The Neurochemistry of Cold: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin

The brain still runs an ancient program — earn the reward, then rest. Cold water, forest walks, and short phone fasts restore the chemistry the screen has pulled out of balance.

A podcast conversation between Gary Brecka and neuroscientist TJ Power maps the four chemicals that shape motivation, mood, and connection — and the simple levers (cold, nature, stillness, phone fasting) that bring them back into balance.

The four chemicals behind how you feel

Four chemicals shape how you feel each day: dopamine drives motivation, oxytocin builds connection, serotonin steadies mood, endorphins deliver relief. Together they form what neuroscientist TJ Power calls the DOSE framework — the chemistry of a life that feels alive.

Dopamine sits at the center of the story. It is the oldest engine in the human brain, the spark behind every fire built and every shelter raised. Our ancestors earned it by chasing meat across the savanna, by sharpening a spear, by making something that did not exist the day before. That slow climb toward a reward shaped focus and built resilience. Dopamine was never meant to arrive in a single tap.

The modern world has flipped that design on its head. The reward is everywhere; the pursuit is gone. Notifications fire the same circuits a hunt once did, only faster and without the work. The result is a chemistry pulled out of equilibrium — and a body that feels it.

This is not a moral failing. It is a neurochemical mismatch between the world we live in and the brain we walk around with. The brain still runs the program our ancestors wrote — earn the reward, sleep, repeat. The screen has rewritten the contract, and the body has not yet caught up.

I believe our senses were probably a lot more acute back then.

You can read the imbalance in the language of modern complaint. Low mood, restless anxiety, the compulsive thumb that opens an app before the mind has even asked for it, the fatigue that sleep does not undo. These are not separate problems. They are signs of the same system asking to be brought back to baseline.

Power's work is built around that return. Each neurotransmitter has a baseline, a natural level the body settles into when life is in alignment. Pull it too high through artificial reward and the floor drops; pull it too low through chronic stress and the lights dim. The protocol is not to chase a peak — it is to restore the floor.

What is at stake is not a small thing. Motivation, mood, connection, calm — these are the textures of a good day, and they are written in chemistry first. When the chemistry is honest, the day is honest. When the chemistry is borrowed from a screen or a glass, the day borrows back.

The four chemicals are not separate currencies — they move together. A morning that lifts dopamine through movement also lifts serotonin through sunlight and oxytocin through a brief conversation along the way. The whole day inherits the result: sharper focus, steadier mood, a clearer sense of presence. The protocol is rarely about one lever. It is about how the levers pull together.

That is the work. Not the chase of a new peak but the quiet, daily calibration of a body asking, in chemistry, to live well — with steady focus, real presence, and the calm that follows when the system is honest.

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Dopamine has been one of the most Dopamine has been one of the most Dopamine has been one of the most important desires throughout our whole important desires throughout our whole important desires throughout our whole human evolution. As a man and woman in a human evolution. As a man and woman in a human evolution. As a man and woman in a tribe, you would have got your dopamine tribe, you would have got your dopamine tribe, you would have got your dopamine from making the fires, chasing down the from making the fires, chasing down the from making the fires, chasing down the meat, and that was such a pivotal thing meat, and that was such a pivotal thing meat, and that was such a pivotal thing that we needed. that we needed. that we needed. >> The absence of dopamine is the presence >> The absence of dopamine is the presence >> The absence of dopamine is the presence of addiction. And when dopamine was of addiction. And when dopamine was of addiction. And when dopamine was absent, they were driven to dopamine absent, they were driven to dopamine absent, they were driven to dopamine

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are going to love this guy's mission. are going to love this guy's mission. So, welcome to the podcast, TJ. So, welcome to the podcast, TJ. So, welcome to the podcast, TJ. >> Thanks for having me, Gary. >> Thanks for having me, Gary. >> Thanks for having me, Gary. >> Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you. You >> Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you. You >> Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you. You know, um, first of all, I love the fact know, um, first of all, I love the fact know, um, first of all, I love the fact that you have an English accent and your that you have an English accent and your that you have an English accent and your wife has an Australian accent. Um, so wife has an Australian accent. Um, so wife has an Australian accent. Um, so like your kids are going to have the like your kids are going to have the like your kids are going to have the blend of like the best accent ever. blend of like the best accent ever. blend of like the best accent ever. >> Yeah, I'm kind of wanting it to lean >> Yeah, I'm kind of wanting it to lean >> Yeah, I'm kind of wanting it to lean towards Australian. I almost think the

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used to have a saying in the mortality used to have a saying in the mortality space, space, space, >> the absence of dopamine is the presence >> the absence of dopamine is the presence >> the absence of dopamine is the presence of addiction. And okay, people got very of addiction. And okay, people got very of addiction. And okay, people got very um addicted. There was a lot of research um addicted. There was a lot of research um addicted. There was a lot of research centered around how you know when centered around how you know when centered around how you know when dopamine was absent or people had dopamine was absent or people had dopamine was absent or people had difficulty methylating this difficulty methylating this difficulty methylating this neurotransmitter dopamine, they were neurotransmitter dopamine, they were neurotransmitter dopamine, they were driven to dopamine seeking behavior. driven to dopamine seeking behavior. driven to dopamine seeking behavior. >> Yeah.

