I know the answer to this question thanks to my 24-hour dopamine fast!

多虧了我的多巴胺斷食法，我知道答案是什麼！

It really did change my life perspective, but it's better to start my story from the beginning...

這真的改變了我的人生觀，但我還是從一開始說起好了 ...

For as long as I can remember, television, video games, social media, and the internet have been my main ways of relaxing after long, hard days at work.

在我有記憶以來，經過漫長而艱苦的工作後，電視、電玩、社群和網路一直都是我放鬆身心的主要方式。

But one day I met one of my good friends for dinner — and everything changed.

但有一天，我和我的一個朋友吃飯──所有事情都變了。

We were catching up and sharing recent news when he mentioned that he'd done a 24-hour dopamine fast a week ago and how it was one of the best decisions he ever made.

我們正在分享彼此的最新消息，他提到他做了最佳決定就是一週前做多巴胺斷食法。

But as he was talking about his experience, only one thought struck in my head: Is he mad?

但他談論自己的經驗時，我的心裡只有一個想法：「他瘋了嗎？」

Going one day without a phone, TV, computer, the internet, and even music?

一天都不碰手機、電視、電腦和網路，甚至是音樂？

Impossible!

不可能！

One week went by, and I still couldn't think of anything but this dopamine fast experiment.

一星期過後，我不斷想到這個多巴胺斷食法。

Was I really that addicted to all these modern distractions?

我真的是沉迷於現代這些東西的干擾嗎？

Could I pass this challenge?

我可以克服這個挑戰嗎？

And what was it all about?

那到底是什麼呢？

Naturally, I went on the internet to find all the answers I needed...

不禁地我上網尋找我想要的所有答案 ...

Every time we eat a delicious hamburger, play our favorite video game, or scroll through Instagram posts, our brain gets an impressive amount of the hormone called dopamine.

每次當我們吃美味漢堡、玩最愛的電玩、滑 IG 貼文時，我們的腦袋都會得到叫多巴胺的激素。

This hormone gives you the satisfying feeling of euphoria, making you feel happy and content.

這個激素會給你帶來快感，讓你感到開心和滿足。

So giving in to your desire to spend hours on YouTube or Tumblr can be good for you, right?

所以在 YouTube 和 Tumblr 花了數小時觀看影片對你是有益的對吧？

Not so fast!

沒那麼好！

When your brain receives the first dose of dopamine, it wants more and basically encourages you to repeat this activity over and over again.

當你的腦袋收到第一劑的多巴胺時，它會想要更多，並且從根本上鼓勵你一直重複做這個事情。

As a result, you get addicted to whatever it is that gives your brain dopamine — which makes it harder to carry on in the real world.

因此不論你的大腦是否得到多巴胺，你都會上癮，這也使你更難在真實世界生活。

To improve your mental health and help your brain get a little break, specialists suggest doing a 24-hour dopamine fast at least once every 3 months.

為了你的身心健康和幫助你的頭腦休息，專家建議至少每三個月做一次「24 小時多巴胺斷食法」。

All you have to do is follow a couple of very strict rules:

你所要做的就是遵循下面幾個嚴格的規則：

• Rule #1: No electronics.

規則一：沒有電子產品。

This means that your computer, PlayStation, television, or any other device should be turned off for a day.

也就是說你的電腦、電玩、電視或是其他電子產品都必須關機一天。

The only thing you can leave turned on is your phone, but don't cheat!

只有手機可以不用關機，但不可以作弊！

Be sure to turn off all social media notifications and use your phone only for emergency situations.

請確實把所有社群提醒關掉，你只能在緊急情況下使用手機。

Don't forget that using it for anything other than urgent calls completely erases all the progress you made during the day!

不要忘記你只要用除了緊急電話外的其他功能，將會抹去你一天所有的努力！

• Rule #2: No books, newspapers, or magazines.

規則二：沒有書本、報紙或雜誌。

Even though they can be educational, they're still a big distraction for your brain.

雖然這些都可以是具有教育性質的，但仍然會干擾你的大腦。

• Rule #3: No internet.

規則三：沒有網路。

Instead, try to live in the here and now.

請試著活在當下。

• Rule #4: No music.

規則四：沒有音樂。

Focus on your thoughts as opposed to shutting them down.

關注你自己的思想。

• Rule #5: No junk food.

規則五：沒有垃圾食物。

Your body deserves nice treatment too!

你的身體也需要很好的照顧！

I'm not gonna lie — all these rules seemed impossible for me to stick to.

