Ask HN: What lifestyle choices have led to improved cognitive function/memory?

Yes! I’ve had the same experience with spaced-repetition. I’ve used Memrise.com to learn a large set of Korean vocab words.

I’ve found it’s improved my general recall ability, not just for things I’ve scheduled into a spaced-repetition program.

It’s like the program trains my brain on how to recall things, and then I can use that skill on anything.

I’ve also found that if I slack off my training schedule, my general recall ability gets worse too.

Also, alcohol for sure impacts my memory. I find even one drink will make it harder to recall things

Strong agree. I started with programs like Starting Strength but I regret not working with a trainer earlier. There were so many technical mistakes I made that I never noticed myself. Worst case I would've hurt myself in the future, best case my progress would have stalled due to bad technique. There is only so much you can learn from YouTube videos because you need to know what you're looking for. Nothing wrong with these programs, but having someone experienced correct your technique is invaluable. That's perhaps less the case for simpler lifts like bench press, but I can't imagine someone learning to properly clean, snatch or jerk all by themselves.

If you can't afford to hire a trainer, start with going to a weightlifting group class to learn technique. Even Crossfit is good for that (just don't learn your pull-ups there :)). At least you will have someone correcting you. Once you're confident in your technique you can quite and start following your own program.

Had to look this up… here’s a starting point: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575449/

If you really want to save money, Walmart brand Stay Awake caffeine pills are 80 200mg tablets for a few bucks. I split them in 4 so it is like 320 50mg servings for a few bucks.

The best thing about caffeine pills is you can actually know how much caffeine you are getting. I limit myself to 100-200mg a day. I wouldn't even want to know what I use to take drinking coffee but it was quite a bit. I will just drink coffee now as a treat.

I went to my first powerlifting meet in the early 90s.

The problem with powerlifting is it really beats up your body over time and as you age. Once you get past 405lbs or so for squat you are almost insuring future disc herniation. Disc herniation is a concern with aging even without constantly loading 400lbs+ on your spine. This is patently obvious but when young and indestructible hitting PRs becomes completely obsessive and that is another problem. There are not many things that give the rush of hitting a new PR or milestone with strength. Your strongest pound for pound in powerlifting weight classes relative to your height at much higher body weight than what is healthy. Pull up a group photo of any hardcore powerlifting gym and that will be super obvious. Instagram and people posting PR videos has caused this explosion in powerlifting popularity and conventional deadlift popularity along with Rippetoe. It use to be an almost deviant aspect of bodybuilding for guys obsessed with strength with a disregard for aesthetics. If I could start over I would never powerlift. I would train absolute strength still but I would also focus on relative strength. Relative strength as displayed by the number of pull ups or muscle ups you can do. I would always want to be able to pass the army running/situp/pushup standards. I would mostly squat with a belt squat and trap bar and be very careful about loading the spine instead of the ridiculous powerlifting game of seeing if you can get your legs strong enough to break your spine over time.