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Hacking the Brain

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

141–150 of 153 posts

Re: Hacking the Brain

#141
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the time periods described it's probably not significant but exposure to sunlight does increase risk of skin cancer.

Sunlight increases the incidence of melanoma, but reduces mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15687362

Interesting. Here in Australia we've had a decades-long campaign to reduce sun exposure as much as possible due to a wave of skin cancers in the '80s and '90s. It's been arguably too successful and now other health issues have become prevalent (eg. vitamin D deficiency) due to too little sun exposure.

Humans evolved while being baked in the sun, it'd be surprising if eliminating sunlight almost completely didn't come with some downsides.

Re: Hacking the Brain

#142
post #16

I haven’t found near infrared radiation referenced in the article - I‘m using near infrared as a brain hack, by shining a cheap 850nm LED light on my forehead. This has, over the last 2 years, enabled me to code for weeks on end, for 12+ hours a day, with only minor cognitive decline. It’s not something I really want to do, but sometimes it’s useful. Before I started the near infrared routine (~5 minutes every other…

This is the funniest post I've ever read on this website Either it's entirely the placebo effect, or it somehow actually does something and you're cooking your brain to wage slave even harder

Regardless of the validity of the effect they are describing, this is an incredibly mean and nasty comment.

They are describing a personal experience so that others may research it further should they choose to.

I agree they haven't shared any objective evidence to add credibility to their claims, but our response should be to ask for more evidence, not to mock and sneer.

"cooking your brain to wage slave even harder"

Not just mean, but wrong; as another commenter pointed out, they seem to be self-employed, and for all we know, could have a serious reason (e.g., financial challenges, important work) why it matters a lot to be highly productive, at least occasionally (note they literally wrote "It’s not something I really want to do, but sometimes it’s useful”).

For what it's worth, here's an article from 2014 that examines research into this kind of practice and finds evidence for its efficacy [1].

Other studies have found evidence that transcranial infrared energy may be beneficial for cognition [2] or illnesses such as Alzheimer's [2] and MS [3].

That said, it's not the kind of thing I would try, at least not regularly, as I take the view that artificial interventions like this likely carry some kind of side-effect or cost that renders negative or at-best neutral over the long-term (I feel the same way about pharmaceuticals and stimulants like caffeine).

But I have used infrared light in other ways to address issues like muscle tension and inflammation, which is common and often recommended by mainstream doctors.

But please, keep comments like this off HN. It's meant to be a place for curiosity and respectful discourse. The derision and contempt you displayed has no place here.

[1] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2014.0003...

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42693-x

[3] https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-08-publish-brain-ms-fnir...

Re: Hacking the Brain

#143
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the time periods described it's probably not significant but exposure to sunlight does increase risk of skin cancer.

Sunlight increases the incidence of melanoma, but reduces mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15687362

That's probably due to a healthier lifestyle.

Re: Hacking the Brain

#144
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's basically self experimentation, and cross-checked with literature to make sure I don't overdose. Overdose is not that bad (it surely happened to me), slight light-headedness and confusion for a few hours, in my case. Not stay-at-home bad, only a bit annoying. I quickly learned not to overdose, and haven't for over a year. Prof Hamblin from Harvard gave an interesting video interview with the guy from selfhacked…

Very interesting. Last question, do you mind linking the exact CCTV led model you're using? Just so that I have a baseline for experimentation. Thanks for the info!

No problem, it's this one: https://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listing/B01M10RZ98/

Re: Hacking the Brain

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to what bible/religion are "recreational drugs" (whatever the definition of that is) "intended to be" for fun, subversive and/or spiritual use only and why should anybody care? A random fun hypothesis by Paul Staments (in my own words): that the neocortex in humans evolved the way it did, because hominids have been consuming Psilocybin mushrooms for millions of years (until Christians and Nixon banned them…

Interesting! That helps explain why Lenin was a mushroom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_was_a_mushroom

As if it wasn't thoroughly explained enough already.

Re: Hacking the Brain

#146
post #123
post #16

I haven’t found near infrared radiation referenced in the article - I‘m using near infrared as a brain hack, by shining a cheap 850nm LED light on my forehead. This has, over the last 2 years, enabled me to code for weeks on end, for 12+ hours a day, with only minor cognitive decline. It’s not something I really want to do, but sometimes it’s useful. Before I started the near infrared routine (~5 minutes every other…

That’s cool that it works well , but aren’t there trade-offs for everything? This method seems to help your brain work more because it increases its metabolism but that might also cause your brain to age faster right? The harder you work something, the faster you wear it down. Is my logic flawed or am I missing something? Just curious.