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pretty like a daredevil type kid. And pretty like a daredevil type kid. And when I became like a teenager and when I became like a teenager and when I became like a teenager and discovered like cigarettes and alcohol discovered like cigarettes and alcohol discovered like cigarettes and alcohol and partying and pornography, and partying and pornography, and partying and pornography, >> I just got like lost in that world. That >> I just got like lost in that world. That >> I just got like lost in that world. That world to me was just like really fun, world to me was just like really fun, world to me was just like really fun, really exciting. It felt like cool to me really exciting. It felt like cool to me really exciting. It felt like cool to me to go down that dopamine path. to go down that dopamine path. to go down that dopamine path. >> At about 22, >> At about 22, >> At about 22, >> I'd been studying in psychology and >> I'd been studying in psychology and >> I'd been studying in psychology and neuroscience to become lecturing in this

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Because you know in a world where we Because you know in a world where we were exposed to nature. We were really were exposed to nature. We were really were exposed to nature. We were really exposed to sunlight. We we spent a lot exposed to sunlight. We we spent a lot exposed to sunlight. We we spent a lot more time connected with other human more time connected with other human more time connected with other human beings. Yeah. beings. Yeah. beings. Yeah. >> Um I believe our senses were probably a >> Um I believe our senses were probably a >> Um I believe our senses were probably a lot more acute back then. Yeah. and now lot more acute back then. Yeah. and now lot more acute back then. Yeah. and now connection. You know, I talk about this connection. You know, I talk about this connection. You know, I talk about this a lot with the with the blue zones. When a lot with the with the blue zones. When a lot with the with the blue zones. When you look at the big data on blue zones, you look at the big data on blue zones, you look at the big data on blue zones, um no continuity between diets.

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evenings? No. Like dopamine. Like I'm evenings? No. Like dopamine. Like I'm super into like, super into like, super into like, >> dude, I'm already mortified. This is >> dude, I'm already mortified. This is >> dude, I'm already mortified. This is horrible. I watch like a lot of YouTube. horrible. I watch like a lot of YouTube. horrible. I watch like a lot of YouTube. Like I like that world. The evening Like I like that world. The evening Like I like that world. The evening comes and it's like okay so you finish comes and it's like okay so you finish comes and it's like okay so you finish work for the day and it's like what am I work for the day and it's like what am I work for the day and it's like what am I going to do for the next like four hours going to do for the next like four hours going to do for the next like four hours or so until I like go to sleep. And in or so until I like go to sleep. And in or so until I like go to sleep. And in that time that time that time >> we started obviously walking for longer

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determined by the depth of your determined by the depth of your relationships. relationships. relationships. >> Cool. >> Cool. >> Cool. >> And and when we say terms like depth of >> And and when we say terms like depth of >> And and when we say terms like depth of your relationships, you know, what does your relationships, you know, what does your relationships, you know, what does that really mean to you? Is that how that really mean to you? Is that how that really mean to you? Is that how neurochemically we are connected? that neurochemically we are connected? that neurochemically we are connected? that we're actually that we're actually we're actually that we're actually we're actually that we're actually getting a reward like oxytocin reward or getting a reward like oxytocin reward or getting a reward like oxytocin reward or a serotonin uplift or dopamine hit from a serotonin uplift or dopamine hit from a serotonin uplift or dopamine hit from our relationships and and why is society

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had this last year, we were getting had this last year, we were getting pretty into reading Twitter last year, pretty into reading Twitter last year, pretty into reading Twitter last year, last summer. For some reason, like we last summer. For some reason, like we last summer. For some reason, like we got really hooked into Twitter. We'd get got really hooked into Twitter. We'd get got really hooked into Twitter. We'd get into bed and we were reading it on the into bed and we were reading it on the into bed and we were reading it on the iPad and like for a while like it was iPad and like for a while like it was iPad and like for a while like it was nice that we were like finding different nice that we were like finding different nice that we were like finding different like stories that were taking place last like stories that were taking place last like stories that were taking place last summer quite like fascinating to follow. summer quite like fascinating to follow. summer quite like fascinating to follow. We were enjoying that journey, but then We were enjoying that journey, but then We were enjoying that journey, but then it reached a point where I was like

