Dopamine stacking: Bio-hacking or bombarding?

The idea of ‘multitasking’ has become the norm, with experiences now being consumed all together, in layers, rather than one at a time.

A regular morning is not complete without Netflix playing in the background, music streaming from another device laying somewhere long forgotten, coffee in hand, and replying to Instagram messages.

The idea of ‘multitasking’ has become the norm, with experiences now being consumed all together, in layers, rather than one at a time. This process of combining several rewarding stimuli at one time has been popularised and termed as ‘dopamine stacking’. The pop term refers to the act of engaging in multiple dopamine secreting or stimulating behaviours; this can include various stimuli including consumption of commonly used substances such as caffeine, or engaging in multiple dopamine stimulating activities like scrolling, eating, and watching or playing something at the same time.

Rapid switching between the various available cues acts as a constant source of reward stimulation, making dopamine stacking more of a behavioural phenomenon rather than mental phenomenon. Understanding the core of the phenomenon extends to beyond the popular understanding of dopamine as the ‘feel good’ chemical.

Science Behind Dopamine Stacking

Dopamine is a complex neurochemical which plays an important role in several neural pathways. Multiple dopaminergic pathways have been identified in the brain, with each playing a different role. The neurons in these pathways release set amounts of dopamine with the amount of dopamine being called as the baseline rate activity, which varies from person to person. Based on years of research, dopamine is involved in the process of reward learning, goal directed behaviour, anticipation, and motivation (Wise, 2004).

When we are about to engage in activities that we perceive will be rewarding to us in any way, like eating our favourite food or watching a show we have been longing to watch, the dopamine levels in our neural circuits rise, following which a sense of pleasure is felt. Once the reward has been received, the dopamine levels fall below the baseline rate, leading to a negative state being reached, which makes you want to experience the reward again to feel better.

This explains why we often engage in a behaviour even long after the enjoyment we receive from that behaviour reduces; even when enjoyment of consuming content online drops, we continue to spend hours doomscrolling, waiting to see a ‘good’ reel again (Berridge, 2007; Berridge & Robinson, 2016).

Rewards, especially unexpected rewards such as enjoyable reels or content showing up at random intervals, create a dopamine response; the more variable the reward is, the higher and more powerful the dopamine response is. Consuming social media content, especially short form content, seems more enjoyable as the brain learns through the reward-expectation cycle and has experienced the powerful dopamine boost.

The uncertainty becomes a reward in itself. When the uncertain reward is greater than what was perceived to be the reward, the brain starts to engage in the preceding behaviour repeatedly, leading to habit formation (Schultz, 2016). The systems included in this habit formation system are activated by varying stimuli.

When multiple rewarding cues come together, such as when there is visual stimulation and social interaction along with food and music, multiple overlapping reward systems also get activated. As a result, the novelty of the combination leads to increased stimulation of dopamine; the stacking of multiple cues and behaviours leads to stronger reinforcement of continued stacking.

The Highs..

In an environment where multiple activities are being done together, the mind is often in a state of high activation. With so many various inputs to focus on, there is constantly a sense of mental and emotional stimulation which keeps you sharp. There is reduced boredom, increased curiosity, greater sense of pleasure, and increased excitement. As humans, these immediate psychological rewards as a way of seeking reprieve from stressful surroundings, allowing us to seek sensation and novelty.

Amidst a lifestyle that seems to be increasing its pace constantly, multitasking and productivity ‘hacks’ are praised and quickly adapted. Using these hacks and processes, we learn how to adapt, learn about, and be engaged with the surroundings. In this kind of culture, where social media connects newer generations faster than imaginable, dopamine stacking helps to cope in more ways than one.

With increasingly unstable political and economic times, there is greater stress, pressure to be perfect and productive all the time, and constant demands to keep up with overstimulating environments. In these times, dopamine stacking activities act as mood regulators. Talking to a friend while exercising, scrolling through reels while eating, or replying to messages while cooking makes each experience feel more emotionally engaging. It gives a sense of satisfaction to be able to complete a necessary or meaningful task while also interacting with others. This is especially helpful during periods of heightened anxiety, distress, or emotional discomfort.

Furthermore, dopamine stacking can also increase motivation. If a person who is exercising listens to a motivational podcast or high paced music, they are more likely to exercise more vigorously or complete more sets due to the added entertainment component. This goes to show that dopamine stacking has positive psychological effects; it is human tendency to want to seek those positive experiences and gain more pleasure.

..And The Lows

The drawback to the sustained use of the mechanisms lies in the possibility of dopamine stacking stimuli or behaviours becoming excessive or constant. Considering the baseline rate and limited amount of dopamine which is released in the brain, popular culture describes the aftereffects of dopamine stacking as ‘dopamine crash’. In reality, the neurobiological and cognitive processes are a lot more complex.

A better description of the aftermath could be described as a subjective drop in motivation after receiving the reward. Once there is repeated exposure to the reward, or if the perceived reward has been met, the individual tolerance for a situation where there is limited stimulation decreases. This means that it is then difficult to remain motivated in order to maintain sustained attention and filter out distractions, making it harder to complete cognitively complex tasks such as learning new material or reading long texts.

The concept of delayed gratification, a form of self control wherein the immediate reward is replaced by a larger perceived reward which comes later, becomes redundant, as it seems to be extremely challenging to complete the task and wait for the reward.

As a result, as high levels of stimulation repeatedly become the norm, there is stronger stimulation required in order to feel the same level of satisfaction and pleasure. This hedonic adaptation is the reason we spend a longer amount of time on social media, scrolling through more reels and watching longer videos, or seek stimuli with greater novelty.

In addition, as an easy alternative to seeking help,  constant stimulation may be used as a coping mechanism to avoid uncomfortable thoughts, deal with isolation, and navigate through deeper psychological issues such as anxiety or chronic sadness. The role of feelings such as boredom or uncomfortable thoughts is to encourage individuals to reflect, be creative, and know themselves better.

But when there is no single moment that is left empty enough for these feelings to come in, the chance to engage in self introspection becomes limited. To add to this state of stagnancy, post the positive experience that dopamine stacking provides, a sustained occurrence of such activity also leads to a point of mental fatigue, cognitive overload, emotionally dull or flat feeling, and restlessness.

Dopamine stacking, a newly popularised term, manages to capture not only the changed behaviour patterns, but also reflects broader psychological patterns. As humans we tend to seek out novel experiences and rewards, most of which are amplified owing to technology and digital platforms. However, in the midst of the process, the minds are being trained and rewarded by constant stimulation. In an environment where attention is being pulled to multiple things at the same time, and the mind is bombarded by information faster than it can meaningfully process it, perhaps the real challenge lies in learning how to tolerate moments where pleasure is absent.

Authors: Muskan Shah, FLAME Alumna; and Prof. Moitrayee Das, Faculty of Psychology, FLAME University.