Tj Power, lead neuroscientist, founder of The DOSE Lab, and Sunday Times bestselling author of The DOSE Effect, has sounded the alarm on a national dopamine crisis.
According to Power, screen-saturated living is eroding mental health, motivation, and overall quality of life. His solution is simple: reconnect with nature, human contact, and present-moment experiences to reclaim our dopamine potential.
This week, Power joins bestselling author and viral creator James Smith on the chart-topping podcast The Problem With… for a discussion on the dangers of overstimulation.
During the conversation, Smith reflects on his own habits, describing evenings of Netflix and social media scrolling as both comforting and compulsive.
Power challenges listeners, and Smith himself, to undertake a seven-day screen detox, replacing digital time with outdoor activity, meaningful conversation, and shared experiences. This reset, he argues, can reignite curiosity, intimacy, laughter, and genuine connection.
Power explains: “We wake up and grab a small screen, spend ten hours glued to a medium screen, procrastinate on a small screen, unwind with a big screen, and finally climb into bed with the small screen.
“That’s our whole life right now. To break the trap, start tonight: one evening with no screens—no phones, no computers, no TV.”
The episode, The Problem With… Dopamine, explores how constant phone, laptop, and streaming use can leave people feeling drained, unmotivated, and disconnected. The episode is available now on Spotify, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms.