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know, dopamine, which I I often refer to know, dopamine, which I I often refer to as the main driver of behavior. Yeah. uh as the main driver of behavior. Yeah. uh as the main driver of behavior. Yeah. uh versus serotonin which is a main driver versus serotonin which is a main driver versus serotonin which is a main driver of mood. of mood. of mood. >> Imbalances in these different >> Imbalances in these different >> Imbalances in these different neurotransmitters are linked to all neurotransmitters are linked to all neurotransmitters are linked to all kinds of psychiatric definitions, mood kinds of psychiatric definitions, mood kinds of psychiatric definitions, mood disorders, mental illnesses. I hate disorders, mental illnesses. I hate disorders, mental illnesses. I hate these categorical terms because we don't these categorical terms because we don't these categorical terms because we don't ever talk about the fact that you have ever talk about the fact that you have ever talk about the fact that you have an imbalance in these neurotransmitters

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to 20 minute climb to experience like a to 20 minute climb to experience like a nice feeling of reward. And dopamine is nice feeling of reward. And dopamine is nice feeling of reward. And dopamine is designed to slowly elevate over time. designed to slowly elevate over time. designed to slowly elevate over time. We've got this beautiful area of our We've got this beautiful area of our We've got this beautiful area of our brain called the vententral tegmental brain called the vententral tegmental brain called the vententral tegmental area, the VTA. This is like the dopamine area, the VTA. This is like the dopamine area, the VTA. This is like the dopamine factory where we're generating this factory where we're generating this factory where we're generating this dopamine. dopamine. dopamine. >> Then we have this area called the >> Then we have this area called the >> Then we have this area called the nucleus encumbent, our reward center. nucleus encumbent, our reward center. nucleus encumbent, our reward center. >> And in that scenario where you're going

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what's in Cupid's arrow. You know, I've what's in Cupid's arrow. You know, I've just heard that very, you know, just heard that very, you know, just heard that very, you know, reference. I don't know what's in his reference. I don't know what's in his reference. I don't know what's in his arrow, but they say it's they call it arrow, but they say it's they call it arrow, but they say it's they call it the love hormone. And um and that's what the love hormone. And um and that's what the love hormone. And um and that's what Cupid, you know, shoots it with. Cupid, you know, shoots it with. Cupid, you know, shoots it with. >> Um but, you know, I know it's involved >> Um but, you know, I know it's involved >> Um but, you know, I know it's involved in the psychosmatic response. it's in the psychosmatic response. it's in the psychosmatic response. it's involved in, you know, arousal, libido, involved in, you know, arousal, libido, involved in, you know, arousal, libido, um, you know, all of the, uh, um, you know, all of the, uh, um, you know, all of the, uh, >> the sort of hell yeah, I won the lottery

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back in with the family and until they back in with the family and until they pass and they really honor their elders. pass and they really honor their elders. pass and they really honor their elders. Like the the elderly are held in very Like the the elderly are held in very Like the the elderly are held in very high esteem. They're looked as you know high esteem. They're looked as you know high esteem. They're looked as you know looked at as having wisdom and something looked at as having wisdom and something looked at as having wisdom and something to be honored and gratified. And I think to be honored and gratified. And I think to be honored and gratified. And I think you know very often now when you know you know very often now when you know you know very often now when you know our our loved ones age to the point our our loved ones age to the point our our loved ones age to the point where we find them no longer relevant or where we find them no longer relevant or where we find them no longer relevant or no longer useful and it creates no longer useful and it creates no longer useful and it creates distance. You know that has to that must

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better fires, better spears, better better fires, better spears, better buildings like shelters that they could buildings like shelters that they could buildings like shelters that they could survive in. And that was programmed into survive in. And that was programmed into survive in. And that was programmed into us by nature so that we would evolve. us by nature so that we would evolve. us by nature so that we would evolve. And now we live in this crazy world And now we live in this crazy world And now we live in this crazy world because of that incessant need for because of that incessant need for because of that incessant need for progress driven by dopamine. But it progress driven by dopamine. But it progress driven by dopamine. But it would never feel like enough. only what would never feel like enough. only what would never feel like enough. only what would feel like enough to them is lying would feel like enough to them is lying would feel like enough to them is lying by the campfire and like giving love to by the campfire and like giving love to by the campfire and like giving love to people. And that's like why like our

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as a couple, where we are as parents, um as a couple, where we are as parents, um where we are in our careers. And I where we are in our careers. And I where we are in our careers. And I couldn't think of a thing that I wanted couldn't think of a thing that I wanted couldn't think of a thing that I wanted other than to be present in that moment. other than to be present in that moment. other than to be present in that moment. And And And that happened so rarely for me in the that happened so rarely for me in the that happened so rarely for me in the first 45 years of my life. first 45 years of my life. first 45 years of my life. >> Wow. >> Wow. >> Wow. >> I always delayed my happiness. I was >> I always delayed my happiness. I was >> I always delayed my happiness. I was like, as soon as this happens, that's like, as soon as this happens, that's like, as soon as this happens, that's gonna be amazing. I'm, you know, as soon

