The Neuroscience of Pleasure: Hacking the Brain’s Reward System
A piece of dark chocolate melts, in its exquisiteness, on your tongue; you experience the thrill of an unexpected compliment; you settle into the serenity of a peaceful walk in a park on a sunny afternoon — we’re all familiar with these different experiences of pleasure. But what exactly happens in our brains when we feel pleasure? And how can we get more of it?
Picture this: you’re sitting in your favourite coffee shop, savouring the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, with instrumental jazz playing in the background, you are held in the quiet chatter of fellow coffee lovers. A wave of pleasure washes over you. That feeling — the warmth, the contentment — is a powerful and essential part of our human existence.
And yet, pleasure appears to be waning. Multiple large-scale studies have found evidence of modest declines over recent decades in measures of happiness, life satisfaction, positive emotions, and engagement in pleasurable activities among adults and youth in the United States.
Pleasure elevates our daily experiences, making life both worth living and deeply fulfilling. How does pleasure manifest in the brain and how can we get more of it?
The Neural Pathways of Pleasure
The experience of pleasure is governed by a specific part of our brain called the reward system. This intricate network of neurons is primarily comprised of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, and the prefrontal cortex, interconnected by a neurotransmitter known as dopamine.
Imagine the thrill of listening to your favourite song, the satisfaction of completing a difficult task, or the joy of sharing a heartfelt laugh with a loved one. These experiences activate the VTA, which responds by releasing dopamine. This dopamine then travels to the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex, generating feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.
Interestingly, it’s not just pleasure that activates this system. Pain, or the anticipation of it, can trigger a similar response. This duality may seem counterintuitive, but it emphasises the complexity of the human brain and the multifaceted nature of our experiences.
Arousal, or activation of the sympathetic nervous system, primes us to respond more intensely to stimuli by stimulating the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. Research demonstrates that increased arousal amplifies reactions to rewarding stimuli, heightening pleasure. However, it also amplifies responses to negative or threatening stimuli, increasing pain and discomfort. Arousal serves as a sensitising mechanism that readies the body and brain to react more strongly to any incoming stimuli, both pleasurable and aversive.
Conversely, when arousal is suppressed, as occurs with anaesthesia or damage to arousal circuits, the body’s sensitivity to stimuli is numbed. Research by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman found that activation of inhibitory neurons in the central amygdala induces a dissociated state where animals become unresponsive to normally painful or pleasurable triggers. Suppressing arousal reduces the sympathetic nervous system’s excitatory norepinephrine signalling. This leads to flattened emotional reactions and pleasure responses, indicating arousal is necessary for fully experiencing sensory input as positive or negative. Just as increasing arousal heightens reactions to stimuli, tamping down arousal can make both pleasure and pain more muted.
Pleasure, the 5Ps and a Few Experiments to Try
In the context of the 5Ps — Pause, Play, Passion, Purpose, and Pleasure — understanding how pleasure functions in our brains can fundamentally enrich our lives. Here’s how:
Pause: To truly experience pleasure, we need to slow down, to pause. It’s in the quiet, still moments that we can fully appreciate and savour pleasure. When we rush from one task to another, we often miss the small pleasures that can bring immense joy. Take a moment, pause, and allow yourself to truly experience the life around you.
Experiment: One of the experiments I’ve been conducting recently is to come to a stop whenever I’m walking around — in nature or a museum, or even a grocery store — and just stand there for a moment. I stop, and I wait. I don’t speak. I laser in on all five senses: what am I seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting? And I stand or sit with that. What usually ends up happening is I see or hear something I would have rushed right by: a bird in a birdhouse, a particularly subtle cast of light, the sound of a tired footfall. I find people don’t really pay attention to my pause, which is terrific, and if they do, I can indicate that I’m waiting for someone (even if I’m alone).
Play: Engaging in playful activities can stimulate the release of dopamine, enhancing our experience of pleasure. Whether it’s playing a musical instrument, painting, or dancing, when we lose ourselves in play, we open ourselves up to the joy and pleasure that life has to offer.
Experiment: Approach the world as if you were 18 months old. Do you remember what that was like? Everything was so new — and you were still figuring out how things worked. Take 10 minutes to turn a problem upside down. Approach it as if you didn’t have a whole lot of language or even the capacity to hold a crayon. What you do have is your full-body experience: you can run and vigorously shake or nod your head. You can look at things every which way because you don’t know “the way” yet. You can delight in not knowing. Play like this, for 10 minutes.
Passion: When we engage in activities that we are passionate about, we not only experience pleasure but also cultivate a deeper sense of purpose. This can have a profound effect on our overall well-being and satisfaction in life.
