How can you truly relax your brain? Modern relaxation methods often involve scrolling through phones or eating sugary foods, but these actions can actually make the brain more fatigued. A doctor has identified six major "fake pleasure behaviors" that create a vicious cycle, leading to decreased motivation and low mood. He also proposes nine "dopamine-releasing" practices to help genuinely relax the brain and find peace and happiness.
Neurologist Dr. Zheng Chun-yu recently shared on his personal Facebook page about deceptive behaviors that hinder brain relaxation. The key to relaxing the brain lies with the brain hormone "dopamine," which primarily controls the balance between pleasure and pain.
The following six highly addictive "fake pleasure" behaviors can trigger a massive release of dopamine in a short time, leading to an overdraft. This results in deeper feelings of emptiness and a dependence on stimulation.
When engaging in these addictive behaviors, the brain secretes "fast-acting dopamine," producing an "intense high." However, the normal brain and body constantly seek balance. When dopamine levels spike, the brain works to restore balance by rapidly lowering dopamine levels, sometimes even below the original baseline. Zheng explains, using playing on the phone as an example: the fast-acting dopamine keeps the pleasure going for several tens of minutes. When you put the phone down, the brain's dopamine levels plummet, leading to a lingering sense of emptiness.
This dramatic "peak and crash" in dopamine exhausts the dopamine system, triggering the following vicious cycle: momentary pleasure → intensified emptiness → seek more stimulation → feel even emptier. Over time, this can negatively impact the body.
To address dopamine imbalance, Zheng believes it's crucial to learn to manage dopamine, replacing "fast-acting dopamine" with "slowly and steadily released dopamine." He shares nine methods to truly relax the brain and allow for healthy dopamine release.
Zheng emphasizes that while these 9 "healthy dopamine release" behaviors may not produce intense highs, they allow the brain's dopamine to be maintained for longer and more steadily. This leads to genuine brain relaxation and achieves true, lasting happiness and peace.
The World Health Organization indicates that a person who cannot control their engagement in digital games, prioritizes gaming over life activities, other interests, and daily routines, and continues or escalates gaming despite negative consequences, may be diagnosed with gaming disorder. This applies if the problem has caused significant impairment in personal, family, social, or other areas and has persisted for at least one year. It is recommended to seek consultation for diagnosis and treatment.
Symptoms of gaming addiction include:
With the increasing functionality of smartphones, their extensive use for work, entertainment, and socializing has made smartphone addiction increasingly common in recent years. A psychiatric specialist previously noted in an interview that if such patients are temporarily separated from their phones, they may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as:
