Dopamine Nation: How Screens Hijack Your Brain

Are you constantly fighting with your children about screen time? Do you find yourself mindlessly reaching for your phone dozens of times each day? There's a neurological explanation for these behaviors that goes beyond simple habit or addiction.

Dopamine—the brain's motivation and reward chemical—is being hijacked by our digital devices in ways that fundamentally change how our brains function. This isn't just making us distracted; it's rewiring neural pathways, especially in developing minds. As a physician witnessing the fallout in my practice daily, I'm seeing an epidemic of behavioral issues, attention problems, and emotional dysregulation directly linked to this neurochemical imbalance.

The science is alarming: studies show that social media and endless scrolling trigger dopamine surges comparable to those caused by drugs like cocaine. When 80% of teenagers spend more than three hours daily on these platforms, they're twice as likely to develop serious mental health conditions. Even more concerning, research reveals that heavy smartphone users experience actual physical changes in brain regions controlling emotional regulation and decision-making. We're not just changing behaviors—we're changing brains.

But there's hope. Understanding how dopamine actually works (it's about pursuit, not pleasure) and implementing practical strategies like "dopamine fasting" can help reset our neural sensitivity. By creating tech-free periods, embracing natural dopamine sources like exercise and human connection, and establishing firm boundaries for our children, we can reclaim our attention and protect developing minds.

Whether you're a concerned parent or someone who's noticed your own focus deteriorating, this episode offers concrete strategies to break the cycle of digital dependency and foster healthier brain chemistry for yourself and your family. Listen now to discover how you can recognize the warning signs of dopamine overload and implement a realistic digital detox plan that works for modern life. What small change could you make today to start resetting your brain's reward system?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Today we're diving into a silent epidemic dopamine
overload caused by screens,social media and constant
stimulation.
It's affecting your kids andyou.
We'll explore what dopamineactually is, how tech is
rewiring the brain and what wecan do to take back control.
Thanks for joining into Livinga Full Life Podcast.

(00:25):
I'm Dr Enrico Dolcecori.
Just like every other week,we're here helping you and your
families live healthier lives.
Dopamine is, I think, the newendemic in our entire population
.
As far as us, our kids and theyoungsters, they are all getting
dopamine unnecessarily and Ithink it's something we need to

(00:46):
understand.
Let's go from the science.
You know that's what I am as adoctor.
I want to make sure weunderstand the science first and
getting into this andunderstanding what dopamine,
serotonin and all these thingsare.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter.
It's a brain chemical thatplays a major role in motivation
, reward and pleasure.
It's released when we do thingslike eat, laugh, exercise or

(01:08):
accomplish goals.
It's not a feel-good chemicalon its own.
It's more of a wanting oranticipation signal.
It's usually misunderstood withoxytocin release, which is a
release after pleasure, butdopamine works in the pursuit of

(01:29):
pleasure and we need toremember that as we go through.
So, according to neuroscientist, dr Anna Lamke, the author of
Dopamine Nation.
Dopamine is not about feelingpleasure, but rather about
pursuing pleasure, andoverexposure to dopamine
triggers rewires our motivationsystems.
Keep that in mind for theentire podcast and what this is

(01:51):
doing to our children and toyourself.
But you're a lost cause.
You're old and frail.
You're falling apart, but yourkids we're still taking care of
them, right?
Social media and screen time useor overuse can unnaturally
cause high spikes in dopamine.
Likes, notifications, scrollingthey all equal hits of dopamine

(02:16):
and this can be done hundreds,if not thousands, of times per
day.
You really have to put thatinto perspective of pre-screen
and tech times.
Let's go back to the 1970s, tonow, and what that has done to
the brains of humans across allindustrialized nations.
This leads to dopaminedesensitization and I think

(02:41):
that's where we're at right nowas a society is.
We have desensitized dopaminebrains.
The brain starts requiring morestimulation for the same effect
.
Pursue, will, willingness areall being hit and require more
fuel, more dopamine, to makemore people more pursuit their

(03:01):
goals and hit more of theirwillfulness or have will to work
, play, achieve, whatever it maybe.
A 2018 study published inNeuroregulation found that
excessive screen time affectsthe dopa energetic system,
impairing impulse control andattention, especially in

(03:23):
adolescents.
A surprising stat is that teenswho spend more than three hours
a day on social media are twiceas likely to experience mental
health issues like depressionand anxiety Eight out of 10.
And students 8 out of 10 teensspend more than 3 hours a day on

(03:44):
social media.
So we are running into anendemic.
It's an epidemic, I think, butendemic for sure.
It's an endemic in our societywhere we have behavioral issues.
This is probably the number onething we run into from between
the 4 years of age to 16 yearsof age category.
Our children to teenage yearsof age category are children to
teenage years.
Is behavior Parents coming insaying, hey, we've got some

(04:07):
behavior stuff?
We heard chiropractic andneurology can help.
Neurology therapy can help withthis and really, as doctors
were battling this dopamineinflux and this dopamine society
that we're in.
So behavioral issues aretypically in this category
irritability, impatience andinability to focus.

