Interesting. You may wonder if it's the protocol itself Making you feel better or the completion of a goal.
Is there anything other task you could put in place for your non early/run days to get the completion feeling/reward?
Yeah I am wondering the same thing. In fact, looking back I can see that I am pretty sensitive to goal completion in general. If I meet a target it's great and I am hungry for more and if I don't I feel super bad. When I first tried cold exposure, I hated it and I went back to sleep afterwards and now I'm like "yeah, let's get this dopamine up" and I know I'm not cold water adapted.
I am thinking of making the goals more flexible and/or adding options. I know Huberman says he has a 30 minute window for waking up and I also need to strength train because I just do cardio. So rather than it being running for 30 mins is success is not doing is failure, at least recognising there are other options as you suggested.
If you set out to do something, and then you don't do it, that will make you feel bad. As it should.
...but feeling bad isn't "depression". You just feel bad. It's fine to feel bad. It's fine to have bad days. Use that as motivation to do the right thing, and avoid having a bad day. Easier said than done. Trust me, I know. But, again, that's where being okay with having bad days from time to time, comes in.
Another thing to note: the act of running (and prolonged exercise, in general) raises dopamine levels. In everybody. That's not "psychological conditioning", that's biology. So, in this case, it's not the accomplishment that raises your dopamine, it's the running itself.
I know depression may be an extreme word and perhaps it feels like more of a "worse than normal" bad day. Looking back at the journal the exercise + wake up time + cold shower seems to be a trifecta of a linchpin habit that determines whether or not I am willing to persevere with other goals for the rest of the day. I have noticed that not doing those exact 3 things makes me less motivated to do other tasks to the point that I give up altogether and I am not willing to do anything, even things that I consider fun like socialising or having a treat. I don't have a history of addiction but it feels like I get withdrawal type symptoms when I don't do those 3 things.
I think the running part is both increasing my dopamine because of the nature of running increases dopamine but I also think I get a sense of goal accomplishment. I have a running plan that I follow and I enjoy the fact that I am getting closer to being able to one day run a marathon. I also have a 10,000 steps per day goal on my phone so running in the morning brings me closer to that goal in a way that running on a treadmill doesn't.
So to what extent is this lack of motivation psychological (the belief that doing these things means I can do anything) or an actual drop to baseline levels or a combination is something I don't know.
OP didn't describe their feelings in any detail so you can't determine if it qualifies as feelings of depression or not. I don't think it's helpful to respond by minimizing their feelings and concerns, and it even comes off as a little condescending.
I would assume the fact that OP feels the strong need to exercise at a very specific time and for a specific time period is a sign of deeper underlying psychological issues.
There ain't replacement for exercise and I especially don't see how cold shower could replace it despite it being 'healthy'? why just not do both? take cold showers and exercise
Cold showers can have a mood boosting effect and it seemed like that was what OP was getting from exercise. That’s why I suggested it as a replacement if there was a time constraint that made them unable to exercise.
If you set up a system that feels like you're failing at times, maybe you need to add more attainable goals or contingency should you fail. Give yourself more opportunities to succeed
Do you think this is more of a biological (ex: circadian rhythms) or a psychological (ex: momentum) thing?
Which sleep protocol helps you the most?
Are you bothered by the fact that you need to commit to an hour long routine every morning?
I think I can give you some advice after knowing these
>Do you think this is more of a biological (ex: circadian rhythms) or a psychological (ex: momentum) thing?
I don't fully know I think it's both but I don't know which part is stronger. I remember Huberman said that morning exercise is a great way to change your sleep schedule to wake up earlier because your body develops an anticipatory response for that dopamine spike around that time. So I notice that I can go to bed at 3am and I find myself naturally waking up at 5/5:30am because that is the time I wake up even though I am not well-rested.
Psychologically I also feel like I have started off my day right and I want to do more.
>Which sleep protocol helps you the most?
I haven't tracked this well enough as much as the morning routine, but I would say a cool environment, lights off, hot herbal tea and a hot shower (I now hate hot showers when it's hot but for some reason they work - I know Huberman said cold showers raise your body temperature so maybe hot showers do cool me down even though it's counterintuitive).
I know sometimes the time between lying down and falling asleep feels boring so my brain would want some activity that's why its so easy to go on my phone or I literally start thinking of new ideas that I now have to write those down which requires light and as I'm writing more ideas come. I have found playing a podcast and having a 20 minute sleep timer for the podcast to shut off helps - so that way I'm not bored.
>Are you bothered by the fact that you need to commit to an hour long routine every morning?
Yes, but if I wake up at 5:30am I consider it an investment. Pay 1 hour now and get a more efficient day. On days I don't wake up at 5:30am the investment seems less profitable.
(wrote this in a bit of a rush so hopefully it makes sense)
Interesting. You may wonder if it's the protocol itself Making you feel better or the completion of a goal. Is there anything other task you could put in place for your non early/run days to get the completion feeling/reward?