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should do that gratitude thing. people I should do that gratitude thing. people I still think people continue to not still think people continue to not still think people continue to not really immerse themselves in it, not really immerse themselves in it, not really immerse themselves in it, not like frequently discuss it with their like frequently discuss it with their like frequently discuss it with their partners, not spend time like deep in partners, not spend time like deep in partners, not spend time like deep in these maybe like breath work states in these maybe like breath work states in these maybe like breath work states in the silence like in those breath holds the silence like in those breath holds the silence like in those breath holds you sometimes can get like a real you sometimes can get like a real you sometimes can get like a real powerful emotion come through to you. powerful emotion come through to you. powerful emotion come through to you. And I think the interesting thing you And I think the interesting thing you And I think the interesting thing you see with all this like anxiety we have

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our physio neurochemistry, we realize, our physio neurochemistry, we realize, wow, there's actually an increased uh wow, there's actually an increased uh wow, there's actually an increased uh rate of suicidal ideiation and and rate of suicidal ideiation and and rate of suicidal ideiation and and crushing depression. But when we talk crushing depression. But when we talk crushing depression. But when we talk about serotonin, how what bucket do you about serotonin, how what bucket do you about serotonin, how what bucket do you put serotonin in? Its influence on mood put serotonin in? Its influence on mood put serotonin in? Its influence on mood and emotional state. Where does and emotional state. Where does and emotional state. Where does serotonin fit in? You know, I'm all serotonin fit in? You know, I'm all serotonin fit in? You know, I'm all about optimizing performance and lately about optimizing performance and lately about optimizing performance and lately I've been using the ion weighted vest I've been using the ion weighted vest I've been using the ion weighted vest during my workouts and it's been a

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>> Yeah. One of the scientists I love in >> Yeah. One of the scientists I love in Japan, I wrote a lot about in the book, Japan, I wrote a lot about in the book, Japan, I wrote a lot about in the book, is Dr. Key Lang, and he's done a lot of is Dr. Key Lang, and he's done a lot of is Dr. Key Lang, and he's done a lot of research into nature. And research into nature. And research into nature. And >> Japan has had significant challenges >> Japan has had significant challenges >> Japan has had significant challenges with mental health in the cities. They with mental health in the cities. They with mental health in the cities. They actually termed this uh specific word actually termed this uh specific word actually termed this uh specific word karashi, which meant like kind of burnt karashi, which meant like kind of burnt karashi, which meant like kind of burnt out, overwork, too much time on out, overwork, too much time on out, overwork, too much time on technology, an individual that began to technology, an individual that began to technology, an individual that began to suffer quite significantly with their

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were getting prescribed sort of four or were getting prescribed sort of four or five hours a week to like really five hours a week to like really five hours a week to like really transform mental health and I know New transform mental health and I know New transform mental health and I know New Zealand has also adopted this now with Zealand has also adopted this now with Zealand has also adopted this now with these green prescriptions where they're these green prescriptions where they're these green prescriptions where they're having a similar treatment protocol for having a similar treatment protocol for having a similar treatment protocol for mental health. Fantastic for individuals mental health. Fantastic for individuals mental health. Fantastic for individuals that are struggling with many of the that are struggling with many of the that are struggling with many of the things that you would utilize like things that you would utilize like things that you would utilize like serotonin based medications to that serotonin based medications to that serotonin based medications to that could also accompany it like they could

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words. I would wake up in the morning. words. I would wake up in the morning. Um I would have coffee. I would put on a Um I would have coffee. I would put on a Um I would have coffee. I would put on a a rock sack, like a little weighted a rock sack, like a little weighted a rock sack, like a little weighted >> ion vest, and I would just go for this >> ion vest, and I would just go for this >> ion vest, and I would just go for this three, three and a half mile walk in the three, three and a half mile walk in the three, three and a half mile walk in the woods, woods, woods, >> okay? >> okay? >> okay? >> And I would come back and sometimes I >> And I would come back and sometimes I >> And I would come back and sometimes I would post about I would go, I feel would post about I would go, I feel would post about I would go, I feel amazing, and like I don't want to throw amazing, and like I don't want to throw amazing, and like I don't want to throw myself under the bus cuz I advocate all

