Controlling Dopamine for Motivation, Focus, and Satisfaction
Estimated Read time: 14 MinutesIf you’ve ever felt the thrill of finishing a project, the anticipation of checking your phone, or the satisfaction of a great meal, you’ve felt the effects of dopamine at work. It’s one of the most talked-about, yet misunderstood, neurochemicals in the body.
Many describe dopamine as the “pleasure molecule,” but that’s only part of the story. Dopamine is less about pleasure itself and more about the drive to pursue it.
Dopamine fuels motivation, learning, and the satisfaction of goals achieved. But as with so many things, balance is key. Too much artificial stimulation, and dopamine becomes a trap rather than a blessing.
Let’s explore what dopamine is, why modern life hijacks it, how biblical and ancestral rhythms of life naturally balanced it, and how you can leverage dopamine in healthy ways for drive, focus, and gratification.
What Dopamine Is and What It Does
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical messenger in the brain. You can think of it as a spark that keeps you moving toward rewards and goals.
Dopamine helps to:
Motivate you to take action
Reinforce habits, whether good or bad
Contribute to learning and memory
Improve focus and productivity
Assist in emotional regulation (when in balance)
For example, when you exercise and finish a workout, dopamine is released, which feels good. This reinforces the behavior, so you’re more likely to do it again. The same can be said for when you put in the effort to prepare a nourishing meal and then enjoy it with others, or when you try playing a few chords on the guitar or solve a tricky puzzle.
In both situations, dopamine is released, leading to the joy of both creativity and connection. Your brain also rewards you with dopamine when you make progress, encouraging you to keep striving and growing.
The thing is, the same mechanism is triggered by a sugar rush, social media notifications, or addictive substances. In other words, the same brain circuitry that motivates us to pursue healthy, life-giving activities can also be hijacked by quick-fix rewards, making it difficult to distinguish between what truly nourishes us and what ultimately drains us.
In the book Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, MD, explains, “We’re all now vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. Almost every behavior has become drugified.”
Why Dopamine Is Both Good and Bad
Dopamine is essential, as you can see, and has many uplifting effects. It’s how God designed us to pursue food, purpose, and connection.
But when dopamine is constantly triggered in quick, artificial ways, the brain’s reward pathways dull. The result is that you need more stimulation just to feel normal. Sounds a lot like how addiction works, right? That's because dopamine is involved in addiction—whether to substances like alcohol and drugs or behaviors like gambling, pornography, social media, or binge eating.
Over time, repeated overstimulation reshapes the brain’s reward system. Instead of experiencing healthy motivation and contentment from natural sources (like prayer, meaningful work, or exercise), the brain becomes wired to crave the “easy” hits.
Neuroscientists call this downregulation of dopamine receptors: the more artificial spikes you chase, the less sensitive your brain becomes, leaving you restless, unfocused, and unsatisfied.
This is why so many people feel stuck in a cycle of chasing the next high, such as getting likes on Instagram, eating a sweet treat, or having a late-night scroll session. Yet these never feel truly fulfilling.
Modern life can easily fuel a dopamine imbalance. For example:
Social media provides endless “validation” and novelty
Pornography and video games overstimulate the reward system
Ultra-processed, highly palatable foods (loaded with sugar, refined carbs, salt, and fats) hijack dopamine more strongly than natural foods
The same brain pathway that helps us find food also gets us into trouble in a world of abundance.
This is very different from ancestral and biblical times. Back then, dopamine was triggered by things like hunting, farming, worship, family meals, community connection, and learning from Scripture. All of these activities took effort, cooperation, and time.
Tools for Healthy Dopamine Balance
Dopamine balance relies on creating the right environment for your brain and body, rather than on willpower. When your nervous system is overstimulated, dopamine runs wild, leaving you scattered and restless. But when you intentionally bring your body and habits back into balance, dopamine begins working for you instead of against you.
With a few simple tools, such as those below, you can restore harmony and give your brain the reset it craves.
1. Balance Your Nervous System
Our ancestors lived in rhythms that naturally balanced their nervous systems: working with their hands, resting at nightfall, praying often, and spending time outdoors. Today, constant stressors and screens tip us into “fight or flight” mode, which throws dopamine out of alignment.
Your parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) and sympathetic (“fight or flight”) systems must work in sync for you to function and feel well. Too much sympathetic activation leaves you restless and wired, while too little leaves you drained and unmotivated.
How to stay in balance:
Prayer and meditating on the Bible activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to fight the effects of stress.
Breathwork (especially slow, nasal breathing) can make you calmer almost instantly and more resilient.
Grounding outdoors helps regulate cortisol, and it's a great way to relax and "see the picture big" when you're anxious.
While we often talk about downshifting into parasympathetic mode, your sympathetic nervous system (the “get up and go” side) is also involved in healthy dopamine signaling. The key is learning how to tap into it intentionally instead of living stuck in overdrive. Try:
Exercise (especially intervals): Short bursts of higher-intensity movement (like sprints, kettlebell swings, or push-ups to fatigue) give a controlled “stress dose” that activates your sympathetic system. This can sharpen focus, boost dopamine, and leave you energized rather than depleted.
Breathwork (fast or stimulating patterns): While slow nasal breathing calms you, practices like Wim Hof-style breathing or short, sharp inhales (breath of fire) can safely spark sympathetic activity and boost dopamine.
Cold exposure: Brief cold showers, ice baths, and cold plunging can stimulate the sympathetic response, releasing norepinephrine and increasing alertness. Cold exposure has been shown in studies to elevate dopamine significantly for hours afterward.
Morning sunlight: Natural light in your eyes early in the day signals wakefulness, increases cortisol in a healthy rhythm, and helps set the balance between sympathetic “go time” during the day and parasympathetic “rest” at night.
