Dopamine Detox: The Key Benefits and Alcohol’s Role in It

Have you ever had a long week and to de-stress you decide to binge-watch your favorite show, scroll through social media to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, and chow down on your favorite takeout? It felt like the perfect way to unwind, yet the next day, you’re left feeling strangely restless and empty. This cycle of fleeting pleasure followed by dissatisfaction is all too common in our dopamine-driven world. 

Enter the concept of a dopamine detox — a practice that promises to hit the reset button on our brain’s reward system. But what about that cold can of beer or glass of wine that often accompanies these moments of leisure? Alcohol, a powerful player in the dopamine game, significantly influences our mental balance. Let’s explore the transformative benefits of a dopamine detox and why rethinking our relationship with alcohol can be a crucial step toward a more fulfilling life. 

Diving Into Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter — a chemical messenger in our brain. Known as one of the “feel-good” hormones in the brain’s reward system, it plays a major role in pleasure, motivation, and learning. Dopamine sends signals to our brain that something is pleasurable, and our brain then learns that we want more of whatever it may be that makes us feel good. 

Anything from naturally fulfilling moments such as seeing our loved ones to drugs that artificially promote dopamine release can give us a sense of pleasure. Take your morning cup of coffee, for example. If it’s something we enjoy or even if it’s just the energy boost we’re chasing, coffee releases dopamine, which signals to our brain that coffee is linked to pleasure. And before we know it, that morning cup of coffee can turn into two (or five, or the whole pot!).

Dopamine is an essential hormone that affects our mood and learning. However, in our world today, there are so many things that can give us an artificial dopamine boost and oversaturate our brain that we continue to chase these highs. Data reports show that the average time people spend on social media per day skyrocketed from 90 minutes in 2013 to 143 minutes in 2024. And this is just one example. The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics reports that 13.5% of Americans 12 and over used drugs in the last month, which is a 3.8% increase year-over-year. With the growing availability of activities and substances that provide instant gratification, the idea of a dopamine detox formed. Let’s learn more.

What Is a Dopamine Detox?

A dopamine detox is a practice developed by California psychiatrist Cameron Sepah. The practice stems from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills, which help us develop more positive behaviors. During a dopamine detox, we simply refrain from partaking in certain pleasurable stimuli for a period of time. 

The idea is that by removing unhealthy stimuli, our desire for an immediate reward decreases, and, as a result, we reduce unwanted compulsive behaviors. By rewiring our response to specific stimuli, a dopamine detox promotes finding pleasure in naturally rewarding activities that allow us to live a more fulfilling life. Sepah proposed the dopamine detox concept to target six main behavioral categories: 

• Emotional eating
• Excessive internet usage and gaming
• Gambling and shopping
• Porn and masturbation
• Thrill and novelty seeking
• Recreational drug use

He noted, however, that dopamine detox can be used for any behavior that is negatively affecting our life. 

The idea has since taken over the internet, but due to confusing or inaccuate information, we could end up using the practice in an incorrect, extreme, or even harmful way (don’t worry, we’ll get into how to do it properly in a bit). A common misconception is that a dopamine detox aims to lower dopamine levels. We may end up searching “how to lower dopamine” but in actuality, dopamine is a naturally occurring chemical in our body and essential for normal functions. Instead, a dopamine detox removes stimuli that constantly release dopamine and thus promote unhealthy behaviors. With a proper detox, we can develop healthier habits overall. Let’s better understand how it helps us live a more fulfilling life. 

Benefits of Doing a Dopamine Detox

When done correctly, a dopamine detox...

• Addresses negative behaviors. By temporarily stepping away from sources of instant gratification, we give ourselves a pause to identify and modify habits that aren’t serving our long-term well-being.
• Reduces stress. A dopamine detox gives us a break from overstimulation and chronic stress from constantly chasing dopamine hits. This helps us shift towards a more balanced lifestyle.
• Increases awareness. Engaging in a dopamine detox encourages us to evaluate our habits and identify behaviors we want to change. This heightened awareness can foster a deeper understanding of what truly brings us joy and satisfaction.
• Helps prevent dependence. Constantly exposing ourselves to dopamine-triggering activities and substances can create a dependence on them. A detox helps break this cycle, reducing the risk of developing dependence and promoting healthier ways to sustain a positive mood. 
• Improves sleep. High dopamine-releasing activities such as screen time or alcohol can disrupt our sleep patterns. When we remove these stimuli, our body’s natural rhythm can be restored.
• Promotes deeper connections. Without constant distractions, we can invest more time and energy into building and nurturing our personal relationships. 

There are many benefits of doing a dopamine detox, but it can also be harmful when not done effectively. So, what’s the right way to do a dopamine detox?

How To Reset Dopamine Levels

Another way to think of a dopamine detox is as a reset. By removing certain stimuli, our brain isn’t oversaturated with substances and activities that give us temporary feelings of pleasure. Without the extra dopamine, we can return to a level closer to baseline.

The first step in doing a dopamine detox or reset is increasing our awareness of what negative behaviors we want to change, and the triggers and emotions surrounding them. Then, we can remove the unwanted stimuli. Cameron Sepah notes that “how to dopamine detox effectively” involves starting with something that is minimally disruptive to our current lifestyle. 

