There is more half-knowledge about health on the internet than about almost any other topic. So we stick to what research broadly agrees on: five simple pillars, a few hormones, and a slightly deeper look at the one molecule that does more damage than any other when it runs constantly — dopamine.
The 5 pillars of a healthy life
- Nutrition & hydration
Calories drive gain or loss. At least 1.5-2 g protein per kg of body weight. Avoid blood-sugar spikes, prefer unprocessed food. At least 2 L of water/day. Omega-3, creatine, vitamin D (in winter).
- Movement & fitness
Building muscle is the most important factor. At least 2× strength training/week, 75-150 min of cardio/week. Triggers dopamine, endorphin, serotonin — and lowers cortisol.
- Sleep & recovery
7-9 hours per night, fixed rhythm. No blue light before bed. A dark, cool room triggers melatonin.
- Stress & mental health
Morning gratitude routine, 10-15 min/day of mindfulness. Meditation, breath work, nature. Deep breathing measurably lowers cortisol.
- Prevention & risk factors
Take preventive check-ups seriously. Reduce smoking, alcohol, sugar.
Using AI to optimise your health
Create a health briefing
To use AI as your personal health coach, build a markdown file with all your health information, then share it with the LLM of your choice. That way the AI always has enough context to support you on any question.
How do you build your health file?
Let an AI interview you:
Interview me to create a markdown file about my health.
With this file I want to work on health-related topics, for example:
- Fitness plan
- Nutrition plan
- Supplements
Ask me systematically about:
- Basic data
- Intolerances
- Pre-existing conditions
- Goals
- HabitsAI can read and process markdown files perfectly. Create a project named "Health" in the LLM of your choice, upload your markdown file, and the AI can give you genuinely personalised recommendations.
Think carefully about which AI you share sensitive health data with. AI does not replace a doctor — see a professional for persistent symptoms.
What you can do with AI + your health file
- Fitness plan
A personalised training plan based on your goals, equipment and time budget.
- Nutrition plan
Meal planning that accounts for calories, macros and intolerances.
- Supplements
Which supplements make sense, based on your diet and goals.
- Sleep optimisation
Analysis of your sleep habits with concrete suggestions to improve them.
- Preventive care
Which preventive check-ups are relevant at your age.
- Habit tracking & coaching
Stress analysis, motivational coaching, routines — the possibilities are wide.
Understanding your hormone system
We learn a lot about biology at school, but rarely about what actually steers us: the hormone system. Hormones, neurotransmitters and neuromodulators decide how you feel, how much energy you have, how well you sleep. Once you understand what each one does, you can deliberately shape it.
- Dopamine
The engine of motivation and drive.
- Serotonin
Your inner calm for mood and well-being.
- Cortisol
The stress hormone that activates you under threat.
- Melatonin
Your signal for restful sleep.
- Insulin
The manager of your blood sugar and your energy.
- Adrenaline
The turbo mode for "fight or flight".
- Oxytocin
The hormone of bonding and trust.
- Endorphins
Your body's own painkillers, producing euphoria.
Dopamine — more than a "happiness hormone"
Dopamine isn't really a "happiness hormone", even though it's often labelled that way. It's our motivation molecule. The engine of our internal reward system. It gets released most strongly not when you achieve something but when you expect a reward.
That comes from evolution and was meant to keep us alive. Imagine you're hunting a mammoth. After hours of tracking you're exhausted and ready to give up. Suddenly you spot footprints. Dopamine surges, you have energy to keep going.
The same principle still works today. You train for a competition or work towards a goal. Small progress keeps you going. The trouble is, in the modern world you often don't even feel the dopamine release, because triggers are everywhere: social media, sugar, fast food, pornography, streaming, and more.
The code of your brain: Reward Prediction Error
Scientists call the principle behind your drive the Reward Prediction Error (RPE). Your brain constantly asks: "Am I getting more reward than expected?"
In the Stone Age this was vital: the mammoth tracks were a positive prediction error — you expected nothing, then suddenly found a trail. Dopamine gave you the focus to stay on it until the goal was reached.
In the modern world this mechanism is being used against you. Apps like TikTok and platforms like Netflix exploit it:
- The endless loop: the algorithm keeps surprising you. You never know if the next video is going to be extreme or not.
- The problem: because your brain keeps searching for the next positive surprise, it keeps you watching for hours. In learning that focus is great. In a social-media loop, your energy just disappears into the digital void.
The trap: why constant stimulation leaves you tired
To understand your energy, you need to know the difference between your baseline (tonic) and the peaks (phasic):
The dopamine lake (tonic dopamine): picture your normal motivation level as a calm lake. A stable level gives you drive, focus and energy through normal tasks all day.
The dopamine fountains (phasic dopamine): these are sudden peaks — when you get a like or eat a bag of chips.
Now picture a basin: if you create many big waves in quick succession, water spills over the edge. The total amount of dopamine in the basin drops. Your baseline goes down. Dopamine stacking is especially harmful — combining multiple sources at once (phone + chips + Netflix). The waves are particularly high and the basin empties fast.
Bombard your brain constantly with artificial fountains, and a downregulation (desensitisation) kicks in — receptors go "deaf". Your whole dopamine lake drops. When you then put the phone down and try to work, it feels awful. You're not really tired — your reward system is desensitised.
The solution: dopamine management with Dopafy
The good news: your brain is plastic. It can learn to turn the volume back up. We call that re-sensitisation.
- Awareness (mindfulness)
Notice the "wanting" impulse. When you reach for the phone, ask yourself: "Am I really hunting the mammoth, or am I chasing a cheap kick that just leaves me tired?"
- Reduction
Add friction. Turn off notifications. Give your brain phases of dopaminergic silence. That's the only way receptors recover.
- Replacement
Trade artificial kicks for real wins. Sport, nature and real conversations refill your dopamine lake over time.
The 5 pillars of health are your toolkit. Each one helps repair your receptors and bring your energy back.
Our content recommendations
Huberman Lab — neuroscience for everyday life
Stanford neuroscientist Dr Andrew Huberman explains in his podcast, with solid science, how sleep, dopamine, movement and nutrition shape your brain and body. A must for anyone who wants to take health to the next level.
Our apps for health
Dopafy — dopamine management & routines
Dopamine is the key to motivation — and at the same time the biggest danger. Dopafy helps you manage your dopamine balance and build healthy habits.