Why Bowling Can Get Boring, and How to Fix It

If you’re an experienced bowler, you’ve probably gone to practice and bowled fairly close to a group of open play bowlers. You’ve likely seen these bowlers get incredibly excited at getting a strike or a spare. You might even have been a little distracted or annoyed by it, but there was probably also a part of you that remembered being that excited to get strikes and spares. Now, you expect them, and unless you have a lot of them, you don’t get all that excited about it.

Whatever level you are at, these feelings are quite normal. There’s a reason that practices become boring, and league bowling can feel humdrum after bowling in a big tournament the previous weekend. And it has to do with your brain chemistry.

A quick primer on the brain’s happy chemicals

Four of the main hormones that affect your brain’s happiness are dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Combined, they contribute to your good feelings of achievement, community, and status.

Dopamine

Dopamine is widely understood as the hormone that’s triggered by the pursuit and achievement of a goal. It’s also been popularized more recently as the hormone that is manipulated by social media and endless scrolling. But there’s more to it than simple instant gratification.

When you are happy after achieving a new personal record (PR) at the gym, you’re triggering dopamine. From a bowling point of view, the equivalent is bowling your personal best score, or making a ...