Amphetamines
Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
91–100 of 188 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#92- Sleep
- Breathing
- Cardio
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#93Give "The Now Habit" a read
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
What you are describing is "mindfulness" exercises; basically a modern take on meditation. I have the app "Meditation Studio" which consists of some softly-spoken people talking you through breathing exercises and relaxation - would recommend for anyone wanting to try these techniques.
... except I hate the word "mindfulness". There is a specific person I know who talks about "mindfulness" and then walks into an open pit.
I don't think there's much sense in hating it. It has a real and interesting meaning, but it's just rare to hear anyone provide it.
The problem is that understanding it rests on something most people have never even heard of, much less looked into themselves: that experience does not actually work how they think it does. Experience seems panoramic, i.e. continuously seeing, continuously hearing, etc. But that's not the way it actually is. Experience actually consists of a very rapid series of micro-messages from the sense bases, and those are stitched together by the mind to provide the illusion of panoramic awareness.
Once that's understood, you can give the real definition of mindfulness: remembering to know what kind of message the mind is currently knowing. This will be like watching attention flicker between knowing information about touching, seeing, hearing, etc. A person is being mindful when they're watching how mind's attention is moving.
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#95Magnesium citrate before bedtime.
It will improve your sleep quality tremendously which will then improve your concentration naturally. A rested mind has an easier time getting into the zone.
Buddhism and Zen can also help. No need to become a master, simply understanding and applying some of the basic concepts can help mind state significantly. This can also boost concentration by quieting the mind.
Also check out:
TMS Therapy or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It is brain stimulation technology. Very interesting and lots of research behind it on pubmed.
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#96I’ve gone the caffeine route before, and it works but only until the crash. The heart palpitations aren’t worth it, IMHO. I’ve had a subscription to Brain.fm for a bit over a year now. Supposedly it doesn’t work for everyone but I find the act of picking a 60 minute Deep Focus block, probably just as much as the music itself, really helps me keep my head down.
Not scientifically proven, but I used to listen to and love these free playlists: https://musicforprogramming.net/latest/
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#97Some of the comments here are really nice. I want to add the Endel app with it's soundscapes has helped me concentrating too: https://endel.io/
In a similar vein, there’s one called brain.fm which I’ve used for years now and it gets me in the zone every time.
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#98I've been taking L-Tyrosine, CDP Choline and sometimes Aniracetam. My mood is sunny and remakeably sustained for the entire day.
I'm even a bit too concentrated, working too long and hard.
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#99I’ve found that sometimes I need some accountability / social element to help me actually accomplish work. It’s also related to point (5) about going somewhere else, or as Cal Newport puts it, doing a “grand gesture” to signal to yourself that you value getting the thing done, and now you’ve incurred some cost to set yourself up, you better do it.
To help achieve this effect while working remotely, I’ve used https://www.flow.club/ and recommend it
It helps you: (1) actually block time off in your calendar to do focused work (2) set your intention for that chunk of time (3) create an accountability mechanism by telling the people in your session your goals (4) creates cognitive dissonance if you let yourself get distracted (since you told people what you would be doing, and have to tell them at the end of the session what progress you made)
Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?
#100Exercise (mostly I've seen more intense than walking, but cardio like running, cycling, rowing, etc. - I haven't come across much for resistance training like weightlifting) has been very well studied to improve cognitive ability, as well as mental health (depression/anxiety). Depending on what you mean by proven , it's not gravity, but it's pretty good evidence compared to just about anything in medicine (just look…
I also read creatine, while used mainly to improve gym perf, helps wirh cognitive ability too.