those activities.
Therefore, if you receive a morning dopamine rush from viewing a distressing news story, you might want to limit your phone scrolling rather than increase it.
Mornings with low dopamine often involve low-intensity exercises like walking or yoga. However, these activities can elevate dopamine levels. Conversely, exercises like running or weight training do not necessarily result in a dopamine release.
Research indicates that running on a treadmill for 30 minutes has no impact on dopamine levels in the brain.
Choosing to spend a morning without social media browsing or opting for time outdoors can still have benefits for cognitive function and overall well-being. However, the effect an activity has on dopamine does not determine its worthiness.
To enhance productivity and combat procrastination, it’s essential to assess your actions individually. If you find distractions from phone notifications or office noise, consider implementing strategies to safeguard your focus.
Shut off your phone or keep it out of sight. Use earplugs or listen to soothing sounds like rain or cafe ambiance to create a conducive work environment.
If smartphone usage concerns you, adopting some aspects of the low-dopamine morning trend, like setting rules for phone usage, could prove beneficial. By consciously scheduling phone time, you can enjoy activities guilt-free and take control of your habits.
This article responds to the question “Is there a science to achieving low-dopamine mornings?” posed by Carla Saunders via email.
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