(04:27):
If this feels like you as anadult, this could be because of
the same thing.
You got 25 tabs open on yourinternet.
You got your cell phone, yourtablet and your laptop all in
front of you.
You're just getting hit fromall different directions at all
the time and what ends uphappening is we struggle with
boredom or simple tasks becausenormal life feels dull without

(04:50):
the dopamine spikes.
So the neurological changesthat happen with this is that
the prefrontal cortex, which isthe decision-making process of
the brain and self-control area,is still developing in kids and
teens, unlike adults.
The constant dopamine surgesdisrupt healthy brain
development.

(05:10):
We need to be extra vigilantwith our children when it comes
to these screen times andespecially social media.
There is no reason our childrenneed to be on social media
whatsoever.
It's dangerous is no reason ourchildren need to be on social
media whatsoever.
It's dangerous, first off, froma social economic perspective
of having our kids' faces outinto the public like that, I

(05:31):
think as a parent it's dangerous.
So you get to control thefilter of when a profile is
created for your child and whatage they have to be for that.
I recommend the older thebetter.
And then also the brain dangersthat happen with this, with the
child using social media earlyand then starting to get the
comparison things and all thethings that happen with social

(05:52):
media.
So the dopamine is the focushere.
Research from NatureCommunications in 2016 showed
that chronic overexposure todigital stimuli alters brain
circuits in ways similar to drugaddiction, especially in young
users.
It's equivalent to drugs and weknow sugar does the same thing.
Sugar is a drug.

(06:13):
It's the same things as heroin,cocaine I mean, this is serious
.
We have to sit here and youwould never let your
nine-year-old do cocaine.
The dopamine hit that they'regetting from social media is
serious.
We have to sit here and youwould never let your
nine-year-old do cocaine.
The dopamine hit that they'regetting from social media is
equivalent, just being real.
Here, adults face the samethings.

(06:33):
We're not immune to this.
Doom scrolling, tiktok addictionand the need to check it
constantly are real issues.
Have you ever picked up yourphone to do something productive
, like make a phone call orcheck your email, but instead
you click the social mediabutton Instead, you're like how
did I end up here?
I was going to do somethingelse.
Why do we always default to thesocial media button or whatever

(06:54):
it is Instagram, facebook,tiktok, linkedin, whatever it is
why do we default on pushingthat button?
That button is pushed more thanany other app button on your
phone by tenfold.
So every time you push theemail button or make a phone
call button, your socialapplications are tapped on 10
times more, at least, than thosefunctional apps or

(07:17):
functionality of your phonewhich is to make a phone call or
to require or to receive a text.
So we have to, we have to bepragmatic about this and
understand that we are as guiltyas charged on this and these,
these habits can pass down toour kids, and I'm saying this as
a parent myself guilty ascharged.
You know, I'm on my phone infront of my children and I'm

(07:38):
setting up bad examples.
So loss of deep focus andsatisfaction with real world
tasks can happen for us asadults.
When we get into the doomscrolling, we're getting our
dopamine hits as well Increasein anxiety, sleep disturbances
and burnout.
In a 2021 study from Frontiersin Psychology, heavy smartphone

(08:00):
users showed reduced gray matterin parts of their brain related
to emotional regulation anddecision-making.
We're becoming more emotionallyintolerant and it makes us a
little bit more sad.
It makes us a little bit lessempathetic to others.
Over time, we're cultivating asociety that doesn't look good

(08:23):
in the long run as far ashuman-to-human nurturing
processes.
So what can we do about this forus and our kids?
I mean, let's get real here.
What are some things we need todo actively, starting now, to
really do this, Just like howintermittent fasting in your
diet can really help kill offbad cells in the body, lose

(08:45):
weight, decrease inflammationand all the positives that we
talked about diet exercises ordiet podcasts in the past.
Talk about dopamine fasting fora second and giving your brain
a reset.
Take a break from all digitalstimulation 24 hours or even
four to six hours daily.
A 24-hour break can be set fora Saturday or a Sunday where you

(09:06):
just do not go onto socialmedia.
That is just fantastic for yourbrain.
Or even a four to six-hourperiod during the waking hours
of the day to not go on this,maybe just skipping the morning
saying I'm not going to go onany social media until after I
eat lunch.
That could be a great thing.
Where we have these breaks ofthe dopamine hits, let the brain

(09:28):
reset its sensitivity tonatural rewards that happen.
Getting tasks done, preparing ahealthy meal, finishing an
exercise, doing some stretching,breathing, having an
intelligent conversation withsomeone else these things can
all replace social media and getnatural dopamine responses from
there.
Hugging your children All ofthese things can do that.