我不想說謊──我很難做到這些規則。

But I wanted to test my willpower and see what it would be like to have a day like that.

但我想測試自己的意志力，然後去探索這樣生活的一天會變成什麼樣子。

So after another busy week, the challenge was finally accepted!

所以在忙碌的一週過後，我終於接受這個挑戰了！

That day, I woke up at 9 a.m.

那一天，我早上九點起床。

I decided to start off with a little workout.

我決定做一些運動展開新的一天。

Nothing serious — just a couple of my favorite yoga poses to wake up my body and warm it up a little.

沒什麼大不了的──只是做了幾個我最愛的瑜珈姿勢來喚醒我的身體和熱身。

After that, I had a quick shower and a cup of tea (since my favorite coffee is forbidden).

之後，我很快地沖澡，喝一杯茶 (因為禁喝我最愛的咖啡)。

The moment my morning ritual was over, I had no idea what to do!

當我的早晨活動結束後，我不知道要做什麼了！

By that time, I was usually already in front of my TV or trying to pass another hard level in the video game I'm playing.

在那個時間，我通常都已經坐在電視機前面，或是努力玩遊戲破關。

But that day I had tons of time and not one good idea on how to spend it.

但那天我有好多時間，我不知道要怎麼打發時間。

I decided to get some fresh air and clear my head.

我決定去呼吸新鮮空氣，清淨自己的頭腦。

Maybe it'd help me come up with a good plan for the rest of my dopamine-free day!

也許會幫助我想到為剩下的時間做一個美好的計畫！

I went to the park nearby for a little walk, letting my thoughts and imagination run free.

我去附近的公園散步，讓我的思想和想像力自由奔跑。

At first, all my thoughts were circling around the things I couldn't have, like how cool it would be to have my headphones on right now or check my Twitter since I probably had loads of messages and retweets.

剛開始，我所有的思想都圍繞在我無法擁有的東西上，像是如果我現在有耳機該有多好，或是如果我現在有耳機該有多好，或是查看 Twitter，也許有很多訊息或轉發。

But then I started to think about my life and work.

但之後我開始想自己的生活和工作。

It's worth mentioning that I had a hopeless project going on during that period.

值得一提的是，在那段期間我在做一個艱難的專案。

I knew what I wanted to do, but I had no idea how.

我知道我想要做什麼，但我不知道怎麼做。

As it turned out, all I needed to do to figure it all out was walk in the park for an hour!

事實證明，要弄清楚一切的方式就是到公園散步一個小時！

As I was heading home, I had a clear idea of how to make this project a reality.

當我一到家，我對如何實現這個專案有一個清晰的想法。

This little victory inspired me so much that when I was done with all the work stuff, I started analyzing my life.

這個小小的勝利大大地鼓舞到我了，當我完成所有工作後，我開始分析自己的生活。

Was I happy?

我開心嗎？

What could I improve to make my life more productive and fun?

我要如何讓自己生活的更多采多姿、更有趣？

Was I going in the right direction?

我現在是往正確的方向走嗎？

I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down 2 long lists: things I'm grateful for and things I can't stand about my daily life.

我拿了一張紙，寫了兩個清單：日常生活中，我很感恩的事情和我無法承受的事情。

This practice opened my eyes to problems I never noticed before, simply because I was too busy distracting myself instead of looking inside my heart for answers.

這個練習讓我意識到之前從沒注意到的問題，僅是因為我太忙於分散自己的注意力，而不是在心中找尋答案。

Once my list of things I hate was complete, I started to figure out what changes I needed to make to remove them from my life.

當我完成討厭的那張清單後，我開始去想如何改變，才能將其從生活中移除。

To be honest, writing these lists made me feel relieved!

老實說，寫這些清單讓我覺得很舒壓！

For the first time in years, I had a clear vision of my future.

多年來，我第一次對自己的未來有清晰的願景。

The next revelation for me was meditation.

對我來說，下一個啟示就是打坐。

I often do simple breathing to calm my brain, but meditation wasn't necessary that day — my mind was already calm and focused!

我通常做簡單的呼吸來冷靜自己的頭腦，但那天並不需要打坐 ─ 因為我的頭腦已經平靜而專注了。

If you meditate daily too, you know that during the first couple of minutes our mind bombards us with different thoughts and it can take a while to be still and silent.

如果你也會每天打坐，你就會知道在最初的幾分鐘內，我們的心會被不同想法給抨擊，可能需要一段時間才能恢復平靜。

But during a dopamine fast, this state came easily, and I was enjoying it to the fullest!