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>> and there's this funny little place we >> and there's this funny little place we call the phone booth, which is where call the phone booth, which is where call the phone booth, which is where it's an intersection of four dirt roads. it's an intersection of four dirt roads. it's an intersection of four dirt roads. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Yeah. Okay. >> And it just happens to be where they >> And it just happens to be where they >> And it just happens to be where they cross. If you stand right there where cross. If you stand right there where cross. If you stand right there where they cross, you actually have can get they cross, you actually have can get they cross, you actually have can get cell signal. cell signal. cell signal. >> It must like be where the tower comes. >> It must like be where the tower comes. >> It must like be where the tower comes. So we you actually drive up there and So we you actually drive up there and So we you actually drive up there and you can be on the phone in this one

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now. I feel the best I've ever felt, you now. I feel the best I've ever felt, you know? know? know? >> And I'm sure our ancestors got back from >> And I'm sure our ancestors got back from >> And I'm sure our ancestors got back from their walks, jumped in the river. Like their walks, jumped in the river. Like their walks, jumped in the river. Like you're just living. you're just living. you're just living. >> They probably did. They probably were >> They probably did. They probably were >> They probably did. They probably were goldplunging for, you know, 600 years goldplunging for, you know, 600 years goldplunging for, you know, 600 years and just I think I'm the one that and just I think I'm the one that and just I think I'm the one that invented it. invented it. invented it. Um but uh so talk a little bit about Um but uh so talk a little bit about Um but uh so talk a little bit about enderfin's role in this whole dose

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the sofa like that might be our like the sofa like that might be our like stress coping and I did that like for a stress coping and I did that like for a stress coping and I did that like for a decade like drunk my glass of red wine decade like drunk my glass of red wine decade like drunk my glass of red wine and like tried to kind of and like tried to kind of and like tried to kind of >> get rid of my stress using those tools >> get rid of my stress using those tools >> get rid of my stress using those tools >> but evolutionarily stress literally >> but evolutionarily stress literally >> but evolutionarily stress literally needs to be physically released from us needs to be physically released from us needs to be physically released from us because that's how our brain evolved because that's how our brain evolved because that's how our brain evolved >> and if you can start having a framework >> and if you can start having a framework >> and if you can start having a framework where where where >> you think [ __ ] like I've had a stressful

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you're here wouldn't it be great if it was a good time >> seems pretty simple yeah seems like a >> seems pretty simple yeah seems like a >> seems pretty simple yeah seems like a great idea great idea great idea >> seems important and I think for a lot of >> seems important and I think for a lot of >> seems important and I think for a lot of people it's not a a great time. I think people it's not a a great time. I think people it's not a a great time. I think it's very stressful. I think they're it's very stressful. I think they're it's very stressful. I think they're very addicted to things. They're very addicted to things. They're very addicted to things. They're shackled to their phone and sugar and shackled to their phone and sugar and shackled to their phone and sugar and booze and I think they're struggling booze and I think they're struggling booze and I think they're struggling with their mood, their mental health, with their mood, their mental health, with their mood, their mental health, depression. And I that pains my heart.

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>> I thought it was really interesting. You >> I thought it was really interesting. You had scales for different uh um had scales for different uh um had scales for different uh um >> neurotransmitters and then you actually >> neurotransmitters and then you actually >> neurotransmitters and then you actually had solutions for how to return these had solutions for how to return these had solutions for how to return these baselines to normal and and and baselines to normal and and and baselines to normal and and and some of them were force bathing. Um some of them were force bathing. Um some of them were force bathing. Um that's one of them very cold water makes that's one of them very cold water makes that's one of them very cold water makes it cold water deep breathing does. it cold water deep breathing does. it cold water deep breathing does. >> Um so is the idea to first make people >> Um so is the idea to first make people >> Um so is the idea to first make people aware of what these neurotransmitters do aware of what these neurotransmitters do aware of what these neurotransmitters do in the body?

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their flow state in their social media their flow state in their social media feed because it's actually quite feed because it's actually quite feed because it's actually quite interesting because as humans now, interesting because as humans now, interesting because as humans now, >> we've actually got into this almost like >> we've actually got into this almost like >> we've actually got into this almost like sedentary passive state where rather sedentary passive state where rather sedentary passive state where rather than doing the thing we're really good than doing the thing we're really good than doing the thing we're really good at, we're watching someone else do it at, we're watching someone else do it at, we're watching someone else do it for us on our social media feed. And if for us on our social media feed. And if for us on our social media feed. And if you think like what is my thing like you think like what is my thing like you think like what is my thing like what what would be my flow state? If you what what would be my flow state? If you what what would be my flow state? If you look at your social media feed, there'll