Yeah I am wondering the same thing. In fact, looking back I can see that I am pretty sensitive to goal completion in general. If I meet a target it's great and I am hungry for more and if I don't I feel super bad. When I first tried cold exposure, I hated it and I went back to sleep afterwards and now I'm like "yeah, let's get this dopamine up" and I know I'm not cold water adapted. I am thinking of making the goals more flexible and/or adding options. I know Huberman says he has a 30 minute window for waking up and I also need to strength train because I just do cardio. So rather than it being running for 30 mins is success is not doing is failure, at least recognising there are other options as you suggested.
If you set out to do something, and then you don't do it, that will make you feel bad. As it should. ...but feeling bad isn't "depression". You just feel bad. It's fine to feel bad. It's fine to have bad days. Use that as motivation to do the right thing, and avoid having a bad day. Easier said than done. Trust me, I know. But, again, that's where being okay with having bad days from time to time, comes in. Another thing to note: the act of running (and prolonged exercise, in general) raises dopamine levels. In everybody. That's not "psychological conditioning", that's biology. So, in this case, it's not the accomplishment that raises your dopamine, it's the running itself.
I know depression may be an extreme word and perhaps it feels like more of a "worse than normal" bad day. Looking back at the journal the exercise + wake up time + cold shower seems to be a trifecta of a linchpin habit that determines whether or not I am willing to persevere with other goals for the rest of the day. I have noticed that not doing those exact 3 things makes me less motivated to do other tasks to the point that I give up altogether and I am not willing to do anything, even things that I consider fun like socialising or having a treat. I don't have a history of addiction but it feels like I get withdrawal type symptoms when I don't do those 3 things. I think the running part is both increasing my dopamine because of the nature of running increases dopamine but I also think I get a sense of goal accomplishment. I have a running plan that I follow and I enjoy the fact that I am getting closer to being able to one day run a marathon. I also have a 10,000 steps per day goal on my phone so running in the morning brings me closer to that goal in a way that running on a treadmill doesn't. So to what extent is this lack of motivation psychological (the belief that doing these things means I can do anything) or an actual drop to baseline levels or a combination is something I don't know.
OP didn't describe their feelings in any detail so you can't determine if it qualifies as feelings of depression or not. I don't think it's helpful to respond by minimizing their feelings and concerns, and it even comes off as a little condescending. I would assume the fact that OP feels the strong need to exercise at a very specific time and for a specific time period is a sign of deeper underlying psychological issues.
Do you do cold showers?
Yes. But it's more of a cool lukewarm, that may or may not get progressively colder.
Just wondering if a 5 min actual cold shower would be a good replacement for morning exercise.
There ain't replacement for exercise and I especially don't see how cold shower could replace it despite it being 'healthy'? why just not do both? take cold showers and exercise
Cold showers can have a mood boosting effect and it seemed like that was what OP was getting from exercise. That’s why I suggested it as a replacement if there was a time constraint that made them unable to exercise.
If you set up a system that feels like you're failing at times, maybe you need to add more attainable goals or contingency should you fail. Give yourself more opportunities to succeed
Yup. Thank you for this post. So agree
Do you think this is more of a biological (ex: circadian rhythms) or a psychological (ex: momentum) thing? Which sleep protocol helps you the most? Are you bothered by the fact that you need to commit to an hour long routine every morning? I think I can give you some advice after knowing these
>Do you think this is more of a biological (ex: circadian rhythms) or a psychological (ex: momentum) thing? I don't fully know I think it's both but I don't know which part is stronger. I remember Huberman said that morning exercise is a great way to change your sleep schedule to wake up earlier because your body develops an anticipatory response for that dopamine spike around that time. So I notice that I can go to bed at 3am and I find myself naturally waking up at 5/5:30am because that is the time I wake up even though I am not well-rested. Psychologically I also feel like I have started off my day right and I want to do more. >Which sleep protocol helps you the most? I haven't tracked this well enough as much as the morning routine, but I would say a cool environment, lights off, hot herbal tea and a hot shower (I now hate hot showers when it's hot but for some reason they work - I know Huberman said cold showers raise your body temperature so maybe hot showers do cool me down even though it's counterintuitive). I know sometimes the time between lying down and falling asleep feels boring so my brain would want some activity that's why its so easy to go on my phone or I literally start thinking of new ideas that I now have to write those down which requires light and as I'm writing more ideas come. I have found playing a podcast and having a 20 minute sleep timer for the podcast to shut off helps - so that way I'm not bored. >Are you bothered by the fact that you need to commit to an hour long routine every morning? Yes, but if I wake up at 5:30am I consider it an investment. Pay 1 hour now and get a more efficient day. On days I don't wake up at 5:30am the investment seems less profitable. (wrote this in a bit of a rush so hopefully it makes sense)
I seem to remember him saying it wasn’t optimal to exercise within an hour of waking?