Experiment: A lot of people tell me they don’t have a passion, never did. I invite you to take a single day to do whatever the whosiewhatsit you want. It may be hard to set up a whole day for yourself, with no other tasks or responsibilities to take care of, but set one day aside. Then, turn off your devices, and go do whatever the whosiewhatsit you want. You can involve living beings if you like. Follow your instinct. If it feels good (and it’s not hurting anyone), do it. For one day. Then come back and tell me what you did — and how you felt.
Purpose: Living a life aligned with our purpose is a powerful source of deep, sustained pleasure. When we engage in meaningful activities that resonate with our core values, the dopamine-induced pleasure we experience is profound and lasting.
Experiment: Have you ever thought about your raison d’etre or why you’re here? It may not be your thing. It may surprise you to know that the people around you can see your purpose better than you can. They witness you interacting in the world, making choices, living from an inner “drum”. Set aside some time to speak with someone who has known you for a long time. Ask them what they see. Listen closely. Do any of the words they use to describe you or what drives you resonate? Do any of them bring tears to your eyes? If they do, you are feeling seen.
Pleasure: It’s the climax of the 5Ps journey — a rich, multi-dimensional experience that heightens our senses, deepens our appreciation for life, and enriches our existence. Pleasure serves as both a catalyst and a multiplier that breathes oxygen into the fire of the four other Ps, creating a powerful, fulfilling life.
Cultivating Pleasure
How can we cultivate this neural alchemy, this capacity for experiencing pleasure? Here are a few science-backed strategies:
1. Be fully in your body and present in the moment (pause; see above 😃). Settle into your body and engage your senses — see, hear, touch, taste, and smell the world around you. This active engagement will absolutely enhance your capacity to experience pleasure.
2. Engage in physical activity and exercise, which releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals in the brain. Research suggests getting at least 20–30 minutes of moderate exercise like brisk walking on most days of the week. This amount of activity releases feel-good endorphins and neurotransmitters that uplift mood.
3. Spend more time outdoors and connect with nature, which can lower stress and boost your mood. Regular nature time provides cognitive, emotional and health benefits that can enhance quality of life and feelings of pleasure. According to the book The Nature Fix by Florence Williams, research suggests the following guidelines for time spent outdoors:
- Daily: Spend at least 20 minutes outside in nature each day. Studies show 20 minutes outside can lower stress hormones and blood pressure.
- Weekly: Aim for 2–3 hours immersed in nature each week for enhanced mood, focus and health benefits. Research found 2 hours per week led to increased happiness and life satisfaction.
- Monthly: Strive for a full day or overnight in nature once a month. Multi-day nature retreats are found to provide deeper restoration psychologically and physiologically compared to shorter exposures.
4. Connect with others: Social connections can play a significant role in our ability to experience pleasure. Share a laugh, a story, or a meal with someone — the shared joy can amplify your own experience of pleasure. Fostering close relationships and social connections also satisfies our need for belonging.
5. Cultivate and pursue your passions: Dedicate time to what you love. This can boost your mood, reduce stress and improve your overall sense of well-being. Discover and pursue new hobbies, interests or skills to experience the pleasure of learning — and experiencing — new things!
6. Express gratitude on a regular basis and savour the good things, both big and small.
7. Prioritise the four pillars of well-being: Regular exercise, a healthy diet, sufficient sleep and healthy in-person social interactions can significantly influence your capacity for pleasure. In fact, falling down on any of these pillars will severely inhibit your capacity to experience pleasure. Getting adequate sleep and rest allows the brain to properly regulate emotions and process pleasure.
8. Be aware of emotional numbing or flattening. Research shows that over-suppressing arousal can blunt reactions to pleasurable or painful stimuli (as discussed above). Notice if you feel dissociated from sensations or unable to experience joy or sadness fully. Gently bringing more awareness to your body and emotions can help recalibrate your arousal system.
The key is balancing healthy arousal with relaxation. Consciously make time for pleasurable activities, meaningful connections and self-care. This will keep your brain’s reward system tuned up and ready to respond.
The Takeaway
Understanding your brain’s pleasure circuitry allows you to intentionally cultivate more daily joy and satisfaction. Take time to engage the reward system and consciously incorporate strategies to enhance your pleasure.
Pleasure begets pleasure: the more you allow yourself to feel and experience pleasure, the more you will enjoy, prioritise and reap the enormous benefits of it.
Increasing your pleasure will spark and fire the other elements of the 5Ps — Pause, Play, Passion and Purpose — paving the way to living your “one precious life” as only you can live it.
This piece is part of a book I am writing on Pause, Play, Passion, Purpose and Pleasure (the “5Ps”). For more about the book, subscribe to Hit Pause, Then Play.
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