Is There Actually Science Behind 'Dopamine Fasting'?

"Dopamine fasting" may be Silicon Valley's latest wellness trend — but does this sciency-sounding fad actually have evidence to back it up?

See moreTo clear up any confusion, Live Science spoke with experts about the neurobiology of addiction, tried-and-tested therapeutic practices and the many roles of dopamine in the brain. The take-home message is that"dopamine fasting," though perhaps poorly named, grew out of established methods in addiction therapy and may be beneficial — if executed properly.

It's not actually possible to completely"fast" or eliminate dopamine from your body with lifestyle changes, which is lucky because doing so would likely have serious consequences.No one is actually fasting from dopamine It's important to note that, despite the name, the original idea behind dopamine fasting is not to literally lower dopamine levels.

"When we image [drug users'] brains, we find that in the immediate aftermath of using they actually have less dopamine and fewer dopamine receptors than those who don't use drugs," said Dr. Anna Lembke, an associate professor and medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University. Greenfield treats a destructive behavior that may impact the Silicon Valley folks drawn to dopamine fasting: compulsive internet and technology use. Dopamine surges in the brain's reward system each time we so much as glance at a smartphone or laptop screen, he said, and rewarding notifications and media pop up unpredictably whenever we go online. People grow addicted to devices, just as they do to drugs, Greenfield said. Lembke said she has witnessed the phenomenon, too.

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