How to Increase Motivation & Drive | Huberman Lab Podcast #12

Rather than giving us pleasure itself, as is commonly thought, dopamine motivates us to do things we think will bring pleasure. As the brain’s major reward and pleasure neurotransmitter, it’s what drives us to seek pizza when we’re hungry and sex when we’re aroused. Scientists use dopamine to measure “the addictive potential of any experience,” wri... See more

Dopamine plays a lot of roles in the brain. If you kill off the cells that produce dopamine, the animal is not motivated to go out and do things. It’ll still enjoy something — like the sucrose solution you squeeze directly into its mouth — because the pleasure systems are fine. But they won’t pursue it. If you perform an action and you get more dop... See more

Dopamine isn't just about pleasure, according to Dr. Andrew Huberman. It's about motivation, cravings, and the pursuit of things outside of our immediate experience or possession. In order to maximize dopamine production, the following tools can be used: sunlight, caffeine, tyrosine, mucuna pruriens, L-tyrosine, phenylethylamine, cold exposure, and... See more