AMA #4: Maintain Motivation, Improve REM Sleep, Set Goals, Manage Anxiety & More

We really want to control our output of dopamine and the baseline levels of dopamine from which that output is taken. In other words, we want to think about dopamine as a reservoir ... That reservoir can be depleted... but it's renewable as well.

Figure out how many hours a day you can do real work consistently. That means 5 days a week; for some people, 6 or 7 ... Figure that out, and know that that number is what you should apply over and over and over again, but update that number about every 4 or 5 years.

This is why I'm such a fan of using NSDR, AKA Yoga Nidra, at least once a day and especially under times when you're engaging in a lot of high output ... This is a mistake many people make: They push, push, push, push, push—they're in pursuit of a goal; then they hit that point where they're exhausted. Then they start doing all the dopamine reserve pool-replenishing tools, such as Yoga Nidra or NSDR. The real key is to always tap off or refill that reservoir once a day before it's completely depleted.

There are now data showing that as short as 10 minutes of a non-sleep deep rest, AKA Yoga Nidra, protocol leads to dramatic, really dramatic increases, in striatal dopamine reserves.

Often times, what people will do when they start feeling less motivation is they will start relying on things like Adderall, Ritalin, in some cases illegal substances that can increase dopamine ... They are extremely dangerous; they really are because of their ability to potently release dopamine, and guess what? Deplete that reservoir even further.

If dopamine levels are too low, people simply will not put in the effort to obtain or reach a goal. If dopamine levels are adequately high, they will put in that effort.

The second science-supported tool that's really been shown to replenish dopamine—in particular, dopamine within the pathways that regulate motivation—is a practice I've talked about before on the podcast called non-sleep deep rest, sometimes called Yoga Nidra...