Ask HN: Do you take nootropics? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#121

Post by DanBC » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:40 PM UTC

diminoten wrote: post #94

Lewton wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Regardless, my experience was that its only value is the placebo effect. If a substance actually does anything real, and there is potential for a pharmaceutical company to patent and profit from it, then you can generally rest assured that it will be scheduled to require a doctor's prescription. For just about everything, the over-the-counter options consist of vitamins and quackery. So either blatantly break the la…

> Melatonin is OTC in the US (sadly not where I live) and the efficacy of melatonin on sleep quality is pretty hard to dispute. The Mayo Clinic's website doesn't quite feel as strongly as you do about Melatonin: > The hormone melatonin helps control your natural sleep-wake cycle. Some research suggests that melatonin supplements might be helpful in treating jet lag or reducing the time it takes to fall asleep — altho…

The worst part about melatonin is the lack of regulation. When people test the pills available they often find different doses, or even no dose at all.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#122

Post by eatitraw » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:42 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #24

I took piracetam years ago when I was considering a career change and prepping for the LSAT exam. I believe that its legal history is somewhat similar to ephedra... 10-15 years ago you could buy it over-the-counter or online, but since then it's been taken off the market in the U.S. Regardless, my experience was that its only value is the placebo effect. If a substance actually does anything real, and there is potent…

> and there is potential for a pharmaceutical company to patent and profit from it, then you can generally rest assured that it will be scheduled to require a doctor's prescription

Guess what? Belgian company did this, it is sold under brand name Nootropil in many countries. The patent is already expired, so there is probably little benefit in bringing it to the US market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracetam#History

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#123

Post by AaronFriel » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:45 PM UTC

DougWebb wrote: post #17

koalala wrote: post #4

Dexamphetamine. 1*5mg = 3 hours of uninterrupted coding, with maybe 1 minute total spent looking away from the screen to rest my eyes.

If no one walks up to me or calls to interrupt me, my everyday routine is that level of focus. No drugs beyond a couple of morning coffee cups needed. One of my coworkers is normal, not like me. When he works in the office there's a lot more socializing, which is great, but it always makes me feel terribly non-productive.

Uninterrupted activity: the best nootropic.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#124

Post by totallymike » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:46 PM UTC

brador wrote: post #119

FidesFacitFidem wrote: post #106

Not a nootropic per say but I've noticed a huge difference since focusing on my general health; 1) 7-8 hours sleep per night. 2) 1 hour of exercise per day (some days cardio, other days weights(focus on compounds; squat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, pullups, rows)) (for people thinking "I'm too busy to spend an hour of my day exercising". I think the productivity increase of clearing your head doing this ex…

Why no frozen meals?

Seems like the main point is to only eat foods that are foods, not chemicals.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#125

Post by himanshuy » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:46 PM UTC

I have started taking Bacopa from Himalays 2 weeks back. Hoping to see results in 8 weeks.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#126

Post by blop » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:47 PM UTC

I've been taking ~50mg modafinil 5 times a week for years. Last batch I bought was 2 years ago on the grey market (an online indian pharmacy) in 200mg pills form (so I divide them in 4 for a daily dose).

I don't take any on weekends or on holiday, and sometimes I take 100mg if I'm going for a long car journey or something else that requires complete attention...

The effects are very subtle but noticeable: more alertness and concentration, and a more positive outlook on things. I found it's also pretty good at keeping depression at bay.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#127

Post by lfender6445 » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:52 PM UTC

netman21 wrote: post #32

I take nicotine. I am not a coder; I write non-fiction. I figure it was good enough for Mark Twain, it is good enough for me.

in what form?

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#128

Post by ionflux » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:53 PM UTC

rwallace wrote: post #107

ionflux wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

have you tried listening to white/pink/brown noise instead of music? it works wonders for my concentration. there are numerous noise generators online, i like this one: http://www.simplynoise.com/

No. Don't use music or any other form of noise to drown out ambient sounds at work. It causes slow but irreversible damage to your hearing. In game theory terms, such an act constitutes rewarding defection (employer insisting on open plan office) with cooperation (harming yourself in an attempt to help your employer) - always a bad move.

I didn't know white noise causes hearing damage, sounds plausible, it's mildly annoying; the brown noise though sounds more like a waterfall and the effect is really mild and calming. In my case, we don't have an open plan office, just 3 chatty colleagues in the same space :D And they don't seem to get the headphones-on gesture.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#129

Post by lfender6445 » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:55 PM UTC

i've tried piracetam - the effects for me were borderline coffee + espresso for 30 minutes to an hour. it also seemed to stimulate my digestive tract. nothing extremely noticeable in terms of cognitive throughput, but I remember hearing about its increased memory effects in rats as a long term benefit.

I drink 2 -3 cups of caffeinated tea per day, occasionally I drink coffee. This is all I need.

Re: Ask HN: Do you take nootropics?

#130

Post by sgt101 » Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 4:55 PM UTC

brador wrote: post #119

FidesFacitFidem wrote: post #106

Not a nootropic per say but I've noticed a huge difference since focusing on my general health; 1) 7-8 hours sleep per night. 2) 1 hour of exercise per day (some days cardio, other days weights(focus on compounds; squat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, pullups, rows)) (for people thinking "I'm too busy to spend an hour of my day exercising". I think the productivity increase of clearing your head doing this ex…

Why no frozen meals?

Most commercially packaged frozen meals have lots and lots of sugar, salt and oils added to low quality (cheap) ingredients to make them palatable.

Some people think freezing food destroys its quality, but I think that the evidence for that is weak and fails to regard the loss of quality that comes from keeping things in the fridge for another day.

When I stopped eating ready meals I lost a kilo in a week, I believe (believe) that happened largely because I dropped so much salt out of my diet and therefore I was retaining much less water.

Buy things fresh, make meals and freeze them. This will allow you to cook good things quickly in the evening. Spend an afternoon and make a chicken casserole, a beef stew, a lasagne, a cottage pie and a fish pie. Freeze in portions (aim for five from each) and you have weeks of quick, nutritious and delicious food that means that you will not be stuffing yourself with rubbish.

But also buy a steamer and make sure that you have a large portion of steamed green veg every day. You're five a day can have one orange juice and a couple of bits of fruit, but a decent wodge of green is really important. Tender stem broccoli, greens, cabbage, peas, beans... all take about 30 seconds to prepare and 3-4 minutes to stem (tip: only put a mugful of water in the steamer, it will boil fast and then cook the greens just as well as 4 inches would).