The Conversation (0)
Ariana Baio
Dec 27, 2022
Porn addiction has trebled in Britain since pandemic began
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Online pornography is bigger than ever nowadays.
It’s easy to access online, free to watch, and prevalent across many websites, making it an easy habit to pick up.
But there are dangers in watching pornography often.
Not only can people develop pornography addictions but it can affect their ability to perform in the bedroom.
“There are good data to support the idea that if your brain learns to be aroused by watching other people have sex it is not necessarily going to carry over to the ability to get aroused when you’re one-on-one with someone else,” Dr Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Standford University, said.
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Dr Huberman issued a warning to people who watch “extreme porn” or watch pornography often on Chris Williamson’s podcast Modern Wisdom earlier this year.
“Extreme pornography, extreme experiences like bungee-cord jumping, those set a threshold for dopamine release,” Dr Huberman said.
“The higher the dopamine peak, the bigger the drop afterward.”
Andrew Huberman - How Porn Addiction Destroys Men’s Brainswww.youtube.com
Dr Huberman explained that he does think pornography is neither good nor bad but its dopamine-releasing feature must be monitored and controlled.
Dopamine, the chemical released in the brain that makes people feel good, can create addictions due to the euphoric feeling associated with its release.
Since pornography can release dopamine in the brain, it's an easy-to-access method to feeling good.
But when a person is chasing that feel-good feeling over and over again, Dr Huberman says they're conditioning the brain to need a bigger and more extreme activity to obtain the feeling again, especially when they're doing it too often.
"When people are pursuing dopamine peaks over and over and over and they aren’t getting them, typically it’s because they’ve been pursuing that activity far too often," Dr Huberman says.
This is how addictions can begin.
Pornography addictions are on the rise in the UK leading to concern from medical professionals.
Like other doctors, Dr Huberman recommends anyone who is watching too much pornography to take a break to give their mind and body a "reset".
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