209. TJ Power: How Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin & Endorphins Drive Happiness and Longevity

The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka

Gary Brecka

Health & Fitness

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Join my FREE 3-Day Water Fast Challenge - October 15th. It's the exact protocol I use with pro athletes and Fortune 500 CEOs to flush inflammation and kickstart autophagy. Sign up here! http://bit.ly/4nTILPt Here’s what nobody tells you about happiness: it’s not philosophical, it’s biochemical, and there’s a formula for it. Neuroscientist TJ Power joins me to decode the DOSE effect (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins), the four neurochemicals that determine whether you wake up energized or apathetic, connected or isolated, fulfilled or constantly chasing more. The game-changer here is understanding that you can’t scroll your way to serotonin or double-tap your way to oxytocin! Join the Ultimate Human VIP community for Gary Brecka's proven wellness protocols!: https://bit.ly/4ai0Xwg Get TJ Power’s book, “The DOSE Effect“ here: https://bit.ly/4ofGiP8 Connect with TJ Power Website: https://bit.ly/4n5KxvX YouTube: https://bit.ly/4ohqBXW Instagram:https://bit.ly/3W6MZaq TikTok: https://bit.ly/3KGbk4y Facebook: https://bit.ly/42Eiblb X.com: https://bit.ly/4nKKSoN LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/476JlSU Thank you to our partners H2TABS: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4hMNdgg BODYHEALTH: “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: http://bit.ly/4e5IjsV BAJA GOLD: "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3WSBqUa EIGHT SLEEP: SAVE $350 ON THE POD 4 ULTRA WITH CODE “GARY”: https://bit.ly/3WkLd6E COLD LIFE: THE ULTIMATE HUMAN PLUNGE: https://bit.ly/4eULUKp WHOOP: JOIN AND GET 1 FREE MONTH!: https://bit.ly/3VQ0nzW MASA CHIPS: 20% OFF FIRST ORDER: https://bit.ly/40LVY4y VANDY: “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: https://bit.ly/49Qr7WE AION: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4h6KHAD A-GAME: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: http://bit.ly/4kek1ij PEPTUAL: “TUH10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4mKxgcn CARAWAY: “ULTIMATE” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3Q1VmkC HEALF: 10% OFF YOUR ORDER: https://bit.ly/41HJg6S BIOPTIMIZERS: “ULTIMATE” FOR 15% OFF: https://bit.ly/4inFfd7 RHO NUTRITION: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: https://bit.ly/44fFza0 GOPUFF: GET YOUR FAVORITE SNACK!: https://bit.ly/4obIFDC GENETIC TEST: ⁠https://bit.ly/3Yg1Uk9 Watch the “Ultimate Human Podcast” every Tuesday & Thursday at 9AM EST: YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RPQYX8 Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RQftU0 Connect with Gary Brecka Instagram: https://bit.ly/3RPpnFs TikTok: https://bit.ly/4coJ8fo X: https://bit.ly/3Opc8tf Facebook: https://bit.ly/464VA1H LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4hH7Ri2 Website: https://bit.ly/4eLDbdU Merch: https://bit.ly/4aBpOM1 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/47ejrws Ask Gary: https://bit.ly/3PEAJuG Timestamps 00:00 Intro of Show 02:22 Role of Neurotransmitters on the Road to Happiness 03:27 Neurotransmitters on the Sense of Purpose and Community 12:24 Why Is Society Becoming Disconnected? 17:22 D. Dopamine Definition 20:29 O. Oxytocin’s Role in Humans 31:04 S. Serotonin’s Influence on Mood and Emotional State 40:16 E. Endorphins’ Impact on Stress 43:25 Objective behind the DOSE Lab 46:50 The DOSE Effect 1:01:18 Boredom and the Lack of Sense of Purpose 1:04:21 Connect with TJ 1:05:17 What does it mean to you to be an Ultimate Human? The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The Content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Dofamine has been one of the most important desires throughout our whole human evolution.
0:04.1	As a man and woman in a tribe, you would have got your dopamine from making the fires,
0:08.0	chasing down the meat. And that was such a pivotal thing that we needed.
0:11.6	The absence of dopamine is the presence of addiction. And when dopamine was absent, they were
0:17.3	driven to dopamine seeking behavior. You scroll videos for a while. After you eventually finished, you don't kind of think in your head like, wow, that was such a good scroll. If anything, you think like, shit, how do I get more of that feeling? Because it didn't feel like enough. Social media is not necessarily the enemy itself. It's that social media makes us feel connected and we're actually not connected. We're living in a world now where we're almost thinking,
0:39.3	screw the connection, through the connection to nature,
0:41.3	let's just only focus on dopamine.
0:43.3	Once the dopamine goes, oxytocin can become a priority.
0:46.3	Oxytocin is designed to make sure we have a deep sense of belonging and purpose in our tribe.
0:50.3	We know from the big data that sense of community and purpose into later in life are so
0:56.6	important to longevity.
0:58.2	And no matter how successful you become your money, your fame, whatever it might be,
1:02.1	you just think more, more, more, and that's because we're too driven by dopamine.
1:05.3	And in the pursuit of oxytocin, your system starts to think, well, actually, my life's
1:08.4	pretty good.
1:09.4	And that's a nice feeling for a human bit. Why is society becoming so disconnected? Are we seeking these neurotransmitters in other areas?
1:17.8	I would say deep connection is... Ultimate Human
1:29.9	Hey guys, welcome back to the Ultimate Human podcast.
1:35.4	I'm your host, human biologist Gary Brecker,
1:37.5	where we go down the road of everything,
1:39.6	anti-aging, biohacking, longevity, and everything in between.
1:43.7	And I happen to be over here in London
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Gary Brecka, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Gary Brecka and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.