Biking to and from work every day; continue biking the same distance during the pandemic.
Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
41–50 of 106 posts
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#42Exercise, specifically following powerlifting programs. It makes me tired so I can sleep without stressing over what I need to accomplish work during the next day. It also makes me crave healthier food. It's a feedback loop, and it makes me sharper mentally. If I skip 1-2 days, I immediately notice the negative effects by the end of the week: cloudy thoughts, less motivation, etc. Powerlifting also gives me goals to…
Can you share what programs to look into to start powerlifting?
I strongly urge you to either hire a trainer to go over form or, at least, carefully watch some YouTube videos on form. Weight lifting is a wonderful form of exercise and probably the safest when done correctly. However, it's really easy to hurt yourself if you lift too much in the wrong way.
My quick advice is (1) go light at first [nobody cares how much you lift] (2) go slowly and try to feel tension in the correct muscles for the exercise if you don't know which muscles you should be feeling you should look it up (3) go over form very carefully with videos or a trainer
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#43I know you said that you aren't looking for something like Anki, but: if you want to improve your general memory, there is really no better method than spaced repetition. It doesn't need to be Anki or even a software program; the Leitner system, for example, just uses basic flash cards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system
I liken a spaced repetition system to any other tool that helps you improve basic functions. For example, while you could brush your teeth using your finger, it's infinitely more efficient with a toothbrush and even better with an electric toothbrush. It's just a tool to accomplish a particular physical task (in your case, improving your memory), so why not pick the best tool?
Otherwise, I've read a lot about the benefits of blueberries. And you really can't go wrong with sleep.
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#44Exercise, specifically following powerlifting programs. It makes me tired so I can sleep without stressing over what I need to accomplish work during the next day. It also makes me crave healthier food. It's a feedback loop, and it makes me sharper mentally. If I skip 1-2 days, I immediately notice the negative effects by the end of the week: cloudy thoughts, less motivation, etc. Powerlifting also gives me goals to…
Can you share what programs to look into to start powerlifting?
Starting Strength is an excellent program. Be aware that not all trainers are equal. https://startingstrength.com/
Mark Rippetoe’s book started it all and is an invaluable resource for understanding proper form and how to approach weightlifting - and what to look for if you decide you want a trainer. That said, when I was starting out, I didn’t follow the aggressive weight buildup that many plans suggest. Your muscles will respond much more quickly than your joints, and you have to give them time to adjust. Buy a proper belt (discussed in the book) and consider taking some collagen to help your joints adjust. Slow and steady wins the race.
https://aasgaardco.com/store/books-posters-dvd/books/startin...
He also has videos on youtube demonstrating proper form.
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#45Exercise, specifically following powerlifting programs. It makes me tired so I can sleep without stressing over what I need to accomplish work during the next day. It also makes me crave healthier food. It's a feedback loop, and it makes me sharper mentally. If I skip 1-2 days, I immediately notice the negative effects by the end of the week: cloudy thoughts, less motivation, etc. Powerlifting also gives me goals to…
Can you share what programs to look into to start powerlifting?
I'll go against the grain and say don't follow Stronglifts or Starting Strength (although the book is good if you're interested).
The problem with both is that they overindex on squats and on 5 rep sets. You want to get a mixture of the number of reps you do per set, and doing squats as often as they recommend will turn you into a t-rex. Plus, when you fail at a certain weight (which you're bound to do), then there's not the flexibility necessary to help you push through and so you get frustrated. I know--I've been in that situation with both programs.
I've recently taken up GZCLP[1] and I'm very happy with it. I'm already doing, 3 months in, more weight than I was doing on either SL5x5 or Starting Strength, and I'm over a decade older than I was when I did this programs.
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#46Exercise, be in nature, travel, play physical sport, prepare healthier food, make sure you get enough sleep in a well ventilated room; abstain from alcohol/drugs, develop better routines; minimize distractions in your workplace and home, seek inspiration in other areas (new hobbies etc), pick some books (not self help) that are relevant to your work and hobbies, try to see at things from a different perspective; stop engaging with energy vampires (be it your relatives or colleagues)
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#47Exercise, specifically following powerlifting programs. It makes me tired so I can sleep without stressing over what I need to accomplish work during the next day. It also makes me crave healthier food. It's a feedback loop, and it makes me sharper mentally. If I skip 1-2 days, I immediately notice the negative effects by the end of the week: cloudy thoughts, less motivation, etc. Powerlifting also gives me goals to…
Do note that these mental effects of powerlifting/strength training are mediated by the concommittant increase in circulating endogenous opioid peptides. These people are effectively using and getting dependent on opioids. While it may seem healthy at first, the cravings for more lifting can increase until one cannot control themselves any more, leading to constant overtraining, muscle/skeletal injuries, and eventual…
Er, yeah, literally all of life is chemically mediated.
Your love for your family is chemically mediated, as is your desire to eat food or get out of bed in the morning.
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#48Completely removing all alcohol, coffee and tobacco consumption from my life. I still consume caffeine and nicotine. I’ve found that my cognition is improved by them; in the case of nicotine, I might just as well have regular pauses from work, though. Coffee and tobacco, however, contain a host of other psychoactives which tend to bring about an easily distracted, impulsive frame of mind. So many impulse buys are con…
What's a good easy way to get caffeine without coffee?
Green tea, or just taking a (split) caffeine pill.
Black tea, however, contains considerable amounts of tannins which have similar psychoactive effects as the MAOIs in coffee.
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find that hard to believe.
Which part do you find hard to believe? That people with aphantasia can have a hard time with the method of loci, or that aphantasia is more common for software engineers than in the general population?
That aphantasia is more common for software engineers than in the general population.
Re: Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?
#50Keto diet made me very energetic and sharp. But I lost alot of weight and was worried about long term health effects
I experienced this back when I did keto as well. Usually I probably have something like subclinical ADHD or something. I'm not sure I actually got smarter, but I felt extremely lucid.