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Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#151
I am in my late 30ies and few years ago I started to occasionally "lose" words. Never happened before... like the other day I couldn't remember the word raccoon. "Trash panda! Dumpster bandit! Badger? No. Beaver? No. Definitely not coyote. What was it?" the word just legit wasn't there when I needed it. My mind was wandering around it in the concept space, but couldn't find it until I googled. Affects both my native language and English.

It happens maybe once a week or even more rarely, but the scary part is what it symbolizes. The sack of shit that my mind uses for life support is starting to glitch! And I remember exactly how it feels for it to not be glitching. It's all downhill from here, but how fast?

I do exercise a lot and eat healthy, no kids, ok sleep, so it's also kinda depressing to read the comments - no obvious easy fixes to try!

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#152

I am in my mid 40's and recently really noticed this. It felt like some of the teeth in the gears of my mind were worn down and things were slipping. After complaining about it to some peers I was informed this could be due to low testosterone so I went and had that tested. Apparently my testosterone level was that of a 70 year old man so I started testosterone replacement therapy. I can say that it is a complete gam…

Testosterone has been declining in the population for decades. The reference levels for "normal" 20 year old now include what were, 60 years ago, levels considered too low for a ~60 year old man. It's not an exaggeration to say that at least a third of men have never experienced a normal hormonal level of testosterone. Testosterone affects nearly everything about the male physical and mental state; not only the stere…

That is fascinating. Where can I read more about this subject?

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading your comments, I think you have super human level of energy. Not to take anything away from your experience, but that isn't much help to the OP who is likely much lower energy. I observe the same in myself. Each year that I age up, the gap in energy between myself and peers grows larger. They keep getting fatter, slower, lazier, less innovative/intelligent. Me: Yes, a bit, but far slower than others around me…

To be fair at his level of wealth, there's very little, other than bodily functions and basic hygiene, that he needs to do for himself. You can get a lot more work done when you don't have to worry about cooking, laundry, cleaning, driving anywhere, childcare, random paperwork and administrivia, home maintenance...

Yes, his mental load must be so much lower than someone who needs to juggle all of those tasks. Hat tip for the term "administrivia" -- I never saw it before!

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Testosterone has been declining in the population for decades. The reference levels for "normal" 20 year old now include what were, 60 years ago, levels considered too low for a ~60 year old man. It's not an exaggeration to say that at least a third of men have never experienced a normal hormonal level of testosterone. Testosterone affects nearly everything about the male physical and mental state; not only the stere…

That is fascinating. Where can I read more about this subject?

You can just search for 'american male testosterone decline' to find many articles and studies. For the benefits of testosterone, I'm sure similar articles exist, but I'm speaking from the experience of talking to men who have started TRT.

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#155

I am in my mid 40's and recently really noticed this. It felt like some of the teeth in the gears of my mind were worn down and things were slipping. After complaining about it to some peers I was informed this could be due to low testosterone so I went and had that tested. Apparently my testosterone level was that of a 70 year old man so I started testosterone replacement therapy. I can say that it is a complete gam…

You should investigate clomiphene citrate instead of testosterone directly. Clomid mutes the brains response to estrogen, the final feedback product of the testosterone cycle. This causes the body to produce more testosterone in the testes rather than front loading the cycle. The primary impact is your testes continue to function, while testosterone over time will chemically castrate you. This has been in use for 60…

What is your current dose and frequency? Researching this at the moment while I wait fory T test results
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