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create changes in that motivation and create changes in that motivation and that attention fast if you live in that attention fast if you live in that attention fast if you live in alignment to what your dopamine desires. alignment to what your dopamine desires. alignment to what your dopamine desires. >> When it comes to snacking, Masa is >> When it comes to snacking, Masa is >> When it comes to snacking, Masa is flipping the script on what real food flipping the script on what real food flipping the script on what real food should look like. Masa chips are crafted should look like. Masa chips are crafted should look like. Masa chips are crafted with grass-fed beef tallow, one of the with grass-fed beef tallow, one of the with grass-fed beef tallow, one of the healthiest fats on the planet. These healthiest fats on the planet. These healthiest fats on the planet. These chips are packed with essential vitamins chips are packed with essential vitamins chips are packed with essential vitamins like vitamin A, D, E, and vitamin K2. like vitamin A, D, E, and vitamin K2. like vitamin A, D, E, and vitamin K2. All of which play a role in keeping your

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we would all sit down at the table and we would all sit down at the table and that was like our hour or 90 minutes and that was like our hour or 90 minutes and that was like our hour or 90 minutes and parents would ask me all kinds of parents would ask me all kinds of parents would ask me all kinds of questions. I felt very connected to them questions. I felt very connected to them questions. I felt very connected to them during that time. I desperately try to during that time. I desperately try to during that time. I desperately try to do that with even with my adult children do that with even with my adult children do that with even with my adult children now. Um, you know, we try to once a week now. Um, you know, we try to once a week now. Um, you know, we try to once a week get the whole family together and you get the whole family together and you get the whole family together and you know, they when when they leave the know, they when when they leave the know, they when when they leave the house and I'm going to bed that night, I house and I'm going to bed that night, I house and I'm going to bed that night, I just feel this deep sense of

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going through this exercise of the dose going through this exercise of the dose effect effect effect >> um what is the end end result that most >> um what is the end end result that most >> um what is the end end result that most of the folks clients that are coming to of the folks clients that are coming to of the folks clients that are coming to see you what drives them to see you see you what drives them to see you see you what drives them to see you what's the result that they're seeking? what's the result that they're seeking? what's the result that they're seeking? >> Yeah to to share some of those points >> Yeah to to share some of those points >> Yeah to to share some of those points there. One of the points when we're there. One of the points when we're there. One of the points when we're talking about these young people and talking about these young people and talking about these young people and their mental health Scandinavian their mental health Scandinavian their mental health Scandinavian countries seem to be doing a lot better

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fasting. I think it's really integral and we can have these longer fasts from and we can have these longer fasts from and we can have these longer fasts from the phone and that's cool when it the phone and that's cool when it the phone and that's cool when it happens but we also need like a happens but we also need like a happens but we also need like a consistent regime that's happening day consistent regime that's happening day consistent regime that's happening day in day out on our phone fasting as the in day out on our phone fasting as the in day out on our phone fasting as the intermittent fasting has offered for the intermittent fasting has offered for the intermittent fasting has offered for the food fasting world food fasting world food fasting world >> and we will effectively get them to >> and we will effectively get them to >> and we will effectively get them to embed this idea of how do I reach a embed this idea of how do I reach a embed this idea of how do I reach a point where I can go for 30 minutes when point where I can go for 30 minutes when

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a little bit of WhatsApp, a little bit a little bit of WhatsApp, a little bit of Instagram, quick check, bit of email, of Instagram, quick check, bit of email, of Instagram, quick check, bit of email, just a peek. I'm just going to peek and just a peek. I'm just going to peek and just a peek. I'm just going to peek and >> doesn't matter. It's only I promise I'm >> doesn't matter. It's only I promise I'm >> doesn't matter. It's only I promise I'm going to put it down. going to put it down. going to put it down. >> It's only a few minutes. Yeah. >> It's only a few minutes. Yeah. >> It's only a few minutes. Yeah. >> Your brain is then primed as like, "All >> Your brain is then primed as like, "All >> Your brain is then primed as like, "All right, this is my source. This is where right, this is my source. This is where right, this is my source. This is where I'll get my dopamine from the day. I'll get my dopamine from the day. I'll get my dopamine from the day. What's the point in the pursuit of What's the point in the pursuit of What's the point in the pursuit of anything else?" And then all day you

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the afternoon you might notice this like the afternoon you might notice this like sudden plummet in how you feel sudden plummet in how you feel sudden plummet in how you feel >> a few hours later as the alcohol >> a few hours later as the alcohol >> a few hours later as the alcohol detoxifies through your body and the dop detoxifies through your body and the dop detoxifies through your body and the dop dopamine baseline crashes, then your dopamine baseline crashes, then your dopamine baseline crashes, then your body starts going, well, the only way body starts going, well, the only way body starts going, well, the only way back up is the alcohol. And we've got back up is the alcohol. And we've got back up is the alcohol. And we've got that exact scenario taking place with that exact scenario taking place with that exact scenario taking place with the phone all day, every day for all of the phone all day, every day for all of the phone all day, every day for all of us where we're plummeting it and then we us where we're plummeting it and then we us where we're plummeting it and then we just live in this wave of addiction.

