Earlier quoted context omitted.
The more common advice is to get up at the same time every morning, regardless of when you went to bed.
This.
Does not work for me. I end up with a crushed soul and a complete inability to function.
Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
171–180 of 223 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Regardless, my experience was that its only value is the placebo effect. If a substance actually does anything real, and there is potential for a pharmaceutical company to patent and profit from it, then you can generally rest assured that it will be scheduled to require a doctor's prescription. For just about everything, the over-the-counter options consist of vitamins and quackery. So either blatantly break the la…
I have a weird experience with melatonin. It puts me out quickly, but I wake up about 4-5 hours later in a half drugged state. For the next few hours I'm awake but drowsy.
you might try adding 5-HTP to the mix. i had the same issue, after taking melatonin – i'd fall sleep, but wake up a few hours later. pretty much every night.
right now i take 1/2 of 2.5 mg melatonin (sublingual) with 50-100 mg 5-HTP, ideally 30-45 min before going to bed.
adding 5-HTP was A MIRACLE ! after just a day or two i slept very soundly and had AMAZING dreams – we're talkin 2160p 10.5 THX Lord of the Rings epic trilogy with you playing lead role. those first few weeks i even went to bed earlier just so i could dream longer. :) prior to that it had been decades since i remembered having any dreams. (warning though, i've told several friends about it – after they tried it they had to stop because the dreams were too intense.)
i read about 5-HTP in this book i borrowed from my chiropracter: http://smile.amazon.com/5-HTP-Natural-Overcome-Depression-In... basically it states that melatonin is only part of the sleep equation, seratonin is the other part. your body can produce seratonin from 5-HTP (which is the chemical in turkey which makes you drowsy).
also:
staring at a computer screen can really mess with your sleep – due to chemical imbalance with these hormones. to help as much as possible, i installed F.lux on all of my computers.
i also recently added Modalert to my daily routine, but that's another story...
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#173I took piracetam years ago when I was considering a career change and prepping for the LSAT exam. I believe that its legal history is somewhat similar to ephedra... 10-15 years ago you could buy it over-the-counter or online, but since then it's been taken off the market in the U.S. Regardless, my experience was that its only value is the placebo effect. If a substance actually does anything real, and there is potent…
I'm sitting in my camper near Tafraoute, Morocco -- near the painted rocks. There is nobody around for miles (kms actually). Somehow there is 80ms ping 3g internet here.
Finally I can concentrate! I'm so happy I don't work in a shared office space -- but they sort of all are shared office spaces. I think my hatred of all that drove me so far away to this place!
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#174Not a nootropic per say but I've noticed a huge difference since focusing on my general health; 1) 7-8 hours sleep per night. 2) 1 hour of exercise per day (some days cardio, other days weights(focus on compounds; squat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, pullups, rows)) (for people thinking "I'm too busy to spend an hour of my day exercising". I think the productivity increase of clearing your head doing this ex…
Why no frozen meals?
the point is to avoid highly processed/prepared foods.
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#175I take piracetam/pramiracetam/noopept on and off and cycle between caffeine+l-theanine and nicotine. Some non-nootropic supplements I take are fish oil, Vitamin D3, and melatonin. Here are some of my anecdotes.
::Piracetam
I haven't been able to get very consistent results with piracetam, but it's definitely not placebo. I've found that piracetam is hit-or-miss for a lot of people. Some are very sensitive and only need 500mg, while others, like myself, need somewhere around 10g, and it just doesn't work for others. When I started, the effects were fantastic: I had increased focus, more vivid dreams, and was more outgoing and personable when I'm normally introverted. However, after about 2 weeks of regular usage, much of the effect went away. This seems consistent with some other peoples' experiences with piracetam on the web. It seems to be having more effect now after a 2 month break, so it may just be tolerance. Also, @StevePerkins implied that piracetam is illegal to purchase in the US, but it is still unscheduled and legal to buy in most countries.
::Pramiracetam/Noopept
These are much less subtle than piracetam.
I usually take between 200-500mg pramiracetam and it has the same focusing effect of piracetam, but with a stimulating effect as well. I haven't noticed any tolerance issues, even with a period of regular use.
With noopept, I only felt any effects when consuming around 5mg sublingually. It's not a racetam so it's a bit riskier, in my opinion. I felt focused without any stimulating effects and I found it helpful for exams. Some people have reported short term memory issues with higher doses.
::Caffeine/L-theanine
This really is one of the best nootropics around if you can reduce your tolerance. Just caffeine makes me feel jittery, but taking it 1:1 with l-theanine makes me feel calm, focused, and energetic.
::Nicotine
I cycle this with caffeine to reduce tolerance. I use 2mg gums, and it works pretty well. It feels like caffeine with the edge taken off.
Like others have said, the benefits of nootropics are marginal compared to the low hanging fruit of sleep, exercise, and diet. If you're interested, just do your homework beforehand and balance the risks with the benefits. Everybody's different; find out which ones work and don't work for you, at what dosages. I think the racetams are relatively less risky, but they are psychoactive at high dosages, and there have not been studies on their long term effects over several years.
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#176I've been taking ~50mg modafinil 5 times a week for years. Last batch I bought was 2 years ago on the grey market (an online indian pharmacy) in 200mg pills form (so I divide them in 4 for a daily dose). I don't take any on weekends or on holiday, and sometimes I take 100mg if I'm going for a long car journey or something else that requires complete attention... The effects are very subtle but noticeable: more alertn…
Have you tried not taking it in a while?
I found that modafinil sped my mind up too fast to figure anything out. And I was taking even half what you are taking. Just 25mg.
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#177i tried piracetam but unfortunately it didn't have any effect on me. more recently i've been taking modafinil which has helped a lot – not necessarily with focus per-se, but being able to get through any drowsiness or that "wall" of just getting something started.
though i will add my lifestyle is pretty clean, i would probably work on that first if yours is not.
i recently changed my diet to mostly paleo but do include rice and beans. i use a nutribullet everyday to make my breakfast. i avoid processed foods, those with preservatives, etc. and cut down considerably on alcohol intake. i exercise a little bit (cardio mostly).
adding paleo was great in that i no longer experienced the crash after eating a meal. about a year ago it was necessary to take 1-2 15 minute naps per day. now i can go 14+ hours without issue.
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#178The closest I get is I occasionally take creatine. I'm vegetarian, I think the studies go either way on if the low creatine in a veg diet matters for mental acuity or not. I'll take 3g daily for a month, then forget about it, feel like it does nothing, etc. I notice small benefits re: muscle size, but never anything mental.
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#179NO! I investigated nootropics extensively. If you want to know the fruits of my research: * anything that "works" has a very pronounced psychoactive effect on the brain. Which is scary in the long-term. * by far the biggest cognitive boost you can get is SLEEPING WELL! Do this FIRST! It's easy to fix and gives a huge boost in output. * caffeine works as well as many nootropics, with little to no side-effects if taken…
I totally agree with you on sleep, but I also found that green tea helped with my anxiety to the point I was sleeping well.
Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?
#180I've taken L-Theanine with my coffee for years. The effect is subtle, but it's remarkable - I just look back over the last few hours and realize that I was distraction-proof. I haven't dabbled in anything else because I don't really like the idea of messing with my brain chemistry too much. Theanine gets a pass because it's just an amino acid, is naturally present in green tea, and is considered extremely safe. I'll…
I was taking L-Theanine (capsules) regularly a couple years back and I found that I built up a rapid tolerance to it after about a week where it stopped being effective. I had to cycle off every few days. I'm curious if anyone else has encountered this.