Kindle Notes & Highlights
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January 28 - January 28, 2018
Social isolation leads to increased stress chemicals, like cortisol, while strong interpersonal bonding enhances chemicals like oxytocin, prolactin, and vasopressin.
Oxytocin deficiency is correlated with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression,33 while more of this chemical is associated with physical touch and bonding, which can increase feelings of well-being.34 Vasopressin, when derived naturally from social bonding, can enhance mental clarity, attention to detail, and short-term memory.3536
Today we have an even more distorted view of relationships. Instead of spending time with friends and family, we connect with people on Instagram and Facebook. This may provide some temporary relief, but it isn’t true connection and provides few of the brain chemicals we need. Interpersonal relationships are worthy investments of our time if we desire to optimize our cognitive performance.
Instead, simply find a group of like-minded individuals in order to connect. One of the most rewarding projects I’ve embarked upon
Family Matters
Writer Tim Urban calculated and wrote an impactful post detailing how much time he’ll spend with his parents and siblings.41 “It turns out that when I graduated from high school, I had already used up 93% of my in-person parent time. I’m now enjoying the last 5% of that time,” said Urban.
In addition to cognitive performance, family bonding may correlate with longevity. In 2004, demographic researchers found communities in Sardinia, Italy, with an abundance of centenarians (people living beyond 100 years old).
The same can be said for our brain. Although many people supplement with nootropics and smart drugs, most of our brain chemistry is altered by raw materials in our food.
Instead of another complex diet, I believe in eating like we did two- to twelve-thousand years ago: not too much and fasting often. As
Fast for Freedom
Today, food is now ubiquitous and far more delicious. There are more calories for sale on every street corner than existed in an entire ancestral tribal village.
Beyond cancer and neurodegeneration (both useful, but not cognitive enhancement per se), fasting has brain chemical shifts that can boost mental performance. One called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with increased synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis.
Water: Dehydration and the Brain
Water is vital for the entire body, but the brain needs water (as it needs everything else) in a much higher quantity. Even the slightest dehydration can spell poor cognitive performance and long-term consequences. Our brain is comprised of 75% water, which suggests we need a steady supply to maintain healthy cognitive function. The cells in our brain use water to produce energy and remove cellular waste.52
Dr. Caroline Edwards, created a scenario in which participants engaged in mental tasks while dehydrated and then again when consuming adequate water. They found a 14% increase in cognitive performance and executive function when participants were adequately hydrated.
Simplicity Diet
It seems that I have reiterated this point on every section throughout this “Beyond the Pill” piece, but no nootropic can compensate for a poor diet.
This is more of a lifestyle than a diet. The difference is a lifelong, sustainable practice, which prioritizes cognitive performance in both the short and long-term. Sure, we can all go gluten and sugar-free for a time, but how sustainable is this? Instead, we should
keep the 80 / 20 rule in mind and create lifelong habits.
consumed. There are two deficiencies we should try to rectify: Choline Omega-3 (DHA / EPA)
The “dirty dozen” list identifies the vegetables and fruits with the highest pesticide count due to the nature of their cultivation. As delicious as strawberries may be, they are unfortunately the worst on the dirty dozen list, with spinach not far behind.
Our first objective should be to outline a plan to consume healthier foods, drink more water, and eat responsibly—and only then seek nootropics further.
For the elderly, some form of exercise can be neuroprotective and reverse some of the signs of aging via mechanisms like telomere length and autophagy.58
I struggled for ninety minutes on a bike. It felt terrible for my legs, but my mood was much higher after it was over. Thank you endorphins. These chemicals, often released with high intensity exercise, can improve mood, reduce pain,59 and are associated with flow states.
A Stanford study of one hundred and seventy-six participants found that walking could increase a person’s creative output by around 60%.62 These weren’t long walks either; the study included five to fifteen-minute walking intervals and nothing more, which is something we can all implement into our lives.
Daniel Pardi, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at Stanford, developed an online platform called humanOS where users have an opportunity to track small, random bouts of exercise. His objective is to help people move more frequently throughout the day even in small intervals.
Doctor Doug McGuff has pioneered this training (or at least made it more popular) in his book Body by Science.63
Both of these are vital. The memory hypothesis has decades of research, but even the most-cited papers seem unsure of their findings.64 Sleep processes engage newly formed neurons to solidify information and process memories.65 There appears to be strong evidence of “sleep-dependent memory formation,” which
This is one of the reasons caffeine is so effective against sleep deprivation. When we consume caffeine, it acts as an adenosine receptor antagonist, which prevents adenosine from causing drowsiness.
Every morning I track my sleep with the S+ Personal Sleep Solution, which is a non-wearable device that tracks sleep via breathing patterns (recommended by a Stanford sleep researcher).
“Flux” works for Android and MacBook users and “Night Shift” is a useful setting on iPhones. Both block blue light on our devices, so we no longer have to wear ridiculously large, tinted sunglasses.
Within one hundred years, the Comanche went from their small corner of the American west to dominating tens of thousands of square miles, including the Dakotas in the North, Arkansas in the West, and Texas in the South.
Neurogenesis, the process of creating new brain cells, was once thought to be impossible after a certain age.
Mindful Approach
Nearly eighteen million Americans (or more) practice mindfulness daily,76 and 44% of U.S. based businesses offer mindfulness training to cut healthcare costs and increase productivity.77 Popular figures from Oprah to Hugh Jackman are making it more acceptable to take a mindful approach.
Everything Matters
Obsessing about the cognitive impact of every move we make can drive us crazy—and it certainly is not my intention to suggest that you do so. The
vitamin D, which is imperative for serotonin production and mood.
Even our sexual habits can influence cognition. For men, pornography releases so much dopamine that it can lead to addiction.
An actual, non-pixelated, sexual interaction creates different chemicals, such as oxytocin and prolactin, which have differing cognitive effects.
It is true that we can pop a nootropic drug and see drastic increases in focus and concentration, but this is often short sighted. If we are using nootropics too often in the short-term, we do ourselves a disservice.
As I’ve made it clear throughout, without the proper diet, exercise, and sleep habits, no nootropic will save the day.
Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea coined the term “nootropic” in 1972, after discovering one of the more famous compounds called piracetam.85 His strict definition suggests that nootropics should enhance learning and memory, protect the brain from toxins, and have few side effects.
Dr. Andrew Hill, told me in an interview, the two best use cases for nootropics are supporting healthy cognition and anti-aging long-term.
nootropics interchangeably with compounds like smart drugs or cognitive enhancers
The truth is, nootropics provide marginal benefits. If a placebo can provide around a 30% boost in our cognition (more on that below),88 then nootropics and smart drugs have a high bar to hurdle.
“People seem to seek an effect, and this is very drug-seeking behavior,” says Dr. Andrew Hill. “They’re chasing some tiny incremental change…”
model of scientific research and the things we understand. The more scientific research we learn and verify, the more information there is to learn. Scientists open new rabbit holes, and we develop new hypotheses and theories.
Dr. Andrew Hill estimates a basic human trial costs five million dollars,96 which is a huge investment for whoever is funding it.
