Depressed guys do exactly the wrong things
Depressed guys often do exactly the wrong things to make themselves feel better.
Let’s say you’re a depressed man who lives alone in a crummy little apartment. You wake up on a Saturday feeling lousy. What do you do to feel better?
It’s 8am. You don’t feel like going out, so you stay indoors and play with your iPad on the couch. That’s mistake one. Morning sunlight will raise dopamine (a feel-good brain chemical) and will help you sleep at night by telling your internal clock that it is daytime now. Go outside for 10 minutes in the morning.
You still feel lousy, so you cook some waffles with nutella for breakfast. That’s mistake two. When blood sugar goes up, cortisol and adrenaline (types of brain energy) go down. Next time, try fasting until noon—it will have an anti-depressant effect. (Tip: drink a glass of water with 1/2 tsp of salt to make the fast tolerable)
You feel sluggish and want a pick me up, so you masturbate at 9am. That’s mistake three. After men masturbate, a hormone is released called prolactin, which may make you feel more sluggish. Male masturbation is not always bad; however, men should not masturbate right before they want more energy. For men, frequent masturbation also decreases testosterone. If this is a frequent habit, try stopping and see how you feel.
For more of these kinds of tips to change your brain, listen to the Huberman Lab podcast episode 28: