Why is it so easy for kids to spend two hours playing video games in today's world, but so hard to spend 30 minutes studying hard?
The thing is that the first lesson is effortless, the child plays on a whim, and this gives him pleasure. The second lesson requires a lot of energy and active brain activity. In other words, you need to invest in the process.
Is there a way to make a challenging activity easier, and what does dopamine detox have to do with it? Let's figure it out!
Rodent experiment
First, let's look at an interesting experiment that was conducted on rats. The animals were placed next to a special lever. If the rat pressed it, a certain amount of dopamine entered its brain — thanks to this hormone, the rodent felt pleasure. The animals liked the process so much that they pressed the lever over and over again. The rats were no longer interested in food or water; as a result, they reached a state of complete exhaustion.
In the second part of the experiment, scientists limited the supply of dopamine to the rat brain. In this situation, the rodents could not cover even the minimum distance to the water bowl. However, if they put food in their mouths, they would eat and enjoy it. This example shows the link between dopamine and motivation. Without the hormone, rats had no desire to produce anything themselves.
Thus, the less dopamine that enters the brain, the weaker our desire to do it. If, as a result of an action, we receive a tangible dopamine “reward”, we want to do it again and again.
Interestingly, the brain gives out the largest dose of dopamine when we accidentally win something (for example, a lottery).
Too much dopamine
In today's digital society, children and adults, without knowing it, overwhelm their brains with unnaturally high amounts of dopamine.
Social networks, video games, YouTube videos — all this is fun. We expect a “reward” when we constantly double-check the phone for new messages, knowing that they will definitely come. Like the rodents from the experiment, we press the lever over and over again, unable to give up the dopamine boost.
So what, after all, it doesn't seem to do much harm? It turns out that it does.
Balance in everything
The human body has a special biological system that is responsible for balance at all levels. If the balance is broken, the body adapts to get it back. For example, when it's cold outside, our body temperature drops and we start shivering to generate heat and keep warm. Conversely, if we are hot, the temperature rises and we start sweating to cool off.
The body is designed in such a way that it gradually becomes less sensitive to factors that affect it for a long time.
Thanks to this bioregulation, we stop getting much pleasure when, for example, we consume too much sweets. Thus, if you play games all day long, watch videos and social media feeds, your baseline dopamine level rises, and this becomes its new normal.
Why is this dangerous?
As a result, both children and adults are no longer interested in many things. Things that don't make dopamine go off scale, like studying, seem boring and challenging. It becomes difficult for us to motivate ourselves to do this, because the reward we will receive in the end will seem too insignificant.
How do I solve the problem? First, choose the date on the calendar when to arrange a dopamine detox for yourself and your child. It is better to do this together to set an example for the child and explain that this is not a punishment at all, but an interesting experiment.
How does dopamine detox work?
On a particular day, you should give up all so-called high-dopamine activities (i.e. activities that give you quick pleasure): using gadgets, watching TV, listening to music, eating unhealthy food and sweets.
What can I do?
You are allowed to walk in nature, meditate, reflect, keep a diary, write down ideas, read books, communicate, draw, ride a bike or skate, etc.
Why does this work?
Imagine eating at the most expensive restaurants all your life. If you are offered plain rice, you will probably say no. But if you find yourself on a deserted island, that same rice will soon seem like the most delicious food in the world!
Dopamine detox helps boring things become interesting, and receptors recover from overload.
In custody
It is not necessary to completely exclude from life the above high-dopamine activities. They can be used as a reward for hard work. In the morning, it's best to make a list of difficult tasks that will give you the opportunity to do something more exciting at the end of the day. The same should be done with the child's schedule. Explain to him that if he does all the things on his list (going to school, going to a club, doing his homework), he will be able to play his favorite game or watch a cartoon in the evening.
The key here is that you should reward yourself and your child AFTER work, not BEFORE. If you start the day with something very easy and enjoyable, i.e. increase dopamine, the motivation to do something else will simply evaporate.
How to build a reward system?
For one hour of hard work that requires focused attention, you can reward yourself with fifteen minutes of high-dopamine activity at the end of the day. So, if your working day was 8 hours, you can spend 2 hours watching a movie in the evening.
Similarly, you can calculate the reward time for a child.
If you want your child to spend time at the computer usefully, sign it up for free trial lesson to Progkids online school. Here children can get acquainted with digital technologies, learn to program and create their own projects for games, applications, websites, animated videos, etc. If a child loves Minecraft, he can combine business with pleasure — Progkids has its own platform where children can use code to modify the game as they wish. If your children want to create digital art using AI, they will also be able to implement all their ideas in classes at our school. Open the world of IT technologies to your child and take the first step towards their future.
