Brain Expert: 6 Habits to Boost Focus & Concentration By 48 Percent (Hack Your Dopamine!) with TJ Power

Could a single molecule drive all of your ambitions, decide when you fall in love, and influence how you think? According to The Molecule of More, the answer is yes; a chemical called dopamine does all of that and much more. In this book, psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman and educator Michael E. Long explain the many ways that dopamine affects your behavior, your emotions, and even your beliefs.

In this guide, we’ll explain what dopamine is and how it affects us. We’ll also discuss how some other chemicals in your brain work with—and against—dopamine, and why finding the right balance in your brain chemistry is the key to happiness.

Our commentary adds background information about the biology and chemistry of your brain. We also clarify how dopamine interacts with other chemicals, and even the structure of your brain itself, to produce the behaviors that the authors discuss.

Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, wrote Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst to explore the myriad influences on human behavior.

As a child, Sapolsky became both fascinated and horrified with the atrocities of the Holocaust, and strove to understand the science behind how people could do such terrible things. That fascination grew into a lifelong study of science and people and led directly to this book.

In this guide, we’ve divided Sapolsky’s ideas along classic “nature versus nurture” lines—in other words, how much are we influenced by our own innate tendencies versus our surroundings and how we were raised? Our commentary will provide background information on Sapolsky’s ideas, explore interesting details to deepen your understanding of the subjects, and examine some scientific theories that conflict with Sapolsky’s.

Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, wrote Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst to explore the myriad influences on human behavior.

As a child, Sapolsky became both fascinated and horrified with the atrocities of the Holocaust, and strove to understand the science behind how people could do such terrible things. That fascination grew into a lifelong study of science and people and led directly to this book.

In this guide, we’ve divided Sapolsky’s ideas along classic “nature versus nurture” lines—in other words, how much are we influenced by our own innate tendencies versus our surroundings and how we were raised? Our commentary will provide background information on Sapolsky’s ideas, explore interesting details to deepen your understanding of the subjects, and examine some scientific theories that conflict with Sapolsky’s.

We live in an age where sophisticated technologies are increasingly pervasive. User interfaces are so intuitive that we don’t need a manual to figure out how every mobile application works—but what is it about specific technologies that allows them to integrate seamlessly into our day-to-day lives, and how did user-friendliness become the bedrock of innovation?

In User Friendly, user experience designers Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant explore the evolution of user-friendly design—how the concept emerged from the feminist movement in the 1920s, how it has morphed into the often addictive forms of technology that we have today, and how it might be leveraged to improve human well-being in the future. The authors argue that we must shift how companies apply user-friendly design principles to ensure that technology reflects the values of consumers—and doesn’t just keep people glued to screens to their own detriment. In this guide, we’ll also incorporate research showing how technology impacts the social fabric of society as well as advice on mitigating technology’s harmful effects.

Could a single molecule drive all of your ambitions, decide when you fall in love, and influence how you think? According to The Molecule of More, the answer is yes; a chemical called dopamine does all of that and much more. In this book, psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman and educator Michael E. Long explain the many ways that dopamine affects your behavior, your emotions, and even your beliefs.

In this guide, we’ll explain what dopamine is and how it affects us. We’ll also discuss how some other chemicals in your brain work with—and against—dopamine, and why finding the right balance in your brain chemistry is the key to happiness.

Our commentary adds background information about the biology and chemistry of your brain. We also clarify how dopamine interacts with other chemicals, and even the structure of your brain itself, to produce the behaviors that the authors discuss.

Do you check your phone first thing when you wake up? Are you regularly pulled into the black hole of YouTube or Instagram in the middle of your workday? Do you often feel scattered and distracted? If so, it might be time for a dopamine detox.

In Dopamine Detox, Thibaut Meurisse argues that all of us suffer from a constant state of sensory overload that robs us of our focus. The culprit: the neurotransmitter dopamine. Meurisse explains that by detoxing from activities that trigger dopamine, you can reclaim your capacity for the deep focus necessary to accomplish your long-term goals.

In this guide, we’ll explore the science of dopamine, outline what causes sensory overload, and explain how to go about a dopamine detox. We’ll supplement Meurisse’s advice with research on the effectiveness of detoxes and offer strategies from other productivity experts for improving your focus and maximizing your potential.

Happiness is more than just a positive state of mind—it’s a state of being that enhances your health, strengthens your relationships, and fuels both your creativity and productivity. However, though many people are aware of these benefits and try to feel happier, their efforts often fail to create consistent, long-term happiness.

In The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky—psychology professor and recipient of the Templeton Positive Psychology Prize—addresses this challenge. Drawing from her extensive research as well as insights from leading scientists in the positive psychology field, she unpacks the factors that fuel happiness and provides practical strategies to nurture and sustain it.

In this guide, we’ll explore Lyubomirsky's thoughts on what contributes to long-term happiness and how you can amplify it in your life. Additionally, we’ll supplement her ideas with psychological research and actionable methods from other self-improvement authors and practitioners.

If you want to heal your body, you have to cultivate a healthy mind. In Mind Over Medicine, Lissa Rankin explores the mind-body connection and reveals our innate ability to promote self-healing. By proliferating positive beliefs and designing a fulfilling lifestyle, she says you can create conditions for healing relaxation and whole-body health.

Rankin is a physician, author, and speaker. Using her own chronic illnesses as a catalyst, she expanded her modern, Western healing repertoire to include holistic medicine after researching mindset and lifestyle factors on spontaneous remissions. She now teaches that optimal health involves more than just prescription medicine and physical treatments—it also depends on the quality of our beliefs, our relationships, and our jobs.

In this guide, we examine Rankin’s principles for healing and compare them to similar books like When the Body Says No and The Upside of Stress.