You know that moment when you say you’ll stop after this TV show episode, this chapati, or one last scroll. Then your finger, your hand, or your eyes quietly decide to keep going, just one more. Suddenly, thirty minutes have passed, three more pieces are gone, or you’ve finished a whole packet.
This is not simply a lack of willpower or discipline. Your brain’s reward system is doing exactly what it was designed to do, but in a “more” world where there is always something more to watch, eat, or scroll through.
The star of the show is dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain that plays a key role in motivation and reward. Many people call it the pleasure chemical, but it is more accurately associated with “wanting.” Dopamine levels rise when the brain anticipates a possible reward, not necessarily when the reward arrives.
This response helped our ancestors pursue rewards essential to survival, from finding food to exploring their surroundings and seeking social connections. When opportunities were limited, the drive to keep searching made sense because the next reward was never guaranteed. Today, however, we live in an environment where many rewards are easier to access and repeat, from endless scrolling and autoplay videos to readily available snacks.
Social media and streaming platforms took advantage of this through a process known as variable reward, the same principle that makes slot machines hard to leave. As you scroll, most posts may barely hold your attention, but every so often you find something funny, surprising or exactly what you wanted to see.
Because you never know when the next rewarding post will appear, you keep scrolling; your brain keeps checking. Likes, comments and unexpected discoveries make the experience even more engaging, encouraging you to return for another hit of novelty.
A similar pattern occurs with food: anticipating the next bite can keep you eating, even as satisfaction gradually fades.
Over time, repeated exposure to quick rewards, such as doomscrolling, can make ordinary activities feel less rewarding, particularly those that require more time and effort. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in planning and self-control, struggles to ‘shout louder than’ the immediate ‘just one more’ signal.
How Do You Break the Loop?
Though powerful, the loop is not unbreakable. Awareness is a good place to start. Noticing the urge without immediately acting on it weakens the automatic path. Setting clear stopping points in advance, such as “I will watch only two episodes” or “I will put the phone in another room after this message,” gives the slower, wiser part of the brain a better chance to resist the temptation to continue. Replacing the habit with another activity you enjoy, even if it offers a milder reward, can also help you gradually build new habits.
So, the next time “just one more” appears, smile a little. It’s an ancient survival system meeting modern abundance. Understanding how “just one more” works will not make the urge disappear, but it can help you recognise it for what it is, and perhaps make a more deliberate choice about what to do next.
By Alfred Galandi.