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something when you're doing tasks, when something when you're doing tasks, when you're working, when you're scrolling you're working, when you're scrolling you're working, when you're scrolling your phone. For us right now, like our your phone. For us right now, like our your phone. For us right now, like our executive network will be active. It's a executive network will be active. It's a executive network will be active. It's a specific collection of areas within the specific collection of areas within the specific collection of areas within the brain that enable you to focus on brain that enable you to focus on brain that enable you to focus on something. A very useful machine. something. A very useful machine. something. A very useful machine. >> We then have the default mode network >> We then have the default mode network >> We then have the default mode network which is very different. It will which is very different. It will which is very different. It will activate when we're bored, when we're activate when we're bored, when we're activate when we're bored, when we're daydreaming, when we're in deep states

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>> do nothing for 10 minutes? Like low stem >> do nothing for 10 minutes? Like low stem is where you're going to find the answer is where you're going to find the answer is where you're going to find the answer to getting to your towards your dreams. to getting to your towards your dreams. to getting to your towards your dreams. And we need that. And we need that. And we need that. >> Yeah. Yeah. I've heard you talk about >> Yeah. Yeah. I've heard you talk about >> Yeah. Yeah. I've heard you talk about that and it makes so much sense. that and it makes so much sense. that and it makes so much sense. >> TJ, you're amazing. Amaz amazing, man. I >> TJ, you're amazing. Amaz amazing, man. I >> TJ, you're amazing. Amaz amazing, man. I mean, this is this is this is awesome. I mean, this is this is this is awesome. I mean, this is this is this is awesome. I think this is a conversation the world think this is a conversation the world think this is a conversation the world really needs to hear. Where can my really needs to hear. Where can my really needs to hear. Where can my audience um find out more about you,

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really powerful legacy if you did that. really powerful legacy if you did that. That would be fun. That would be fun. That would be fun. >> Yeah. What a great conversation about >> Yeah. What a great conversation about >> Yeah. What a great conversation about connection, man. I'm so thankful that connection, man. I'm so thankful that connection, man. I'm so thankful that you came on the podcast today. I hope my you came on the podcast today. I hope my you came on the podcast today. I hope my audience looks you up. We're going to audience looks you up. We're going to audience looks you up. We're going to continue to follow your work. I hope I continue to follow your work. I hope I continue to follow your work. I hope I can have you back again in the future to can have you back again in the future to can have you back again in the future to check in and see how this is going as check in and see how this is going as check in and see how this is going as you get more and more data. I think this you get more and more data. I think this you get more and more data. I think this is going to be more and more

Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.

How modern life hijacks dopamine

For a generation, the easiest paths to dopamine have been the most damaging ones. Cigarettes, alcohol, late-night partying, pornography — each hits the same circuit, fast and cheap. They feel like fun because they are doing exactly what the chemistry rewards: a spike, a surge, a borrowed sense of energy and focus. The cost is invisible until it isn't.

The phone has become the most efficient version of that path. The peek-and-scroll loop primes the brain to expect every reward from a single source. Open the app, get the hit, close it, open it again — within weeks the mind has learned where its dopamine lives. The pursuit that once built focus narrows to a screen. Every other source of energy begins to feel slow by comparison.

You can see it in your own day. The first thing your hand reaches for when you wake. The way the phone slips into your palm during any unfilled second. The reluctance to set it down, even when nothing on it is calling for you. That reluctance is not weakness; it is the chemistry doing exactly what it was trained to do.

The parallel to alcohol is exact. A drink in the afternoon lifts the dopamine baseline, and a few hours later, as the body clears the alcohol, the baseline crashes below where it started. Mood dips, focus blurs, and the only way back up is the next drink. The loop is the architecture of dependence — and the same loop now plays out with a phone in nearly every pocket.

A little bit of WhatsApp, a little bit of Instagram, quick check, bit of email, just a peek.

Watch the day unfold and the pattern becomes obvious. A meeting ends — the phone comes out. A line at the coffee shop — the phone comes out. A pause at a red light, in the elevator, between two thoughts — the phone comes out. The brain has been trained to refuse stillness, and stillness, in turn, becomes a thing the body has to relearn.

Dopamine was never designed for this. It was built to elevate slowly across a pursuit — the long climb of a hunt, the patient making of a tool, the work that ends in something the tribe can use. The reward is meant to ride alongside the effort, not arrive ahead of it. When the chemistry is decoupled from pursuit, focus dims and the sense of presence the work used to bring quietly disappears. The hit lands; the meaning does not.

This is the part people miss. The phone is not a small habit. It is a chemical loop with the same shape as alcohol, sugar, and every other substance the body learns to depend on. Naming it that way is not an exaggeration. It is the frame that explains how hard it is to stop — and how much focus returns when you finally do.

