Live data from Hacker News

Nootropics

gwern.net

141–150 of 404 posts

Re: Nootropics

#141

The best nootropic is getting a good nights sleep. It takes effort! Preparing for bed early and disciplining yourself to put the light out is not easy. Not nearly as easy as popping a pill. But it's so much more effective than any drug listed here. And for a safe and provable quick cognitive boost, take some caffeine, preferable green tea with theanine.

One thing to help with sleep that is https://freedom.to/, which you can use to make a list of websites to hard-block and then schedule them to be blocked either

1) now through 8hours from now

2) every SMTWRarsday from 11:30pm-8:30am

Re: Nootropics

#142

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.

[deleted]

Re: Nootropics

#143
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is 30mg really a moderate does? When I had a pers ription for Aderral, 20mg was enough to make me feel like I was going to die.

>Is 30mg really a moderate does? No, it's not. It's far from unheard of to start getting hallucinations on 30mg of amphetamine. In the 30's and 40's Benzedrine was generally prescribed in 5 or 10 milligram tablets.

Well someone should tell my Psychiatrist that as it's the dose she started me at (actually 2x 30mg, once in the morning and once in the afternoon). The side effects were quite severe so I only took that dose once.

Re: Nootropics

#144

The best nootropic is getting a good nights sleep. It takes effort! Preparing for bed early and disciplining yourself to put the light out is not easy. Not nearly as easy as popping a pill. But it's so much more effective than any drug listed here. And for a safe and provable quick cognitive boost, take some caffeine, preferable green tea with theanine.

A 30min jog in the morning is also a huge boost to your day.

Re: Nootropics

#145
post #66
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ove…

If you know someone who has better data, I'm sure everyone would like to read it. You have to at least be impressed with the level of rigor he did manage for a person working alone to test hundreds of chemicals.

If i remember reading right, if you have a healthy diet and exercise noops don't help or aren't as useful as just being healthy.

Re: Nootropics

#146

The best nootropic is getting a good nights sleep. It takes effort! Preparing for bed early and disciplining yourself to put the light out is not easy. Not nearly as easy as popping a pill. But it's so much more effective than any drug listed here. And for a safe and provable quick cognitive boost, take some caffeine, preferable green tea with theanine.

Assuming sleep works for everyone the same way is not very scientific. And such drugs help transition between an unhealthy lifestyle and a healthy one without having to give up productivity, focus and whatnot.

Re: Nootropics

#147
post #80

The best nootropic is getting a good nights sleep. It takes effort! Preparing for bed early and disciplining yourself to put the light out is not easy. Not nearly as easy as popping a pill. But it's so much more effective than any drug listed here. And for a safe and provable quick cognitive boost, take some caffeine, preferable green tea with theanine.

This. And use Flux. Blue light after 9PM is the enemy.

Try getting the Uvex S1933X glasses. They work for everything in your view (obviously) without messing around with software, and probably works better too.

I have them, and they're amazing. I have pretty cool LED lighting in my apartment and can make my whole living room any color I want at night. If I set in to pure blue and put on the glasses, it's like being in pitch blackness (except a couple of items glow brightly).

It's not like looking at things with an orange tint at all, even though the glasses are obviously orange.

That being said - the benefits I get by using them is amazing. It's weird how much of a difference it can make, I get tired quickly after putting them on in the evening. If I forget to put them on I usually end up staying up too late, getting too little sleep and often ruining the next day. Personally I find it way more effective than flux.

By the way - blue light isn't just a negative thing, but also a huge positive. In the morning I use a Philips goLITE BLU HF3332, and it really improves both my energy and mood quickly after just a few minutes of usage.

Those two simple items, a blue light and a pair of blue-blocking glasses, have improved my life significantly. Try it out (especially the glasses, it's just $9).

Re: Nootropics

#148

The best nootropic is getting a good nights sleep. It takes effort! Preparing for bed early and disciplining yourself to put the light out is not easy. Not nearly as easy as popping a pill. But it's so much more effective than any drug listed here. And for a safe and provable quick cognitive boost, take some caffeine, preferable green tea with theanine.

It's hard for me to fall asleep. I haven't cracked it yet how to do it perfectly. What helps: view the problem as improving your likelihood to sleep. Before I viewed the problem as falling asleep 100% of the time, which is a really defeating view to have when I can't fall asleep. Sleep tips that help me: 1. meditation: still experimenting with body-scan vs. breath meditation, they both help but have different effects…

> I'm curious about other sleep tips that you guys have. I really want to improve this as much as possible.

What is your screen usage (phone, computer, tv, tablet etc) like in the hour or two before going to sleep?

Have you tried reducing or eliminating it?

Re: Nootropics

#149

Zoloft I am afraid of sounding like a shill, but the fact is I'm 30 engineer, who has been trying to feel better my whole life through experiments with: ketamine, CBD, various nutrients, various dietary changes, exercise, being more social, meditation. None of them made lasting improvement like sertraline has, I wish I had been open-minded enough to try it years ago. In retrospect, maybe it was ridiculous to try to f…

I'd like to offer a story of caution, and I do so with some hesitation because it sounds like it's been good for you so far. A friend of mine lost his life after committing suicide a month after starting Zoloft. His last messages to me were a discussion of what serotonin syndrome was like. He was excited and curious as always, which after reading online is common. I know I shouldn't blame the drug since he was depressed before... but it sucks to lose someone when it seems like their life was on the upward climb. Anyways, stay safe and be careful.

Re: Nootropics

#150

The best nootropic is getting a good nights sleep. It takes effort! Preparing for bed early and disciplining yourself to put the light out is not easy. Not nearly as easy as popping a pill. But it's so much more effective than any drug listed here. And for a safe and provable quick cognitive boost, take some caffeine, preferable green tea with theanine.

This is so true. It's amazing what an extra hour or two a night can do for me. But who has time to sleep that much?!
Post reply on HN