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Nootropics

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Re: Nootropics

#211

Post by forloop »

HalfwayToDice wrote: post #74

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.

Sleep isn't a nootropic. This happens quite a lot with noobs. They conflate nootropics with sleep/food/water/exercise. It wouldn't be that bad, but it derails the actual subject: I.e. nootropics.

Here's a concise definition[0]:

"(of a drug) used to enhance memory or other cognitive functions"

There are other definitions. All the ones I've seen have exogenous substances as a common denominator, however.

[0] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nootropic

Re: Nootropics

#212

Post by mettamage »

a-saleh wrote: post #176
mettamage wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Thing that probably helped me and my wife to improve our sleep routine the best, is switching to ambient lights ~1 hour before sleep. Because the sun sets usually some time between 17 00 and 21 00 depending on the season, and we usually go to sleep between 22 00 and 24 00, we usually switch of the main lamps around 21 00 and maybe even switch from ambient lamps to candles later on. My wife introduced this because it…

Interesting! I thought about having better light control, now I really think it's a good thing to do. I'll Google ambient lights and see what they are and what it means.

Re: Nootropics

#213

Post by elyase »

pedalpete wrote: post #110
nostromo wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two more things you might try: * Melatonin -- get the low dose chewable kind from Trader Joes and take 30 minutes before you go to bed * Keep the bedroom cool and completely dark -- there is research the connects insomnia with warm body temperatures in some people ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18603220 )

You have to be careful with Melatonin, your body will produce less of it's own if you keep topping yourself up, which means diminished returns with continued use.

A study assessing 6 months (n=112) and 12 months (n=96) of melatonin treatment of 2mg in a controlled release capsule, taken 1-2 hours prior to sleep, people aged 20-80 with primary insomnia failed to show any tolerance to the treatment. The authors noted a slight sensitization to the effects of melatonin at the 3-4 month period, which was attributed to better entrainment of the circadian rhythm. These results have been replicated in another study, lasting 6 months, with a sample of 791 people. No melatonin tolerance due to usage was observed. Another study, lasting 6 months with a sample size of 421 people also replicated these results.

Source: http://examine.com/supplements/Melatonin/#summary15-1

Re: Nootropics

#214

Post by mettamage »

jon-wood wrote: post #169
mettamage wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Have a baby. Your sleeping less is my average night's sleep, split into two or three chunks. Amazing how easy it is to get to sleep when you've spent the last two and a half years in a low level state of exhaustion ;)

I've always marveled at how parents do it. Really, you are the true hero's in the world ;)

Re: Nootropics

#215

Post by mettamage »

hawski wrote: post #172
ivanb wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you rely on windows to get vitamin D I have bad news for you. Glass filters out most of UV spectrum of sunlight. It is really hard if not impossible to get a tan behind glass. Physical exercises and outdoor activities are very helpful with sleep and overall well being.

Read again what he wrote - he relies on open windows :)

Yes open windows indeed! I do have a 'mosquito screen' (no clue how to call it in English).

Re: Nootropics

#216

Post by forloop »

jgalvez wrote: post #31

No mention of methylene blue? :O It's the best one! Below is a post I wrote on a Ray Peat Facebook group that I think fellow coders and behind-a-desk workers might fight interesting. I've been a serious procrastinator and slacker, and it was a long journey of trial and error in getting diet and lifestyle right. I'm thankful to the amazing work of Dr. Ray Peat, which isn't mentioned enough around Hacker News. ⁂ Some c…

You sound like a follower of Ray Peat. He recommends MB, holds that position on fish oil, recommends K2 as a quinone, recommends aspirin, and recommends nicotinamide* (for the NAD+)

From what I can tell—and having experience with MB & his diet)—he's full of shit.

* You should look into that. Nicotinamide inhibits the sirtuins. You'd probably be better off with nicotinic acid or nicotinamide riboside (NR).

Re: Nootropics

#217

Post by Vinkekatten »

reitoei wrote: post #168
mettamage wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Try listening to podcasts. It completely cured my inability to get to sleep. In fact, there are podcasts aimed directly at people like you (and me): http://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/ Some other 'sleep favourites' of mine would be Skeptoid, Lore, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, 99% invisible. Give it a try. I use the Stitcher app and set the timer to turn off streaming at the end of an episode. I'm usually asleep with…

I tried a few episodes of sleep with me, and it creeped me right the hell out. It was some guy talking in a pouty, condescending baby-voice about some nonsense or other. His voice especially threw me off.

Dan Carlin is great, but way too intense and interesting for me to sleep to. I pay attention to the podcast and want to hear "just another 20 minutes" instead. 99% invisible is perfect in this regard. Roman has a great voice, good editing and nice, mellow music in his production. I listen to it a lot.

I also like to listen to The Moth, Hello Internet, Radiolab and Benjamin Walker's theory of everything when I go to sleep.

Re: Nootropics

#218

Post by arcadeparade »

pw wrote: post #97

I've been on modafinil for a number of years now (prescribed by a doctor in relation to a real medical condition). It is indeed a very interesting drug. There's a reason it's the brand names are Provigil and Nivigil. "Vigilant" is indeed a very good way to describe how it makes you feel. Like caffeine but cleaner (no jitters, etc.). The downside is that you build up tolerance pretty quickly and that feeling dissipate…

I took Modafinil for a year after reading Gwern, 100mg twice a week on average. It relieves a lot of anxiety for me and also acted as a great appetite suppresant, but I also worry it has caused me some cognitive decline. I feel like a bit of a zombie sometimes, kind of dead emotionally, not talking as much, feeling generally dumber. Can't say for sure as I've had a lot of stress in the last few months too, but people should be very careful with these things.

Re: Nootropics

#219

Post by petercooper »

mettamage wrote: post #94
HalfwayToDice wrote: post #74

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…

It won't work for everyone, but I had trouble getting to sleep quickly, figured out why, and "fixed" it.

My problem was thinking/working while trying to sleep, too much internal monologue. I also realized I am unable to have an internal monologue/actively "think" while listening to other people speaking (I'm a verbal thinker). So I started listening to audiobooks while trying to fall asleep. Now I'm off in about 5-10 minutes every night and take a couple of months to make it through a book.

Re: Nootropics

#220

Post by AznHisoka »

media-narrative wrote: post #161
mettamage wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 of the opinion that stuff like f.lux and Apple's Night Shift are both products that exploit pseudoscience to take advantage of the placebo effect. They're a "gluten free" feature for contemporary software — for those suspicious of childhood vaccinations. Macworld wrote a decent breakdown of the Night Shift quackery when it was introduced: http://www.macworld.com/article/3047121/iphone-ipad/ios-93-t...

So? Most of the time we fail to sleep because we feel anxiety, and our brains tells itself it's never going to sleep

it's mostly mental, not physical. Hence a placebo is precisely what we need.

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