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Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#81

Post by ollysb »

Mahn wrote: post #72
StevePerkins wrote: post #24

I 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…

> As an aside, what is the point of taking a serious nootropic for software development? Typically, a coder's problem isn't failure to get into a groove once they have uninterrupted time. The typical problem is not having uninterrupted time in the first place. Procrastination can also be a pretty big problem for a coder, and theoretically a drug could help there.

There are plenty of process oriented methods for solving this one e.g. pomodoros and outside-in development.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#82

Post by sumitviii »

ch wrote: post #44
sumitviii wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MIT has a patent on doses less than 1 mg and some(not exactly >1 mg) higher doses can have harmful effects.

It is possible to patent the quantity of dosage for a given chemical? There must be more to this than you let on, no?

http://www.google.com/patents/US5449683

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#83

Post by TheLarch »

netman21 wrote: post #32

I take nicotine. I am not a coder; I write non-fiction. I figure it was good enough for Mark Twain, it is good enough for me.

"I had not smoked for three full months and no words can adequately describe the smoke appetite that was consuming me. I had been a smoker from my ninth year--a private one during my my first two years but a public one after that--that is to say, after my father's death. I was smoking and utterly happy before I was thirty steps from the lodge door. I do not now know what the brand of the cigar was. It was probably not choice, or the previous smoker would not have thrown it away so soon. But I realized that it was the best cigar that was ever made. The previous smoker would have thought the same if he had been without a smoke from three months. I smoked that stub without shame. I could not do it now without shame, because now I am more refined than I was then. But I would smoke it just the same. I know myself and I know the human race well enough to know that."

He smoked the stub without shame.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#84

Post by TheLarch »

The best nootropic for me is bicycling into work.

Also, after years of experimenting with caffeine I'm convinced that for me, one cup in the morning is close to ideal. Caffeine stays in the body for many hours, so it's all too easy to fall into the trap where you're tired, so you drink more, &etc.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#85

Post by TheLarch »

LeonRobrotsky wrote: post #14

M-F I take one 200mg tablet of caffeine in the morning. I also quit getting blackout drunk 4-5 nights a week.

My coordination improved when I quit drinking. I was a fairly heavy drinker, but not nearly to that extent. It used to be that when I dropped something, I would seldom catch it on the way down. Now I often or usually do. I didn't notice a commensurate improvement in code output or quality though, but it could have happened without me noticing.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#86

Post by dlss »

sumitviii wrote: post #40
Lewton wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, luckily there's a drug for improving sleep too http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin

MIT has a patent on doses less than 1 mg and some(not exactly >1 mg) higher doses can have harmful effects.

PSA: http://smile.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-Melatonin-Liquid-Nat... is melatonin in drop form, with 3 drops being 0.3 mg.

See http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin for a good writeup :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#87

Post by traitorjoe »

Lewton wrote: post #43
sumitviii wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MIT has a patent on doses less than 1 mg and some(not exactly >1 mg) higher doses can have harmful effects.

Source on the harmful effects? I have not seen any credible study showing any significantly harmful effects. Did not know about the MIT thing. That explains why it seems impossible to find melatonin in reasonable doses. It took me a long time even to find something as low as 1 mg pills here in europe (why would anyone ever want to buy 8 mg melatonin pills??)

Trader Joe's sells melatonin that comes in does of 500mcg

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#88

Post by flowlikeh2o »

sasas wrote: post #64
flowlikeh2o wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its unlikely that depriving your brain of fuel is having a positive effect on concentration, but since eating carbs triggers insulin, which supresses the effects of adrenaline, you might just be experiencing the benefits of not saturating your diet with sugar.

The brain is not being deprived, rather it's deriving it's energy from a different source - > the brain starts burning ketones in order to more directly use the energy from the fat stores that are being depended upon, and to reserve the glucose only for its absolute needs [1] Additionally - > Because the brain can only power 70% of its action on ketones, glucose will have to be used no matter what. However, because g…

I meant to say it's primary fuel source. Will look into this more, but I would think avoiding suppression of epinephrine has to account for some of the effect of cutting to a no/low carb diet.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#89

Post by JohnBooty »

flowlikeh2o wrote: post #59
pyromine wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, so I'm a college freshmen who graduated high school in three years but did that in a combination of excelling and getting absolute 0's in classes because I'm not able to concentrate. I believe I have adhd, for many reasons, how realistic is it getting diagnosed at 18? Also, is there really not many noticeable long-term side effects, because I took vyvanse once and holy god it was the first time I was able to si…

I'm 30 and in med school, had a similar experience in high school, and my first attempt at college wasn't too different. I couldn't have changed gears without the right diagnosis, support and medication (though medication is truly just one aspect of it). I was diagnosed in my 20s. If you go to a therapist/psych to talk about your issues you have a good chance of working them out and getting the support you need. the…

  > (though medication is truly just one aspect of it)
Yes, this is so true. The major pieces of the puzzle for me ...from most to least important... are: good sleep, proper environment, exercise, nutrition, medication.

When I say "nutrition" I don't even mean a strict diet. The most important part there for me is simply avoiding big doses of sugar and carbs. Those leave me drained.

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