Dopamine And Novelty Seeking (You Need To Know This)

Curious about the connection between dopamine and novelty seeking?

Today’s video is going to be short and sweet.

We are going to take a look at a couple of interesting things that you didn’t know about dopamine.

Scandinavian Bob here, hi.

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#1 Your brain remembers dopamine spikes relative to your baseline

Yes, that’s right.

Let’s say you are currently humming along with a dopamine baseline right here *see video*.

Well, let’s say you do something that you do something that you perceive as better than expected, you get a dopamine spike like this.

Let’s say that you try a new donat at the cafe that you think is nothing spectacular, but then it turns out to be the best donat you have ever eaten in your entire life. 

A dopamine spike tells your brain it needs to remember what happened extra well...

Now, you get a pretty big spike in dopamine like this, and that spike is then signaling your brain that, hey, this place and this situation is important so you need to remember this.

Ok, so that’s pretty interesting, but here comes something important...

Remember how I told you that you need to be a bit careful with escaping into low value dopamine activities when you’re feeling down?

Here’s the thing...

If you’re feeling low, then your baseline level of dopamine is a bit lower than normal right then. And if you then escape into let’s say having 3 beers, then yes, you’re going to get a dopamine spike.

Well, here’s the deal; since your base line was lower than normal, that relative spike is now going to be bigger, than if you went for those beers when you were feeling better. Like you can see on the graph.

Be careful with instant dopamine when you're feeling down...

And remember, your brain is going to remember those big spikes in dopamine as something important.

Meaning, you have to be a bit careful with things like...

• Using alcohol
• Junk food
• Adult sites
• Gambling

...or any low value dopamine activities when you’re feeling low, simply because in here’s a bigger risk that you develop an addiction due to the fact that the relative spike in dopamine is going to be bigger in that state. 

And so your brain is going to interpret that activity in combination with your state and surrounding as something very significant.

#2 Novelty evokes dopamine release

Yes, this is why adult sites, social media and the internet itself can be so addictive because there is literally endless novelty out here. 

Think about it; how many of you would have any problems with porn addiction if there, let’s say, was only one site out there with only 10 video clips that never changed.

They would always be the same and it would never be anything new there. Well, after you’ve seen all those videos a few times you would get so bored that you wouldn’t even want to go there again. You would have no desire at all. 

This is why addiction to adult sites is not the same as a sex addiction, because it isn’t just sex that makes adult sites so addictive.

It is sex in combination with the endless novelty and that you can then, with the click of a mouse give yourself those dopamine spikes for each click you do.

It’s literally dopamine on demand, with the click of a mouse.

Alright, that’s it for today, consider subscribing for more interesting videos, and speaking of dopamine.

If you’re interested in how to optimize your levels in an easy way, then take you might want to a look at this post right here ==> AlphaViril Review,  as over there I talk about something that is very effective for both your dopamine and testosterone levels at the same time.

This is Scandinavian Bob signing out for today, keep going and stay strong.

Related posts:

• What online activities are bad for your dopamine system?
• Porn makes real life boring
• Is dopamine fasting worth it?
• This happens to the brain if you watch too much porn (brain changes)
• Porn can be damaging to your dopamine receptors
• Dopamine receptors decline with age
• NoFap and cold showers (Dopamine receptors)
• How much technology (dopamine stimulation) can your brain handle?