Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nootropics

gwern.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 404 posts

Re: Nootropics

#41

Post by pmcginn »

fowlerpower wrote: post #28

Does anyone else think this shit is totally bat shit crazy? I may be of the minority here but I am definitely not the minority in the real world. If you care about health why not exercise and eat healthy and never take any type of drug for any reason unless you are sick.

If you care about light why not work outside in the sun and not use electricity and lightbulbs unless there's an eclipse?

I can't even tell if you're serious. Trying to improve on nature is the foundation of science.

Re: Nootropics

#42

Post by langseth »

blhack wrote: post #15
elevensies wrote: post #3

Melatonin has made it possible for me to sleep much more consistently which has been a huge help, since I saw Gwern's post on it a while ago.

You should switch to valerian root if you can. It isn't habit forming in the way that melatonin is. edit: since everybody is asking the same question about habit forming. I am just passing on the information that I got from my doctor. She made this suggestion to me, and it was beneficial to me. Once I had started using melatonin, I would have trouble falling asleep without it. Valarian root didn't cause that issue fo…

Yea, pretty sure you are wrong on melatonin being habit forming. Google says it is not: https://www.google.com/search?q=is+melatonin+habit+forming

Re: Nootropics

#43

Post by patrickg_zill »

cavisne wrote: post #16

Its concerning to see Modafinil on the same list of "defaults" as caffeine and vitamin D. They are on a different scale when it comes to the effect on your brain. That aside, my anecdotal experience of mod is its basically a waste of time. Sure you stay awake longer but we can all easily procrastinate a day away regardless, it wont make you any more focused or any smarter. If you for some reason need to improve your…

My experience with modafinil was quite distinct. If I started a task I could stick with it for a long time. However it was indiscriminate as to the task importance.

It gave me a much narrower focus - when I was playing pinball at a local bar my scores dropped because I was narrowly focused on where the ball was, rather than where it would be, and I had to consciously force myself into using my peripheral vision.

Another example: I was practicing hand-writing a different (non-Latin) alphabet and had a practice book. Usually I could do one or two pages and then stop for the day, wanting to do something else. On modafinil I did about ten pages' worth.

Re: Nootropics

#44

Post by mdorazio »

gragas wrote: post #36
nefitty wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In regards to modafinil, it is a schedule IV drug in the US. It's a bit difficult to get and quite expensive. I've done well with adrafinil, which is a prodrug of moda and relatively easy to get.

Modafinil was quite cheap and easy to get in my experience. That was in the middle of the US, nowhere near a big city.

It's absurdly easy to get. There are even dedicated online sites like ModafinilCat that make the whole experience like buying on Amazon. It is a bit pricey since it's coming through customs from India typically, but still affordable if you just need some to take during crunch times.

Re: Nootropics

#45

Post by RandomInteger4 »

dajohnson89 wrote: post #27
RandomInteger4 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if I'd call President Obama a health nut; maybe Michelle, but not sure about Barack, unless he quit smoking and switched permanently to the gum.

Nicotine gum is awful for your teeth and gums, and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that it thins out hair.

Perhaps, and I wouldn't know from first hand experience trying it myself, but I imagine it is almost guaranteed to be safer than smoking. For reference on that matter, my mother passed away a while back from lung cancer induced by smoking (small cell lung cancer).

Re: Nootropics

#46

Post by elevensies »

throwaway123912 wrote: post #14
elevensies wrote: post #3

Melatonin has made it possible for me to sleep much more consistently which has been a huge help, since I saw Gwern's post on it a while ago.

Melatonin has worked wonders for me as well. However it's worth mentioning that the 3mg capsules I bought are WAAAY too strong and cause me to wake up with a dry mouth and a headache after a couple of hours of intense dreaming and nightmares. Instead now I split the caps open and take a tiny fraction of the melatonin every night. It takes me a few weeks to go through a single capsule.

Interesting, I take 3 or 6 mg per night about an hour before sleep, I've never experienced that but it does make my dreams more vivid and memorable and I wake up from the occasional nightmare as well.

Re: Nootropics

#47

Post by daveguy »

RachelF wrote: post #38
fowlerpower wrote: post #28

Does anyone else think this shit is totally bat shit crazy? I may be of the minority here but I am definitely not the minority in the real world. If you care about health why not exercise and eat healthy and never take any type of drug for any reason unless you are sick.

Most of us take drugs like caffeine and alcohol pretty often. The person who made this site has been willing to test, meticulously document and analyse his results. He's pretty informed as to the side-effects, so no, I don't think he's "bat shit crazy", he's doing us a service.

His testing and analysis are not exactly rigorous. Even with an N=1 he comments about how he can smell the difference between the placebo and treatment.

In his most highly rated drug, modafinil, he took it on 8 different days and could tell which one it was 5/8 times.

8 days, couldn't tell the difference 3/8 times and it is his most highly recommended drug.

He definitely needs to try drug free, exercise and sleep over a month.

Re: Nootropics

#48

Post by daveguy »

elevensies wrote: post #3

Melatonin has made it possible for me to sleep much more consistently which has been a huge help, since I saw Gwern's post on it a while ago.

Melatonin definitely works for me too. I can take 3/4 mg and have an effect. 3mg and I feel groggy in the morning. Of course, melatonin has been well known for decades.

Re: Nootropics

#49

Post by aidenn0 »

RandomInteger4 wrote: post #32
cavisne wrote: post #16

Its concerning to see Modafinil on the same list of "defaults" as caffeine and vitamin D. They are on a different scale when it comes to the effect on your brain. That aside, my anecdotal experience of mod is its basically a waste of time. Sure you stay awake longer but we can all easily procrastinate a day away regardless, it wont make you any more focused or any smarter. If you for some reason need to improve your…

If you take a consistent low dose of Adderall at least, there should be nothing wrong with taking it every day and might actually be preferable that way, otherwise you're in for a rollercoaster effect. The longer you're on though, up to a point at least I imagine, assuming the dose is consistent, you will have a greater withdrawal period that will really suck compared to if you only use them recreationally, which I c…

Different drugs affect people differently. I was rendered incapable of driving safely with a moderate dose of Addreall (30mg), and still felt somewhat unsafe with a low dose of Adderall(15mg). The main effect was that I could no longer subconsciously distinguish moving objects from non-moving objects (I had to think "is that car parked or moving" rather than being able to just tell by looking). My weight is 105kg.

Re: Nootropics

#50

Post by daveguy »

blhack wrote: post #15
elevensies wrote: post #3

Melatonin has made it possible for me to sleep much more consistently which has been a huge help, since I saw Gwern's post on it a while ago.

You should switch to valerian root if you can. It isn't habit forming in the way that melatonin is. edit: since everybody is asking the same question about habit forming. I am just passing on the information that I got from my doctor. She made this suggestion to me, and it was beneficial to me. Once I had started using melatonin, I would have trouble falling asleep without it. Valarian root didn't cause that issue fo…

Melatonin is not addictive. You can form a psychological habit with anything, but physical dependence is not an issue.
Post reply on HN