Get bored.
Omega 3.
Cardio improves brain function more than weightlifting (sad).
Do what you are good at and interested in, don't waste energy and don't accumulate stress with stuff that's not for you (this is huge and very underrated, although it cannot be done 100% of the time obviously).
Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
41–50 of 54 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#42Hilariously my comment sounds like Radiohead's FITTER HAPPIER MORE PRODUCTIVE song but I swear I shot up 10 IQ points and work reputation by: Stop drinking alcohol, as said elsewhere. It takes about 2-3 weeks of sobriety to regain 80% of the capacity you lost. It's also extremely hard on your emotional regulation, work motivation, patience, and ability to concentrate long after you think you can't feel the effects. S…
> Perfect your sleep schedule. I used 10mg EXTENDED RELEASE melatonin about 1 hour before bedtime. Why are so many Americans reliant on melatonin? I don't know anyone who has significant sleeping issues, and no one who takes melatonin. However it comes up quite often in conversations with folks from the US. Are people there more likely to be stressed because work doesn't let them switch off?
It's rooted in American marketing and lack of regulation. Many people don't view melatonin as the hormone it really is. Kinda wild we can buy unlimited amounts of it with no regulation. Pretty cheap too.
I have yet to hear a clinical neurologist actually recommend melatonin for sleep management. It is highly disruptive and while you may feel you slept well, there will be nagging consequences which result in negative net gain.
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#43[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#44Hilariously my comment sounds like Radiohead's FITTER HAPPIER MORE PRODUCTIVE song but I swear I shot up 10 IQ points and work reputation by: Stop drinking alcohol, as said elsewhere. It takes about 2-3 weeks of sobriety to regain 80% of the capacity you lost. It's also extremely hard on your emotional regulation, work motivation, patience, and ability to concentrate long after you think you can't feel the effects. S…
>>I used 10mg EXTENDED RELEASE melatonin about 1 hour before bedtime
Alright this point of yours is not like the others. Using drugs to sleep is always ill advised unless really medically necessary
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#45Nothing. It's been a slow decline.
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#46Hilariously my comment sounds like Radiohead's FITTER HAPPIER MORE PRODUCTIVE song but I swear I shot up 10 IQ points and work reputation by: Stop drinking alcohol, as said elsewhere. It takes about 2-3 weeks of sobriety to regain 80% of the capacity you lost. It's also extremely hard on your emotional regulation, work motivation, patience, and ability to concentrate long after you think you can't feel the effects. S…
> Stop drinking alcohol, as said elsewhere. It takes about 2-3 weeks of sobriety to regain 80% of the capacity you lost. Capacity of what? And have you got any source on that?
It likely affects different people differently. Moderate alcohol consumption doesn't seem to have a long term cognitive affect for me. No difference in cognitive abilities if I had 2-3 drinks the night before or a few months before. I'd imagine heavy drinking has a different impact, but have much experience on that. Overall, it would likely be healthier to not drink.
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#47I don't know about that, but I know bitterly that chronic sleep deprivation basically deatroyed the "RAM" of my brain, now it's really difficult to concentrate and go through difficult problem without rest. So instead of gritting through step 1 to 10, I have to take a rest after step 3, then make sure that step 3 was property done, then take another rest after step 6, recheck 6, and so on. I'd argue one of the edges…
I agree that marriage, kids, and the complexities they present are a drag on cognition.
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#48Get bored. Omega 3. Cardio improves brain function more than weightlifting (sad). Do what you are good at and interested in, don't waste energy and don't accumulate stress with stuff that's not for you (this is huge and very underrated, although it cannot be done 100% of the time obviously).
I hear that non-fish derived omega-3 is better because it's less likely to have oxidized before/during extraction. Not sure how true that is, but wanted to throw that out for discussion.
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#49I don't know about that, but I know bitterly that chronic sleep deprivation basically deatroyed the "RAM" of my brain, now it's really difficult to concentrate and go through difficult problem without rest. So instead of gritting through step 1 to 10, I have to take a rest after step 3, then make sure that step 3 was property done, then take another rest after step 6, recheck 6, and so on. I'd argue one of the edges…
I agree that marriage, kids, and the complexities they present are a drag on cognition.
Can't blame anyone except myself. I actually knew that but still decided to sink into it. Back in the day I did a calculation of how much time I can save by NOT going into marriage and getting 1+ children, that calculation grossly underestimated the time saved, even without the deduction in cognition.
Re: Ask HN: What is one thing that improved your cognitive skills the most?
#50Wait, y’all are out there improving your cognitive skills?