(Participant) I have a question regarding
the use of cellphones
and how it
generates dopamine and how
is it
in some
way effects our
meditations, our ability to meditate
(Dr. Joe)Excellent question!
The question was,
to repeat it
I want to know the effects of cellphones
on our brains and how
it effects our dopamine levels
and you know
I raised three kids and you know
kids use technology!
And I was saying this when I was talking to some of you this morning
over a cup of coffee.
That, that if your children are
using cellphones for information and basically
we are information, that's all we are
and
they're accessing information
they way they do
and they're using
their cellphones in all kinds of ways for stimulation,
there should be a period of time where they were able
to set it down, just like for you.
And if you can't break your romance with your cellphone
then it owns you. Would you agree?
Because that's what keeps you connected to
networks, socially
that kind of social conciousness
is... is... is...
maintained through networks and
it feeds us, because we love tribe,
we love culture, we love connection but
it's got to be done with discernment
so what happens for people is,
if they
didn't break from it and go from a narrow focus to a broad focus
like they get out in nature, go hike
go get out on a boat I mean open your focus
and look at the sunset. You don't think that creates alpha in your brain?
Ha ha it does.
Nature does that. The resonance
the human's constance is
the exact 7.8 frequency of alpha brainwaves entraining us
to connection.
So, when they've done the research on
cellphones, video gaming, to start with,
they said to these kids:
"hey listen,
here it's how it's gonna go: you guys wanna make some money?
What do you think the kids said?
"Yeah!!! Let's make some money
Yeah"!
Is that "Ok
"We're gonna get you involved in a video game
and then we'will ring a bell
and you have five seconds to stop.
If you stop in five seconds
we'll give you a dollar and we are just going to go as long as you embody your own long way"
Do you know that none of the children,
none of them were able to stop.
That's how, that's how addictive it is.
So the research shows then
that when you begin to
blow somebody up or you shoot someone or you get a text
you know that's an important text to you
there is a release of dopamine in your brain
a pleasure chemical, reward chemical
is released
but if you're overdoing it
and you're playing a lot of video gaming
and you're blowing something up, blowing someone up or
breaking through some level, or doing something
the reward systems are being activated in your brain
and you start releasing
too much dopamine all at once.
And that burst of dopamine into the brain
is more than the receptors sites have
to handle it, you understand what I'm saying?
Come on!
So then
the over amount of dopamine is not being absorbed
by those receptors, the receptors
close down
it's too much, then they become
desensitized
it's like living with the spouse that always yells at you
the have to yell a litte louder
to get your attention, the next time you need a little bit
more now to turn it on the next time. Does that make sense?
So then the pleasure chem...the pleasure
centers start recalibrating
to a higher and higher level!
It takes more now
to turn them on.
You have to do a bigger
burst to get them stimulated.
Are you with me still? So
the pleasure centers start recalibrating to such a high
level, that now
the person
needs the game,
needs the phone,
to feel something!
To make that feeling because in the
absence of any stimulation
they experience a loss of pleasure
do you understand what I'm saying?
They become desensitized to pleasure... so
a walk with your dog
go tell a kid to go see their grandmother,
watch a sunset, just way to slow...
They're over stimulated. Are you with me still?
That's called anhedonia.
you can't find pleasure from anything
Anhedonia. Does that make sense? Now
what happens, is
this is the scary part
is that learning
should be a reward by itself
Yes or no? But if you just blew up a nation
and you'r going to school and your brain is shut
down, it can't get stimulated, by information,
there is only one way you're going to stimulate it, and that's you gotta arouse it
How do you arouse it? Get in trouble!
Act out. Do something
dumb. Get some attention. Just so you can arouse
the brain.
The child doesn't know they are doing, releasing epinephrine
norepinephrine just for an arousal but they are doing it and
when they do that they're actually shutting blood flow
further down, in the forebrain
Now, here's the problem:
when that child gets older
and they face challenging situations in their life
they're going to look for something else to make the feeling go away and
it's going to be something bigger.
You understand what I mean?
They're not gonna wanna realize that they can do it themselves. They're just going
to go to another chemical, something bigger
so then
hm
that... that... that.. dependency
that's created from technology has to be
inhibited at certain times
I just have certain things that I do now, like I
I don't take my cellphone to dinner. I very rarely take my cellphone
to dinner. I just don't, don't want to disrespect
anybody at the table. That's me. I wanna
connect. That's why I can connect any other time. I sit
at the table I wanna connect with you. You're right there!
I wish to connect with you and not with somebody else!
And now in my home
after a certain time I put my phone in my
bedroom.
Doesn't mean, if I wanna use my phone I'm gonna leave
the rest of the house and go to my
bedroom after a certain time cause I've been
making thousands of decisions every day...
I just wanna be able to disconnect from technology.
Are you with me still?
And so then if you keep
shifting your attention from one text, to another text, to another text
to another email, to another Facebook...
What are you practicing? You're actually
practicing a short attention span
and the rush, the rush of the dopamine
combined with the short attention span becomes
a very short attention span
Are you with me still? And now the person doesn't wanna learn.
They do wanna be stimulated.
So the solution of course, is
exactly what we`re doing in this work.
I joke around all the time and I draw a
picture and it says: where you place your attention is where you place your energy
outer world of physical reality
inner world of thougts and feelings
And then I draw a line
where your attention goes every day. Your cellphone, your WhatsApp
your Linkedin, your Instagram, your Facebook
your pictures that you put on Facebook, you know your
email, your
computer, your other email, your job
your co-workers, your boss, your enemies, your ex,
your husband, your wife, your kids,
your ..all there is
your face, your pain, your disease, your diet
this is where all people's attention is, now, none of those things are bad.
But there is a neurological network assigned to everyone of them.
And when you learn how to disconnect
from your cellphone,
now
you're saying that it no longer
owns you. You use it as a tool
instead of as a something that stimulates you.
How many people understand that?
So it takes practice.
I mean you have to be able to navigate in a world of technology. I mean
we have so much technology in my company now, I mean
I'm always learning, about it, and it's, you know
it's faster than me - it's a big deal.
But we cants lose our connection to the earth
we can't lose our connection to one another when we are
sitting in the presence. I mean
I don't know about you, but in the United States sometimes I
I ... I... can't believe I'm sitting in a restaurant
and there's four people sitting
at a table and all four of them are on their
phones...
nd they're having dinner together. I'm thinking
wow
that must be a really deep conversation you guys are
having over there - are you texting one another, what are you doing?
Sending each other links? I mean
Connection is so important!
and physical connection is important!
So, we have to
balance it out and you can recalibrate those pleasure centers
by finding pleasure in other things
like with what you're doing!
And there's nothing wrong with dopamine it's just you
can't overdo it, cause you know, you'll get kidnapped
you literally get kidnapped by technology.
umm, remember that, remember that
remember that book called Future Shock?
I don't know, and there was a
movie, that Orson Wells did
He was young, and it was in the seventies or something, anyway
I had to read it, when I was in college or high school or something
And the author reached out to me and said
hey, I'm doing a thing called After Shock
and I've
been familiar with your work. Are you wanting to write an essay?
And I wrote an essay about just what we talked about
And he said: " I love this! This is."..cause we're
victims to the very technology
we created. Isn't that crazy?
It is crazy, if you think about it...
So you gotta be able to use it but you gotta be able to disconnect
to it and stay in balance.