For example, start with a couple of hours a day or one day out of the weekend. Take a break from scrolling endlessly on social media, mindlessly finishing a bag of chips, or pouring a couple of glasses of wine to feel more relaxed. Instead, we can spend that time reconnecting with ourselves and others. Try more relaxing activities such as meditation, taking a walk, or journaling. While we may feel bored or restless at first, we’ll slowly start to enjoy more natural ways to boost our mood, making us less interested in the allure of high dopamine-triggering substances and activities, such as alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, let’s take a closer look at the connection between alcohol and dopamine.

How Does Alcohol Affect Dopamine?

Alcohol temporarily increases dopamine release, which explains the feelings of euphoria and pleasure that are often associated with drinking. After we drink, our dopamine levels drop down, leading to the depressant effects of alcohol such as low mood, lethargy, and lack of motivation (welcome to the hangover). Since our brain naturally seeks things that are pleasurable, we may get cravings to drink and continue to drink despite the adverse effects we feel. 

Not only does alcohol cause our dopamine levels to fluctuate, but over time, our brain adapts to the high levels of dopamine that drinking can cause, and, as a result, we naturally produce less dopamine. This means that we’ll need to drink more and more alcohol to reach the same dopamine hit or level of pleasure we’re seeking. Excessive drinking decreases the natural production of dopamine, but how does it affect dopamine receptors?

Does Alcohol Kill Dopamine Receptors?

Dopamine receptors are sites that bind with dopamine. Dopamine then initiates the signaling responsible for activating certain areas of the brain responsible for pleasure. Think of dopamine as a plug and dopamine receptors as the socket. When the two connect, that’s when we get power, or in this case, when our brain receives the signal that something is pleasurable. 

Alcohol doesn’t kill dopamine receptors, but it does impact the expression of certain receptors, which has essentiallythe same effect. There are five types of dopamine receptors — D1–D5 — which have different functions and are found in different areas of the brain. Research shows that reductions in D2 receptors have been reported in those with alcohol use disorder. Similarly, a study using rats that underwent chronic intermittent ethanol exposure found disruptions specifically in D2 and D4 receptors. D2 and D4 receptors are associated with attention, sleep memory, locomotion, and impulse control. 

So, alcohol not only decreases the production of dopamine, but it also affects our ability to sense pleasure from other activities since our dopamine receptors aren’t working properly. To learn more, check out “Relationship Between Anhedonic Depression and Alcohol.” 

Now that we know how alcohol impacts our dopamine receptors, we might be wondering how to repair receptors to hopefully reverse the disruption. Searching for solutions on the internet can have us running in circles, but don’t panic! The answer is fairly simple. By avoiding alcohol, which is the substance responsible for throwing dopamine and its receptors out of whack, our body naturally restores its own balance of neurotransmitters and receptors! We’ll give our brain even more love and fuel to rebalance itself if we engaging in natural dopamine-boosting activities like these:

• Exercise
• Time in nature
• Meditation
• Exposure to sunlight
• Listening to music

There are certainly more activities out there that naturally boost dopamine, but these are a good place to start!

Can You Drink While Doing a Dopamine Reset?

As we’ve learned, alcohol directly affects dopamine. So, choosing to do a dopamine detox without also eliminating alcohol defeats the purpose. In fact, thiis can make our drinking habits even more serious due to transfer addictions. 

Transfer addiction involves replacing one compulsive behavior or addiction with another. Let’s say we struggle with excessive spending and heavy drinking. We decide to do a dopamine detox and tackle our impulsive shopping habits. Our brain may be looking for that dopamine surge from shopping, but with alcohol still an option, we end up relying on drinking for that dopamine boost — further strengthening the link between alcohol and pleasure.

Avoiding alcohol during a dopamine reset helps us reap the full benefits of the practice. Skipping the drink not only prevents disruption of dopamine levels, but it also supports other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which is responsible for feelings of happiness.

Dopamine Fasting for Alcohol Dependence 

Dopamine fasting can help prevent alcohol dependence as it's essentially a tool and motivation to avoid alcohol. By pressing pause on alcohol, we can increase our awareness of our drinking habits and triggers. Let’s say we decide to commit to doing an alcohol detox on the weekends. After doing this, we notice that stress, boredom, and maybe socializing with certain friends make us crave alcohol. By identifying triggers for our drinking and developing strategies to avoid or overcome them, we can reduce the risk of alcohol dependence. 

While a dopamine detox can be beneficial, its effects don’t last forever. Once we go back to drinking, we may find ourselves back where we started, and later on we may need another dopamine detox. Instead, we can focus on improving a negative relationship with alcohol through mindful drinking. This approach can be more sustainable than doing dopamine detoxes because we are tackling our drinking habits diirectly..

With a Clear Mind

Dopamine detox, also known as an “intentional unwind” (although it doesn’t have the same ring), helps us cultivate a life where joy is no longer tethered to fleeting highs but instead rooted in lasting, meaningful experiences. While a dopamine reset, done right, has many benefits — reducing stress, building more positive behaviors, and developing deeper connections — mindful drinking to help us quit or cut back on alcohol may be more sustainable and beneficial. So, let’s take this step towards limiting dopamine-disrupting substances to live a life of greater clarity and connection!