Neuroscientist TJ Powers spent three weeks beating his phone addiction (Image: Olivia Spencer)
Neuroscientist says he realised that his addiction to phones meant he was not the person he was meant to be – so set about trying to beat his reliance on the technology.
He said: “My life changed beyond recognition after I discovered the risks phones pose to our mental health, and spent three months breaking my own ridiculous addiction. I started feeling way more peaceful and calm, my creativity and motivation for the day ahead rose.
“I was a very nervous, anxious, unconfident human. When I was deep in this research, I realised that wasn’t who I was as a person. My brain chemistry was out of balance. When I started rebalancing these chemicals, my work, focus, productivity and confidence radically changed. And anyone can have the same experience.
“Low mood, lethargy and anxiety are common complaints in today’s busy world. But hacking fundamental brain and body chemicals could help boost your mood and wellbeing. I call it , an approach to elevate our natural levels of , oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins.
“DOSE is built on the evolutionary mismatch hypothesis. We humans spent 300,000 years running around outside as hunter-gatherers, developing these four chemicals so we could survive and thrive in that environment. But, in the last 30 years, we have become sedentary humans reliant on digital technology.
“This massive change in lifestyle is throwing these chemicals out of balance. We aren’t going to feel good when we over-engage with our phone or have too much sugar, so we need to realign our behaviour. Here’s how to make it work for you:
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DOPAMINE
“Dopamine evolved in our brain to make the feeling of doing hard tasks feel good. When we had to spend hours hunting for food, we needed a chemical that created a rewarding sensation.
“Today, we access an elevated level of dopamine very quickly with alcohol, sugar, or social media. But it’s an unnatural, rapid increase which then causes a rapid decline, and low dopamine is causing the mental health difficulties we see across the world today.
“The phone and mass social media addiction are at the core of it. Studies show that 94% of people open their phone within a minute of waking, and this depletes dopamine. Before we start work, we check social media, which depletes the chemical further.
“If you work for a bit, then click on Instagram, then WhatsApp, then email, your brain is constantly moving around to different things and that spikes the dopamine. It’s all about how quickly it entertains you and makes you feel good.
“It now feels boring if you’re not hyper-stimulated. But we can’t always be hyper-stimulated because our brains can’t cope with it. They rebound into a low state to try to redress the balance, so we experience low moods and depression.
How to boost your dopamine:
“Do phone fasting: Don’t check your phone for 30 minutes after waking. Dopamine builds when our brains get into “flow state” with a deep state of concentration on one task.
“Focus for 30 minutes to an hour, and earn time on social media instead of giving it to yourself all the time. An exhausted parent might come home and, if their kid is upset, put an iPad in front of them and suddenly they’re silent. But you’re creating a downstream problem later in life.
“The likelihood of them struggling with attentional difficulties, mood disorders and mental health challenges is massively increased.
“It’s not so bad if they’re playing a challenging, complicated game or watching a long-form video without over-stimulating colours. But reducing it altogether would be great. No human brain should be able to access the dopamine we’re accessing but especially not a young brain.
“We humans cannot resist picking up our phones if they’re physically close to us. At work, don’t leave the phone on your desk for easy access. In the evening, leave it in another room while you cook, watch TV or socialise. If I’m cooking, I’ll use an iPad for Spotify or YouTube to watch long-form content that’s not over-stimulating.
“Watch TV: Levels of dopamine stimulation from watching TV are much lower than from scrolling TikTok. Most people now can’t watch TV without their phone because they find TV boring and that’s because our brain, like a drug addict, builds tolerance to the drug.
“Put a movie on with your family and chuck your phones in another room. Go for walks without your phone, go to the coffee shop without it. Exercise also builds dopamine because of the sense of accomplishment. Domestic tasks such as washing dishes, emptying bins, making beds, and washing clothes are good for raising dopamine too.
“This chemical drives us to build friendships, family relationships and romantic relationships. Any form of physical touch stimulates oxytocin like crazy, whether that’s romantic, hugging or high-fiving your friends.
“The second-biggest stimulator of oxytocin is doing something nice for someone else. Evolutionarily, that was so important. If we were selfish, we would never survive as a species because humans can’t live on their own in the wild. As a group, we had the ability to survive, and developed this deep desire to contribute to a group.
How to boost your oxytocin
“When you are connecting with someone, make sure your phone isn’t disrupting the connection. Eye contact is significant so in-person connection is much better than virtual connection.
“Active listening means paying attention, listening and asking questions, rather than mentally formulating what you’ll say next.
“Eating and drinking with others creates an extra level of presence. Or go for a coffee with someone and agree that you’ll leave your phones in your bags.
“Phone addiction isn’t just impacting young people. I see couples in their 50s, 60s and 70s sitting in coffee shops, both on their phones. And kids are on iPads. You think it won’t do any harm, but it’s how that’s layering over time. It’s all reducing how connected humans feel to one another.
“So if you eat together or go for drinks together, think of them as phone-free moments where you bond, because that’s super powerful. The more we prioritise our local community, our friendships or our families, the more oxytocin we create.
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“Some 90% of serotonin is generated in the gut. It has the biggest impact on our mental health, mood and emotions. This chemical evolved to make sure we took care of our body, getting out in nature and getting fresh air, sunlight and vitamin D. We ate nutritious food, we napped on the grass. But in our modern world, we don’t spend much time in nature, we don’t eat as well and we sleep less.
How to boost your serotonin
“You can quickly experience benefits from subtle tweaks. Walking phone-free first thing in the morning in nature and sunlight is phenomenal for serotonin.
“Come home and eat nutritious food. Our serotonin system wants single-ingredient food – fruit, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables – instead of ultra-processed food which really disrupts the chemical.
“When it’s dark outside, you won’t build serotonin. But a mid-morning walk or a lunchtime walk, even if it’s five or 10 minutes, is unbelievably important for the brain. You need about five minutes outside when it’s a sunny day to stimulate the chemical and about 15 when it’s cloudy.
“Serotonin levels are impacted by stress and overthinking is plaguing our modern world. When someone overthinks, their thoughts are rapid and often negative, the heart is increasing in speed, blood pressure is rising, and cortisol, our stress hormone, is released.
“Small breaths in, then a big exhalation, like a sigh, will rapidly slow the heart, reducing cortisol and blood pressure. Research shows that quickly slows your thinking.
“Endorphins help you to navigate stress and improve your physical health. They have a calming, de-stressing effect on our brain.
How to boost your endorphins
“Exercise is very good for endorphins. Walking is phenomenal, with so many benefits. Build up to 10,000 steps each day. Running is good, too. Cycling, swimming or lifting weights are all incredible. The more you physically exert the body, the more endorphins will be released.
“Yoga is amazing. A one-minute morning stretch where you reach to the ceiling, touch your toes, then twist your spine from side to side will activate your endorphins. It oxygenates the blood and calms the body. Stretching before bed will help you sleep too.
“Baths are sublime. When we get in a bath, our body experiences a heat stress response and any physical activation of the body releases endorphins.
“Singing is also insanely good for your endorphins so sing as often as possible. I sing for 15-20 minutes a day. Dancing is amazing, too. Watching comedy is also good because laughter gets the endorphin system pumping through.”
■ by TJ Power is out now (HarperCollins, £20)