(09:50):
Replace artificial highs withnatural dopamine hits.
Exercise, nature, exposure.
Going for a walk, connectionwith others, hobbies like music,
art, learning, journaling,writing, reading All of these
things can give you the sameeffects.
And then set boundaries for ourchildren and ourselves.

(10:11):
Screen-free mornings, or maybebefore bed, use grayscale mode
on phones to reduce visualstimulation and make boredom
acceptable.
It fosters creativity andresilience.
If you're bored, it's good.
Do something with that boredomand make it fun.
Do something, make believe,play, play with your siblings,

(10:33):
be creative.
Go paint, go draw, go bang astick on a wall or on a tree,
whatever whatever it is.
Go do something else.
It fosters the right parts ofthe brain.
It nurtures brain development.
It increases gray matter.
It does all the positive thingsthat I think we're losing, all

(10:54):
the positive things that I thinkwe're losing.
This is a real PSA from theheart that we're treading
dangerous waters here in what'shappening and making this all
warm.
If you're a parent strugglingwith a teen that's doing all
this, most likely the socialmedia is not helping.
Good luck on you.
My prayers are with you.
With teenagers it's, it's good,it's a fight.
It's a fight because it'sbecome so culturally norm for

(11:15):
everyone to be staring at thesephones.
It's, it's trouble, but you canbe the one that makes the
change, and it takes a village.
So surround yourself withpeople who also agree with you
on this, because it creates alittle community of acceptance
that hey, we don't play on ourphones, we just don't do that.
And then you create new normsfor your children, which is
really important.

(11:36):
I highly recommend that book byDr Anna Lembke Lembke spelled
L-E-M-B-K-E.
Even if you're not a super nerdon neuroscience Dopamine Nation
Please read that book.
It's fantastic.
It's an excellent source toquote and recommend to your
friends and family about how tohelp with kids that are

(11:56):
struggling.
I think this is a veryimportant topic and it's the
most common thing is behavioralissues.
We're not broken.
We're just overloaded when itcomes to all this stuff.
When we learn how dopamineworks and reclaim our habits, we
can take back control of ourfocus, joy and well-being.

(12:18):
Try the dopamine reset challengethis week.
Do it this weekend, this week.
Get on it, do it.
Give it a try.
Subscribe to the channel, sharethis podcast with others, leave
a comment about what you do tohelp detox from this and if
you're struggling from thedopamine overload as well, reach
out to us.
Reach out an email or ask moreparticular questions, because

(12:38):
once you engage, we can divedeeper into the right questions
that are strictly and specificfor you, and then we can get
better advice rather than justthe normal podcast answers of
you know, get, rest, eat better,sleep and breathe.
We can dive in and figure outwhat it is that's causing your
stress and where the dopaminehits are affecting your overall

(12:59):
health.
But the source we talked abouttoday it's the overstimulation
from social media, the constantdopamine and scrolling and the
TikTok doom scrolls.
These videos are giving us moreand more entertainment as fast
as ever before, and our brainsjust eat it all up and don't
want to put the phones down, andthat's a natural response.
And if you're at that pointwhere you do tap those social

(13:20):
media icons more than anythingelse, you're probably in the
whole dopamine flush as well.
So we're many of us are guiltyof it.
Join the team, let's worktogether to be healthier.
Let's help these kids livehealthier and have their brain
development go.
No phones in our house yet, butour oldest is 10.
And I don't know what the ruleis.

(13:41):
I the way the more I you knowknowledge is power, the more you
learn.
It's like I don't think you'reever going to have a phone, but
that good luck.
That's a dad talking rightthere, but you're never going to
have a boyfriend either.
But you know the things thatyou say never, never, say never.
But we're just going to try andpush it as long as we possibly
can.
So we nurture that and wecreate a village for ourselves.

(14:02):
We some of you homeschool, someof you go to schools.
We pick the schools that arecongruent with this.
We put our kids in environmentsthat the teachers, the
principal, the authority thereare all on the same page, saying
absolutely no phones areallowed in this school.
Great, that's a school.
We'll listen to Things likethat.
You may have to make certainchanges like that to put them in
safer environments.
There's no reason for a fifthgrader to be scrolling on a

(14:25):
phone at all, ever.
That's not judgment, that'sadvice.
So use it as you like.
We're here for you.
Stay well, stay healthy, takecare of your beautiful kids and
have a wonderful week.