Photobiomodulation does not work cells/mitochondria harder, but on the contrary, it releases nitric oxide from cells which is a by-product of oxidate stress. The immediate positive effects are probably from vasodilation, which increases blood flow to tissue, and increased ATP production via the cytochrome C oxidase pathway. Longer term beneficial effects might stem from increased stem cell proliferation and suppression of inflammation (inflammation is highly suspected to be based on a lack of energy in cells, so it makes sense that increasing ATP production helps in that area).

Here is a study where near infrared light actually increased lifespan for fruit flies:

Ageing is an irreversible cellular decline partly driven by failing mitochondrial integrity. Mitochondria accumulate DNA mutations and reduce ATP production necessary for cellular metabolism. This is associated with inflammation. Near-infrared exposure increases retinal ATP in old mice via cytochrome c oxidase absorption and reduces inflammation. Here, we expose fruitflies daily to 670 nm radiation, revealing elevated ATP and reduced inflammation with age. Critically, there was a significant increase in average lifespan: 100–175% more flies survived into old age following 670 nm exposure and these had significantly improved mobility. This may be a simple route to extending lifespan and improving function in old age.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4387504/

Re: Hacking the Brain

#147
post #16

I haven’t found near infrared radiation referenced in the article - I‘m using near infrared as a brain hack, by shining a cheap 850nm LED light on my forehead. This has, over the last 2 years, enabled me to code for weeks on end, for 12+ hours a day, with only minor cognitive decline. It’s not something I really want to do, but sometimes it’s useful. Before I started the near infrared routine (~5 minutes every other…

> Sidenote: 850nm light works way better for me than 830nm. You might want to check out 1064nm laser stimulation as well (instead?), based on the research done in "Transcranial laser stimulation improves human cerebral oxygenation"[0]. 0 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066697/

Thank you, I'll check it out!

Re: Hacking the Brain

#149
post #36
post #16

I haven’t found near infrared radiation referenced in the article - I‘m using near infrared as a brain hack, by shining a cheap 850nm LED light on my forehead. This has, over the last 2 years, enabled me to code for weeks on end, for 12+ hours a day, with only minor cognitive decline. It’s not something I really want to do, but sometimes it’s useful. Before I started the near infrared routine (~5 minutes every other…

Can't tell if satire but if not can you provide us with some links as to why you decided to try it and how you decided on the specific setup?

2y ago I was reading selfhacked.com a lot, and photobiomodulation/LLLT kept popping up. The founder also interviewed Prof Hamblin, and I found that one _very_ interesting [1] and wanted to give it a try. I started searching around, and found lots of promising studies. Even 2 small studies with LED helmets that vastly improved Alzheimer's symptoms (at least for ~2 weeks, so patients need to keep up the routine; they actually produced some for the study alumni so they would not relapse). I anxiously put that cheap CCTV light on my forehead for 3 minutes, and after ~30m noticed that my sense of smell improved greatly (probably because the root of my nose was also irradiated). I smelled slight scents that others didn't - so that was what tipped me off that this thing could really work. I also noticed a few hours later that I could think more clearly and with more endurance, for about 24h. So I just kept it up. Over time, the positive effects kept lasting longer, and then there were times where I didn't use it for weeks on end. Currently I use it a lot because I have a deadline to meet. It's a real life changer - I don't ever worry anymore that I can't finish a project because I'm brain dead after a few days of intensive work. Being able to fully rely on your ability to make money is huge if you previously were not. I also know that I'll be able to learn and apply new concepts if needed, no matter how tired I am (I have little kids).

1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAW8Fvg-TJQ&t=662s

Re: Hacking the Brain

#150
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sunlight increases the incidence of melanoma, but reduces mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15687362

That's probably due to a healthier lifestyle.

Other studies have adjusted for the effects of BMI and exercise levels, and sun exposure is still significantly inversely associated with all cause mortality:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joim.12251

Over a period of 20 years, you will double your risk of dying if you avoid sun exposure.

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