The absence of dopamine is the presence of addiction. That single line explains why the phone, the drink, the scroll are so hard to put down. The body is asking to be brought back to a baseline it has forgotten how to reach on its own — back toward steady mood, real focus, and a clarity that does not depend on the next hit.

Cold, nature, and the reset

There is a simpler chemistry available, and the body remembers it. Cold water is one of its clearest entry points. Step into water cold enough to make the breath catch, and within seconds the system releases a flood of dopamine that holds for hours. Deep, deliberate breathing does the same work from the inside — a parasympathetic shift that lifts mood and steadies the nervous system. The lever is small; the effect is not.

Nature is the other entry point, and the research on it is no longer soft. Japan named its modern malaise — karoshi, the burnout of working oneself empty — and prescribed forest bathing as the answer. Four to five hours a week beneath a canopy of trees became a clinical tool, measurable in mood and stress markers. New Zealand followed with green prescriptions: a doctor's note for time outdoors. The protocol is ancient; the framing is new.

A morning protocol can be that simple: a coffee, a weighted vest, a three-mile walk through the woods. By the time you return, the day has already turned in your favor. Mood has lifted, focus has sharpened, and the body has done its work before the inbox has asked for anything.

That difference is not subtle once you feel it. A walk in trees does something to the nervous system that a walk on pavement does not. The light is different, the air carries something the cells respond to, and the mind opens out of its usual narrow attention into a wider, slower clarity. People who try it consistently begin to plan their lives around it. The body votes with how it feels when you come home.

You feel it most in what changes. The mornings that used to start with reaching for the phone start with stepping outside. The first hour of the day no longer belongs to other people's noise. Mood that used to take an hour to find shows up before the door closes behind you.

The reason this works is older than any of us. Stress, in the design we evolved with, was meant to be physically released — through running, through climbing, through the body meeting the world and finding calm on the other side. The modern impulse is the opposite. We come home stressed, fall onto the sofa, pour a glass of red, and ask the body to numb what it was built to discharge. A decade of that and the system forgets any other way to recovery.

The ancestors did not need a protocol; they lived inside one. They walked for hours, returned to the river, and stepped in. They did not watch someone else step in on a feed. They did the thing. The chemistry that follows that order — movement, then cold, then stillness — is the chemistry the body still recognizes as home.

That is what the cold plunge and the morning walk are reaching toward. Not novelty. Not biohacking. The return to a life the body was built for, where stress is discharged through movement, where the senses are met by real light and real air, where recovery is the closing chapter of the day rather than a missing one.

Phone fasting and the practice of connection

Connection runs on a different chemical altogether. Oxytocin is built through the depth of the relationships you keep — through trust, through touch, through the quiet steadiness of belonging. The data from the blue zones, the communities where people consistently live past a hundred, points in one direction. It is not the diet, not the climate. It is the closeness of the people around the table, and the calm that closeness gives the body day after day.

In those places, the family meal is not nostalgia. It is the architecture of a long life. Two or three generations sit down together, talk, ask questions, hold space for the day. Elders are kept close, honored as a source of wisdom rather than placed at a distance. The body reads that closeness as safety, and mood and resilience settle in around it.

The modern home rarely holds that geometry anymore. The table has been replaced by the screen, the conversation by the scroll. What used to be the daily ritual of being known by the people you love has narrowed to a few quick texts and a feed full of strangers. The oxytocin gap that follows is real, and the body reads it as a slow erosion of mood and calm.

The opposite of connection is the opposite of food. If the body needs a fast from sugar, the mind needs a fast from the phone. Short, daily gaps in attention do more than rare digital detoxes. Thirty minutes without the device, repeated every day, begins to retrain the brain about where its rewards live. Phone fasting is to attention what intermittent fasting is to the body — a small, consistent protocol that brings focus and clarity back to baseline.

The brain learns quickly which direction we choose. A week of small, daily fasts from the phone, and the urge to reach for it begins to soften. A month, and the reach itself starts to disappear. The mind remembers what it used to do with an unfilled minute.

Two networks inside the brain compete for your day. The executive network switches on when you focus — when you work, scroll, or push through a task. The default mode network switches on when you do not. Boredom, daydreaming, the long quiet of a walk without input — these are not wasted moments. They are where the deeper answers — and the stillness underneath them — arrive.

Living in alignment with what dopamine actually wants is the protocol. Pursuit, not endless reward. Connection, not constant input. Presence, not the next peek at the screen.

The chemistry follows the life. Build a day the body recognizes — cold, nature, real conversation, the quiet between things — and motivation, mood, and clarity arrive on their own.

I feel the best I've ever felt.

None of this requires a different life — it requires a different order to the one you already have. The cold before the coffee, the walk before the inbox, the meal before the phone. Done daily, that order is how focus, calm, and presence return.