It is not an alarm or coffee that gets you awake in the morning, it’s your neural chemistry. Behind every action is a message from your brain.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger sending signals between nerve cells in the brain. Dopamine helps function reward and motivation, movement, attention and mood. This affects a student’s decision making, risk-taking and overall behavior throughout the day.
Students utilize this tool throughout the day without even realizing it. Even small, everyday movements require the use of dopamine, making this an essential tool for working students.
“When you understand how dopamine works, you can make choices that help you take control of your energy and your mood,” health science teacher Heather Crumpton said. “Instead of relying on constant scrolling or caffeine to feel good, you start building habits that support your brain. It’s like giving yourself a cheat code for getting stuff done, feeling better and staying on track.”
A way students can boost their dopamine levels is an adequate diet. Gravitate more towards lean proteins, dairy and nuts; foods that are focused with tyrosine, an amino acid that plays a crucial role in neurotransmitters and their ability to work.
Balancing your diet with these and eating regular meals prevents a sudden swing in hormones and regulates your appetite.
This improves the ability to concentrate, problem solve and raise glucose levels which results in increased energy. In addition to dietary choices, some lifestyle practices tend to influence your dopamine levels.
Naturally boosting your dopamine levels can also contribute to higher academic achievement. One way you can increase your dopamine is through meditation and exercise.
Moving your body, even for half an hour, has proven to improve dopamine levels. You do not need to climb a mountain or run a marathon to experience the benefits of exercise.
Engaging in activities, such as meditation and yoga, can effectively increase dopamine levels, even though there is no emotional rush like activities that require more movement. These calm your mind and help you stay focused, especially when things feel overwhelming.
Taking 20-30 minutes before or after school each day, even if it’s just to go for a walk, can improve productivity. If you live close enough to school, try walking instead of driving.
“It’s important to remember that you control your dopamine,” Crumpton said. “Not your phone, not your grades, not how productive you were today. You can build it in ways that help you.”
Naturally raise your dopamine by setting small, realistic goals for yourself to complete throughout the day. This could be getting a specific amount of sleep, setting aside time to participate in something you enjoy or trying something you’ve never tried.
As you finish each task, you tend to experience a hit of dopamine, causing you to have more motivation to pursue the task.
For example, if you are working on a big project for class you can set one goal for information gathering, one for putting everything together and another for the presentation format of the project. Completing each task not only gives you a sense of accomplishment which pushes you to continue, but can also help ease the stress of facing an extensive grade.
“If you’ve ever been in my office, you will probably see to-do lists and reminders posted,” Crumpton said. “When I am able to complete even the small tasks and goals, I feel more accomplished and ready to do the next one.”
People with lower dopamine levels might find it hard to feel excited about everyday activities, leading to them becoming lazy. Dopamine is important as it increases our ability to focus, improves working memory and serves as a powerful drive of academic achievement.
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