I have been over the shoulder reading the book my husband is currently reading, Anna Lembke's book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.

It is a fascinating, and, as you might expect, a tad disturbing in parts, piece of research by the Stamford psychiatrist who specialises in addiction medicine.

She talks about the power of dopamine (the superpower chemical released in your brain triggering rewards, motivation, memory, body movements, pleasure), and the need that can arise for the constant thrill to reward the brain. In her research, she mentions someone who became addicted to online shopping, and it was the expectation of the parcels arriving that was giving the "fix".

That made me think of lots of the memes I saw over the christmas period (you probably saw them, too?)... that if nothing arrived the joke was that the delivery driver wasn't sure that we were, in fact, ok... it had become so common in our lives.

Now, in that scenario the man was prescribed abstinence from online shopping for 30 days. The point being that it needed at least time given to change the patterns in his brain.

As a habits coach, I can translate this very much into relevance for getting our habits to stick. When we want to reduce our bad habits, and get less of those quick unnatural dopamine hits, like, say from our phones we can access 24/7 (think how many times do you check your phone absent-mindedly - actually it is on autopilot as one of those pesky habits), or think of the kids when they immediately want to play xbox etc), we need to believe it, and allow the new habits and better ways to get dopamine naturally.

Natural dopamine hits come in many forms (all free, woohoo!).

Here’s the top 7 things that can elevate your mood

1. Exercise: even a brisk walk (include some uphill) is amazing, and running is a fantastic way to feel lifted.

2. Certain foods

3. Meditation

4. Listening to music

5. Sleep (getting enough of it)

6. Sunlight (open your blinds early and let it pour over you in bed)

7. Dancing

The point is, we can make trades with our bad habits to get those good dopamine hits. Sure, getting enough sleep when you have kids is almost laughable, but there are plenty more little ways you can address, and they all start to build up.

For those of us who love research, there is more on this fascinating work by Anna Lembke, and how to get natural dopamine highs the healthy ways.

If you know you want to supercharge your healthy habits but need a little support and a push - join the So Liberating Sisterhood group today.👀🎯