121–130 of 183 posts
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What I want is a pill that makes me exercise.
I unironically offer the opinion that the pill that you're looking for is amphetamines.
You only like amphetamine for the adrenaline dump and dopamine. Also life changing doesn't necessarily mean for the better.
Another win for exercising. It's crazy to me how many people have miserable health, complain about their body and mental state endlessly, but still put up any roadblock they can think of to avoid exercising of any form.
And yet, nobody mentions how supplements can't generally damage you, but a few days in a gym can fuck you up for an entire year, even with a lot of experience. I basically never met anybody who does regular resistance training without having some sort of pain somewhere, all the time. Maybe if you are underdoing it its possible but if you follow the muscle building theory, you are certainly going to get fucked eventua…
Hahahahahahahahaha
Been doing ~daily resistance training for > 10 years, have a hell of a build, and do not experience anything like this. I have had a couple of injuries, but never anything that caused me pain outside of the gym.
Ditto for many of my friends/colleagues.
Sounds like you may just be in a bubble of fatties
Another win for exercising. It's crazy to me how many people have miserable health, complain about their body and mental state endlessly, but still put up any roadblock they can think of to avoid exercising of any form.
I think the big road block for many people is that exercise itself also hurts? I know that is a hurdle I have with my kids. They complain that jogging/running hurts. It is hard to convince people that that never really changes, and that it also hurts for the people that are doing it every day. Obviously acute pains are a different thing, but there is a reason recovery is a vital part of exercise. We all have to recov…
While I like your project, there should be strong warnings. Some of the substances listed, like amphetamines, aren't just supplements, they actively and unavoidably alter your brain function. Their effects are "much less subjective", others, like omega-3, may have (or not) benefits that you don't feel at all.
And before you say I appeal to authority, I understand people don't respect doctors or their country's healthcare system, but I suggest they should acquire formal medical education themselves before starting to put random shit in their body. And no, reading the entire body of blogs by Scott Alexander does not count.
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The answer to miserable health isn't exercise. It's high quality sleep.
It's not a dichotomy, both is good. I find my sleep and appetite improving with exercise, too; sleep can improve with physical tiredness on top of mental.
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On the flip side, I get absolutely garbage sleep if I don't eat within about 1-2 hours of going to sleep.
Same - I also read a study saying 22% muscle synthesis increase with 40 grams of casein before bed and one saying protein before bed improved sleep quality.
It is frustratingly hard for me to trust most any nootropic discussion nowadays. Without many large random trials, there are as many questions as answers afterwards. It doesn't help that I'm on Adderall, but if left to my own devices, would absolutely skip it. I'm assuming I benefit in the able to think way from it. Largely the only reason I know I missed a dose is if I find I lose my patience quickly with others.
That, historically, does not work well for neurochemistry. Large random trials are good for an average biological response of profitable chemicals, but it seems there are significant differences in neurochemistry, between people, that these don't capture. If you've ever had a prescription for most anything mental related, like ADHD, depression, etc, there's never just one drug, there's a panel that you just kinda go through until one works for your personal neurochemistry, with some having detrimental side effects for some people.
Unsurprisingly, it seems to be the same with many of these nootropics. I've had several very negative reactions to common nootropics at fractional doses, where others have positive experiences at many times the dose. A few resulted in migraines every day I took it, until I stopped, with one quickly resulting in depression and the only suicidal thoughts of my life, which went aways just as fast as I stopped. One hurt my short term memory so much I couldn't repeat a phone number (a very potent racetam like).
Some nootropics are precursors, which are mostly self regulating/supplements, but there are many out there that very actively poke low level neurochemicals, and your personal response will vary, just as is expected in the regulated drug world.
Min/maxing personal neurochemistry won't come from large random trials.