This Startup Gets You High On Dopamine, No Exercise Required

[Thomas the Tank Engine]

ALL OF THE FUN, NONE OF THE WORKOUT

 

If you think about it, every company exhibiting at CES is trying to sell the same thing: happiness. But of the booths I visited last week at the yearly electronics trade show in Las Vegas, only one delivered directly on that promise.

 

Nervana (not to be confused with Nervana Systems), a startup founded by a team of medical professionals with day jobs as doctors and nurses, makes hardware that stimulates your brain to release dopamine, aka the happiness chemical.

 

The brain naturally responds to stimuli from exercise, music, sex, drugs, gambling, and other activities with a hit of dopamine, which makes us feel a rush of pleasure. Experts in women’s brain physiology say dopamine has special effects for women.Naomi Wolf summarizes their findings in her book, calling dopamine “the ultimate feminist chemical”, essential to a woman’s ability to feel confident and creative.

 

I tried Nervana with a few friends (I’ll refer to them as Conor, Joel, and Agustina since those are their names), and even though our sample size is small, we experienced happiness sensations that we believe resulted from the trial.

 

Conor and Joel said they felt an electric prickle when they first put on the headset, which intensified as they cranked up the volume and the intensity of their experience on the generator. The prickling persisted through the 15 or so minutes of music (you could choose from a list of 10 or so tracks that included Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, and ambient noise). For about an hour afterward, they both felt unusually calm and happy; Conor also claimed the device cured his hangover.

 

Agustina and I felt much more powerful sensations while trying Nervana, consistent with Naomi Wolf’s convictions about women’s reactions to dopamine.

 

“I felt the electricity go into my arm, and everything was tingling there, but the best moment for me was afterwards when I finished and stood up,” Agustina said. “I felt like I reached a personal high point. I couldn’t stop smiling or laughing. I was like, ‘Oh wow’. For about five minutes, my happiness level was a 10 out of 10. Then it got foggier, but I was still unusually happy for about an hour.”

 

My experience was close to Agustina’s, except possibly even fuller, since I cranked up the intensity on the generator to the maximum, so that I perceived waves of feeling caused by the stimulation even while the music was still playing. For me, the effect was so intense it felt beyond doubt that it was caused by the device.

 

If Nervana does what it claims (and what we experienced subjectively), the potential benefits are almost limitless, ranging from recreational to therapeutic. Not only could it be used as a therapy on people suffering with depression, anxiety, and probably a host of other disorders, it could also potentially replace party drugs like molly by delivering a high and enhancing the immersive quality of music without posing the health risk.

 

“Taking something that basically poisons our bodies can be deadly, unfortunately, but Nervana can enhance the pleasure of music without any drugs,” said Dr. Daniel Cartledge, one of the MD’s on the founding team. “I think this could add great entertainment value to music festivals.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://futurism.com/this-startup-gets-you-high-on-dopamine-no-exercise-required/

[JustGeorge]

"Strippers and Dopamine" just doesn't incite the same level of excitement in me

 

 

 

 

 

j/k

 

[chrisj1968]

at the OP: so am I understanding that this sound system/device, whatever it is, can help us mentally as physically?

 

interesting. isn't dopamine of the family of endorphin's? like you get from exercise or weight lifting etc? Both work on neurotransmitters.