但在多巴胺斷食法的過程中，這種狀態很容易實現，我正盡情享受！

The rest of my day went smoothly too.

我這天剩下的時間也過得很順利。

I felt like I was on an emotional vacation of some sort, resetting myself and gathering strength.

我覺得自己像是情緒度假，重新設定自己，累積正能量。

Surprisingly, I didn't feel the urge to turn on my TV or check my phone.

令人驚訝的是我沒有打開電視或手機的慾望了。

I didn't want to scare off this sudden feeling of total harmony.

我不想讓這種完全和諧的感覺消失。

My friend was absolutely right, and going further with this experiment really was one of the best decisions I've ever made!

我的朋友說的完全正確，做這個實驗真的是我做過最好的決定之一。

Now that my experiment is over and I'm using electronics, eating junk food, and reading books again, I can look back on all the lessons I've learned.

既然我的實驗已經結束了，我再次使用電子產品、吃速食、讀書，我可以回顧一下我所學到的課程。

On the day after my dopamine fast, I didn't reach for the phone right away.

在多巴胺斷食法的隔天，我並沒有馬上用手機。

I enjoyed every minute of my morning routine and only then quickly checked my Instagram,

我享受早晨時光的每一分鐘，然後快速瀏覽我的 IG、

Facebook, and Twitter.

Facebook 和 Twitter。

Social media and other distractions had no influence over me anymore; now they're a

社群媒體和其他干擾不再影響我，

fun bonus and not the main thing my life revolves around.

現在他們只是偶爾的消遣，而不是我生活中最主要做的事情了。

I started to value my time way more too.

我也開始更珍惜時間。

After all, spending an hour on Facebook won't teach me anything useful, but spending an

畢竟，花一小時在看 Facebook 無法教我任何有用的事情，

hour brainstorming new work ideas can help me reach new heights!

但花一小時腦力激盪新的工作思路可以幫助我達到新的高度！

Moreover, the ideas and lists I wrote down during my dopamine fast blossomed into work achievements and personal happiness.

此外，我在多巴胺斷食法期間寫下的想法和清單，讓我在工作中獲得成就感和個人幸福感。

I now start every day with a question: "How can I make my life even better?"

我每天都會問自己一個問題：「我如何使自己的生活變得更好？」

Then I move forward as opposed to staying in one place.

然後我繼續前進，而不是停滯不前。

Plus, I decided to repeat my dopamine fast every month to let a breath of fresh air into my life every now and then and clear my head for new ideas and experiences!

另外，我每個月都重複做一次多巴胺斷食法，不時讓新鮮的空氣進入我的生活，然後讓頭腦變得清晰，以獲取更多新點子和經驗！

If you wanna follow in my footsteps, here are a couple of tips to make your dopamine fast experience more effective:

如果你想要跟隨我的腳步，這裡有幾點技巧幫助你的多巴胺實驗更有效果：

• Make sure you have no obligations during your dopamine fast.

確保你在多巴胺斷食的過程中沒有任何事情一定要完成。

It'll be impossible not to use technology if you have work duties or even plan lunch with friends.

如果你有工作或是計畫和朋友吃午餐的話，不太可能不用到科技產品。

Some dopamine fast practices even suggest you stop talking as one of the rules as this day should be about you and your mind.

有些多巴胺斷食法會建議你禁止說話，這一天必須只專注於你和自己的心。

• Make a plan for your dopamine fast day.

為多巴胺斷食法的這一天制定計畫。

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to do on the spot.

有時候，你在當下會不知道要做什麼。

If you have problems with that, it's better to plan everything out beforehand.

如果你有這樣的問題，最好事先計畫好要做的事情。

Just be sure to stick to the rules!

只要遵守規則就好！

• Finally, try to drink more water.

最後，多喝水。

This tip is essential for everyday life too, but on a dopamine fast it's even more important.

這也是每日必須做到的，但多巴胺斷食法的過程中，這個更重要。

This way, you'll clear not only your mind but your body as well!

這樣你不但會整理自己的心，也會整理到身體！

Would you like to try a 24-hour dopamine fast?

你想要嘗試 24 小時多巴胺斷食法嗎？

Tell me in the comment section below.

在下方留言區告訴我。

Don't forget to give this video a like, share it with your friends, and click subscribe.

不要忘記給這部影片一個讚，將它分享給你的朋友，並且點擊「訂閱」。

Stay on the Bright Side!

持續收看 Bright Side 喔！