2. Limit Dopamine Hijackers (aka Your Vices)
Dr. Daniel Amen, a leading brain expert, warns that anything that repeatedly overstimulates dopamine receptors risks damaging them.
Research shows that overuse of digital media is directly linked with depression and anxiety in both teens and adults. For example, a 2023 study published in Annals of Medicine and Surgery states that social media overuse significantly predicts poor sleep, reduced focus, and higher stress.
Social media was found to have "a negative impact on self-esteem through unhealthy comparisons" and often led to "burnout, lack of emotional regulation, and development of social anxiety due to decreased real-life social interactions." Overall, researchers concluded that "the dramatic shift toward online social life, and the desire to get social attention, is expected to take a gruesome toll on the population’s mental health."
Social media provides constant novelty, which trains the brain to crave endless stimulation. Pornography is another vice that studies link to dopamine desensitization and impaired motivation.
Video games are yet another popular and highly stimulating habit activity that causes dopamine spikes greater than eating or exercise, making real life feel “boring” in comparison.
How to fight back:
Set screen-free times for yourself, especially in the morning and evenings, right before bed. Replace digital highs with real-life rewards, especially socializing in person, volunteering, and pursuing more meaningful goals.
3. Care for Your Gut-Brain Axis
Here’s something surprising: the majority of dopamine is made in your gut. Roughly 50% of dopamine and up to 95% of serotonin are produced in the gut, and these neurotransmitters travel along the vagus nerve to communicate with the brain.
Gut health directly impacts your motivation, mood, and focus. When your gut is inflamed or imbalanced, dopamine production suffers, leaving you more prone to anxiety, depression, and poor focus.
How to cater to your gut:
Research shows that probiotics (such as AB22 SBO Probiotics, which I recommend) can help improve markers of brain health by influencing gut bacteria that regulate neurotransmitters.
Follow a gut-friendly diet, since this provides the raw materials your brain needs to produce neurochemicals. Prioritize whole foods like grass-fed meat, pastured eggs, wild-caught fish, vegetables, olive oil, herbs, and berries. Include plenty of fiber as well as fermented foods, like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut.
To the best of your ability, avoid ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks, since these disrupt the microbiome and inflame the gut-brain connection, not to mention that they're addictive in many ways. Limit or stay away from alcohol together, since it's ultimately a net negative for your overall health.
4. Natural Positive Dopamine Sources
Instead of chasing short bursts, seek dopamine sources that also build resilience and health.
For example, purposeful challenges—such as learning a new skill, speaking in public, or tackling a tough workout—are types of "good stressors" that activate your sympathetic system in
A way that builds resilience rather than breaking you down. As Dr. Lembke writes, “The secret to finding balance is not to avoid pain at all costs but to pursue it in moderation. Through pain, we can find pleasure.”
Healthy ways to release dopamine:
Exercise: A brisk walk, resistance training, or sprinting naturally boosts dopamine
Novelty & learning: Try a new recipe, hobby, or language. Dr. Amen’s imaging studies show active learning strengthens neural pathways
Purposeful work: Completing meaningful tasks fuels dopamine in a healthy rhythm
Social connection: Fellowship, family meals, and acts of service all boost dopamine and oxytocin together
5. Herbs and Essential Oils
God’s pharmacy provides powerful tools for balancing dopamine and protecting brain health. Certain herbs and essential oils work as natural modulators of stress and focus, keeping your brain chemistry in healthier rhythms.
Ashwagandha and rhodiola, two types of adaptogens, can help the body adapt to stress. Ashwagandha, especially the clinically studied form KSM-66, has been shown in multiple trials to lower cortisol and stabilize dopamine levels, improving resilience, mood, and sleep.
Rhodiola rosea, on the other hand, has been found in studies to reduce mental fatigue, balance dopamine and serotonin pathways, and support motivation. Together, they buffer your brain against overstimulation and stress-related dopamine crashes.
Essential oils like rosemary and peppermint also have powerful effects. Smell is the most direct sense linked to the brain, and certain aromas can sharpen focus and clarity almost instantly.
Rosemary essential oil has been shown in controlled studies to enhance memory, alertness, and reaction time by supporting acetylcholine and dopamine activity. Peppermint oil can increase alertness and reduce perceived fatigue, making it a natural pick-me-up without overstimulating your system.
How to fight back:
Consider supplementing with Ashwagandha (KSM-66, ~600 mg/day) for stress resilience and dopamine balance
Use rhodiola in the morning (200–400 mg) to support focus and energy
Diffuse rosemary essential oil when working or studying to sharpen memory and concentration
Inhale peppermint oil before exercise, during long drives, or in mid-afternoon slumps to stay alert and motivated
Final Thoughts: Redeeming Dopamine
Dopamine is not your enemy. It’s God’s gift, designed to push you toward good things. But in a world overflowing with cheap highs, you must choose wisely.
Think of your nervous system like a seesaw:
Too much sympathetic = wired, anxious, burnt out
Too much parasympathetic = sluggish, low-drive, unmotivated
Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist at Stanford, notes, “The key isn’t eliminating dopamine, it’s learning to control it. Pursue effort, not just rewards.”
Replace scrolling with Scripture
Stop watching porn immediately
Nourish your gut to nourish your brain
Train your nervous system to rest
Seek novelty, effort, and learning that strengthen rather than weaken your brain
References:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10129173/
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/31/1090009509/addiction-how-to-break-the-cycle-and-find-balance
https://www.wimhofmethod.com/breathing-exercises
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20240053
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcY9cO38TuI
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6469458/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10912297/
https://www.addiction-ssa.org/features/book-excerpt/dopamine-and-the-pleasure-pain-balance/
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Ashwagandha-HealthProfessional/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9228580/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8851910/