Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

troof.blog

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 183 posts

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#171

Post by cyberax »

taeric wrote: post #71
cyberax wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try walking instead of jogging. If you want more challenge, try walking up on an incline (a natural or on a treadmill). It's much easier on your joints, and you can adjust the difficulty gradually.

Apologies that my example invited specific consideration. Long hikes are also somewhat "painful" for people that don't do them often. Walking to the bus stop is something I have seen many kids avoid, if they have the option. That is, I'm not hurting in my joints from running. My pains there will be much more attuned to how hard it is for me to "push" at speeds. That said, pushing at any speed is how I have managed to…

> I have seen many kids avoid, if they have the option.

Yep. It's seen as just a waste of time, because you can be doing something else (like looking at your phone).

For me the trick was to get a TV in front of a treadmill, and to listen to audiobooks during my walks outside.

> My pains there will be much more attuned to how hard it is for me to "push" at speeds.

That's why walking is so good! With jogging you have to work pretty hard to run even at the lowest speed.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#172

Post by nomel »

taeric wrote: post #148
nomel wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Adderall is a strong counter to this idea. It is clearly effective per all of the tests it has been through. That's a good example, because the statement "clearly effective" is absolutely false, as will be stated by a doctor when they prescribe it to you, and can be found in the documentation that comes with the medication . It is not appropriate or effective for some people, and is detrimental for others (accounts…

Adderall has some fairly clear cases where you shouldn't prescribe it, but this is largely not a secret list of "your unique biochemistry means we have no idea whether it will work for you" level of uncertainty. And, at large, this learning has been reinforced by RCTs. Such that I still don't see this as an argument against them?

You misread. I never made an argument against RCT.

> "your unique biochemistry means we have no idea whether it will work for you" level of uncertainty.

If by "work" you mean feeling something happen after you pop some pills, then sure...it's amphetamine.

If by "work" you mean "improved outcome", again, refer to the drugs documentation or are pharmacist, and also observe the existence of ADHD drugs that are not Adderall. The person prescribing it to you will quite literally tell you that it doesn't work for everyone, and go down the list of available drugs until you find something that, in fact "works for you", all entirely based on your personal response to the drug. Those reasons range from ineffectiveness (too high dosage requirement), unacceptable personality changes, to, of course, the rare full psychosis.

Difference in amphetamine response is well documented [1]:

> The clinical effects of amphetamine are quite variable, from positive effects on mood and cognition in some individuals, to negative responses in others, perhaps related to individual variations in monaminergic function and monoamine system genes.

Ritalin is also ineffective for some, for unidentified reasons [2]:

> The response rates to MPH among adult ADHD patients range from 25 to 78 % in controlled trials (Wilens et al. 2011).

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12716966/

[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4969350/

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#173

Post by madmask »

ed wrote: post #79
kccqzy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's bad habits from a younger age. I remember in my 20s, I didn't need to exercise at all and yet my body felt perfect. And so was my mental health. It was after several years of sedentary lifestyle that it clicked for me that my health was declining and exercise was needed to restore it. I suspect this could be the case for many: you don't need exercise and your body remains in a tip top shape when you are young.

Remember you probably were exercising until about 18, since it’s required by most schools.

That’s almost nothing. 1 hour a week, at least in Italy, and mostly sports stuff close to cardio no weight training.

I feel good with at least 4 hours a week of bodyweight training plus some cardio.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#174

Post by madmask »

hirvi74 wrote: post #124
taeric wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

My issue with exercise is that it's boring as sin. I rather do manual labor or play a sport than go to a gym. There is just something that feels so artificial about running on a human-designed hamster wheel or picking up heavy objects and putting them back down for no reason real, useful reason.

Building muscle is a real reason

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#175

Post by cwmoore »

kccqzy wrote: post #167
MangoToupe wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think we all mean bleached, stabilized and enriched flour. The entire point of this conversation is that the meaning of "processed" is entirely unclear, and I still don't understand what beef you have against bleached, stabilized, and enriched flour. I'd put any amount of money that whatever your concerns are can be addressed with the aphorism "everything in moderation".

The aphorism "everything in moderation" is useful only because it doesn't specify what amount would be acceptable as moderation. Is having a slice of bread a day considered moderation? What about five slices? Is having 10 grams of sugar a day moderation? What about 50 grams? The meaning of "moderation" is conveniently unclear.

Trust the selectively funded science bro.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#176

Post by yial »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #145
bluecalm wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modafinil 50-100mg or micro dose of long release amphetamine like Vyvanse.

Was just about to say this, Modafinil is my stimulant drug of choice. 100mg. Really smooth and lasts all day. I do need to take amitryptiline to help sleep but I have noise intolerance related sleep issues anyway and the combination of the two meds is complementary. My only regret is not starting sooner - I had a rather anti drug bias and saw needing medication as a weakness.

Modafinil and armodafinil I find to be excellent at getting rid of tiredness. I find for me if I take too much, I’ll get nausea that’s only curable by a sleep cycle. Armodafinil tends to last much longer.

The downside I’ve noticed is that one side effect many people don’t realize is how it affects the body for some people. It can cause increased blood pressure among others - which can lead some people to feel anxious.

Body follows mind, mind follows body.

(As in my body feels anxious, so I must be anxious ).

I personally find the effects from Modafinil to be kind of like caffeine but with less side effects / longer lasting / more effective.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#178

Post by taeric »

nomel wrote: post #172
taeric wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adderall has some fairly clear cases where you shouldn't prescribe it, but this is largely not a secret list of "your unique biochemistry means we have no idea whether it will work for you" level of uncertainty. And, at large, this learning has been reinforced by RCTs. Such that I still don't see this as an argument against them?

You misread. I never made an argument against RCT. > "your unique biochemistry means we have no idea whether it will work for you" level of uncertainty. If by "work" you mean feeling something happen after you pop some pills, then sure...it's amphetamine. If by "work" you mean "improved outcome", again, refer to the drugs documentation or are pharmacist, and also observe the existence of ADHD drugs that are not Adder…

If you aren't against RCTs, then I don't think we disagree? Your post certainly makes it sound like you feel there are better ways than RCTs to get an idea of how well things work.

And fair that "work" is not necessarily a binary answer. I think we can easily agree there is no panacea out there. But that doesn't mean you can't make pretty good learning based on the trials.

In common probabilistic game terms, we know that most hands are not as good as pocket aces at hold em. Even if we can say that the aces will not win near 20% of the time.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#179

Post by john01dav »

bluecalm wrote: post #107
negativepanda wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give some examples of the stimulants?

Modafinil 50-100mg or micro dose of long release amphetamine like Vyvanse.

I thought that these are only accessible illegally or for treatment of specific conditions like ADHD or narcolepsy.

Is there some way to legally get it for the use being discussed here?

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#180

Post by kalkaran »

entropicdrifter wrote: post #49
kalkaran wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

So a bedtime glass of milk and small bowl of soybeans is a good move?

Yes - unless you have to wake up to pee I guess. Casein is one of the slowest absorbed proteins so it releases over 6 hours in most cases. I think soy beans is probably the same since its mixed in with fiber. If you compare it to whey isolate thats absorbed after 1. This doesn’t have the same effect.
Post reply on HN