<p>Hey team! <br><br>I’ve recently been seeing a lot more stuff around the concept of dopamine fasting.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.<br><br>Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD">Patreon</a><br><br>Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact">Contact Page</a><br><br>Find the show note at <a href="http://www.hackingyouradhd.com/190">HackingYourADHD.com/190</a><br><br><b>This Episode's Top Tips </b></p><ol><li>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.</li><li>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.</li><li>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.</li></ol>