Embracing Dopamine Menus
a curated health coach-approved hack for your well-being
As a millennial, I’ve partaken in an internet trend or two. My first was probably the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” that made its way to the interwebs via Facebook in the early 2010s. The trend was supposed to build awareness around ALS and encourage donations, but as a teen, it was more of a way to force your friends into discomfort in a public forum in a (mostly) harmless way. Since then, hundreds, if not thousands, of trends have made headlines on social media. Seemingly, at least one or two per month makes it into the cultural zeitgeist. Last month, it was about being “Brat” and dancing to Charlie XCX’s Apple song, which surprisingly is about multigenerational trauma. Now my feed is filled with videos of people being “Demure and Mindful” and wellness-y girlies declaring their “Dopamine Menus.”
The latter trend is the one I’m leaning into the most. It’s wholesome and very on-brand, and my health coach self loves the idea (and execution) of sprinkling in moments of well-being throughout the day. The original creator, Payton Sartain, who is credited with this concept, describes it as "a go-to list of things you can do to feel good throughout the day so you don’t default to doom-scrolling on social media.”
Dopamine is known as the “feel good hormone” (it’s actually a neurotransmitter). While we can increase our dopamine production by doing activities that make us feel calm and happy, we also can get a ton of dopamine from using our smartphones. There’s a book on my TBR list called Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke, who’s credited for saying that smartphones are making us “dopamine addicts” and actively encourages people to take cold-turkey, phone-free digital detoxes. She argues that while our phones can keep us entertained and excited for the endless possibilities inside them, we aren’t happier because of them.
Whenever we receive a notification or a 'like,' our brain releases a burst of dopamine, reinforcing the habit and making it harder to resist picking up the phone. This constant stimulation can make it challenging to focus on tasks that don't offer instant gratification and harm us over time. Yikes!
As someone who works from home, it’s easy to get sucked into the screen of my laptop for a few hours without taking a break, which often leaves me feeling disoriented and exhausted. To find relief, I frequently swipe to my social media apps without realizing it and doom-scroll for longer than I intended. It’s a cycle that’s much too easy to fall into but very possible to get out of.
I’m not ready to throw my phone in a drawer and forget about it yet, so the “dopamine menu” approach is a bit more manageable. The menu includes various strategies, tactics, and routines I rely on to boost my mental and emotional energy throughout the day. Earlier this week, I hopped off a Zoom call and caught myself audibly sighing from mental fatigue. I craved reaching for my phone, and I did, but instead of scrolling TikTok, I put on a comedy podcast and started whipping up a recipe I saw on Instagram for my lunch, and my energy level and mood steadily started to rise.
"dopamine menus are a go-to list of things you can do to feel good throughout the day so you don’t default to doom-scrolling on social media.”
Just like a well-rounded meal provides balanced nutrition, a diverse dopamine menu ensures you're not relying on one type of activity to feel good. Some days, I’ll choose a few things from the menu; other times, I’ll select just one or two. Then there are days where I choose the convenient grab-and-go item, cave into doomscrolling, and head back to my dopamine menu items for my next meal.
There are a few different ways to create a menu to boost your dopamine. You might plan out your menu strategically with served plates as you would at a dinner party, or you might want to create a menu as extensive as the Cheesecake Factory’s with dozens of options from various cultures and cuisines, depending on your mood. Or, if you’re like me, you find a few different options from each category and combine tried-and-true favorites with new exciting additions to curate a one-of-a-kind menu.
The dopamine menu items I’ve curated below are the real deal. In the menu below, I’ve written out the commitment level of each course. In the spirit of intuitive eating, you can peruse the menu and order as much or as little as you’d like. Of course, there will be some restaurants that just aren’t your thing (for me, the vegan, that’s a Steakhouse), so if this menu isn’t speaking to you, you can always come up with your own!
A Board-Certified Health Coach’s Dopamine Menu
Starters (15 mins or less)
Doing the daily NYT Connections
Legs up the wall yoga pose
Writing a gratitude list
Snuggles with my dog
Morning sunlight
Mains (Bigger, more time commitment)
Making a new recipe from a cookbook or blog
Taking a yoga or workout class
Enjoying the sunset with loved ones
Spending time outside for a nature walk
Getting creative with a new art project
Dessert (can be done solo or while multi-tasking)
Sipping a matcha latte
Listening to a comedy podcast
Deep breathing (4-7-8 breath)
Diffusing essential oils or lighting a candle
Having a little treat
Trends may come and go, but habits are forever. Integrating more sustainable dopamine fixes that are mostly phone-free throughout the day is a health coach-approved hack for your well-being. I also made an Instagram reel about this, so check that out! 🙂
Wishing you a safe, fun, and happy Labor Day weekend!
xoxo,
Nicole
Love this Nicole! I’m happy to say I already do many of these things but now I’m going to be more mindful about it.