13 replies to this topic

[jroseland]

I have Biohackers who contact me on nearly a daily basis complaining that their countries make it difficult or impossible for them to get quality, pharma grade Nootropics.

 

Americans who have never lived abroad have no idea how lucky they are that they can Google search any supplement they want, identify a high quality source of it, digitally swipe their credit cards and in 5-7 days it will reliably arrive at their doorstop.

 

• In other countries they have a confusing mess of regulations and laws about what supplements are allowed.
• You never really know if you're allowed to import a supplement until you do.
• About a 3rd of the time it will get lost in shipping. The shipping firm almost always charges you some (surprise!) extra fees.
• Anything health related is more likely to get stuck in customs, sometimes they will release it, sometimes not.
• There's a 25% VAT tax

Recently I ordered some things shipped to Sofia, Bulgaria and after waiting 2 weeks it was a royal pain in the ass to pick them up at the airport. You have to give power of attorney to a Bulgarian firm to fill out the paperwork to release your packages. It doubled the cost of the items and took at least half day.

 

<rant>

I lived for 2 years in Europe and 3 years in Latin America, in that time I've had so many debates with young Europeans, Canadians and Australians that mocked my American libertarianism. I was so backwards because...

I believe that people need to take care of themselves, it's not the job of government to take care of people who make bad decisions.

I don't trust the government to defend me and my family. I value the right to defend myself.

Europeans are so much more evolved than Americans because they have

Free healthcare

Free college

Paid maternity leave

2 months of paid vacation yearly

The unwitting young socialists I've debated think they are free, but because they value security, comfort and hedonism over philosophically robust freedom their countries are sliding further and further into communism. The fist of totalitarianism constricting freedom is manifesting as these arbitrary restrictions on supplements.

In a way it's just that these cultures that traded freedom for security are now less secure and less free.

In any city in Europe, you are literally always within a stone's throw of someplace selling cigarettes and booze, but good forbid that they allow people to import and consume the health supplements they want!

</rant>

 

Anyways...

 

What are best Biohacks for people who can't get their hands on Nootropics or are limited to the selection that they have access to?

 

Brain training (Dual N-Back)

Meditation

No Fap (or Tantric Semen Retention)

Cold showers

Relaxing breathing techniques

Quality coffee+Green tea

Keto diet

 

What else?

What supplements would you trust purchasing from a little vitamin/supplement shop?

What mitochondrial hacks don't require fancy supplements?

How would you hack stress or social anxiety if you could not get your hands on Phenibut or Adaptogens?

How would you improve cognition if you couldn't get a hold of Racetams or Modafinil?

[jack black]

IMHO, nootropics are overrated and if they work, it's only short time.

[monowav]

Apart from OP's list and a non-inflammatory diet, I use light, quantum physics, and exercise to hack my body:

Here's a small list of things like:

• Sunlight - Infrared and Bright Light
• Blocking Blue Light
• Sauna and Cryotherapy
• Rebounding and WBV
• HIST and acupressure mat
• White noise machine and Deep sleep

Nootropics are WAY more effective once you get the body working better.

[jroseland]

Some more good suggestions here

Blocking Blue Light - This I do with an app or you can find orange sunglasses 

Sauna and Cryotherapy - Good suggestion, here in Eastern Europe you can find a sauna in nearly every city. Cryotherapy amounts to taking a cold shower.

Rebounding and WBV - Rebounding is like jumping on a trampoline? Right? What is WBV?

HIST and acupressure mat - What is HIST? In countries where it's hard to find quality supplements it's usually pretty tricky to find things like an acupressure mat. That's like the spikey mat that people lay on to go to sleep right?

White noise machine and Deep sleep - There's apps for this right?

Apart from OP's list and a non-inflammatory diet, I use light, quantum physics, and exercise to hack my body:

Here's a small list of things like:

• Sunlight - Infrared and Bright Light
• Blocking Blue Light
• Sauna and Cryotherapy
• Rebounding and WBV
• HIST and acupressure mat
• White noise machine and Deep sleep

Nootropics are WAY more effective once you get the body working better.

 

[monowav]

I get a lot more from cryotherapy than I do from a cold shower lol. 

 

Yeah, WBV is whole body vibration. It's awesome doing it with cordyceps since it will hyper-oxygenate your body. 

 

I just get my acupressure mat on amazon. I'm sure you can get one on eBay as well.

 

HIST is high intensity strength training, similar to HIIT and resistance training combined. 

 

There are white noise generator apps, but for sleep I prefer a fan that makes similar sound.

[LiveWell]

Thanks for this!

 

I just changed the color temp of my monitors and cranked up a fan-noise generator (https://mynoise.net/...seGenerator.php). It's a bit too cold in the house to turn on a fan right now.

 

I'll work on a few more of these shortly.

[Mind_Paralysis]

 

What are the best Biohacks for people who can't get their hands on Nootropics or are limited to the selection that they have access to?

 

Brain training (Dual N-Back)

 

 

This one is pointless, and the scientific evidence backing it are dubious. It's also often quite, quite boring.

 

You're far better off just playing some video-games, they give a similar potential benefit and are actually entertaining and enriching as well - in fact, you are on the spectrum, right? I have many, many friends on the autistic spectrum who swear by video-games and the comradery and specific social interaction which they have gotten from the very deepest and most complex of video-games, with social interaction as well.

 

I recommend the following games, if you would be interested in trying this instead of dual-n-back:

 

Starcraft 2

Path of Exile

Eve Online

Street Fighter 5

Quake Champions

Dota 2

 

These are deep and rich games with complex systems which put many cognitive abilities to the test - if you play them extensively, eventually opting for high level / professional play, you will find yourself deeply satisfied and challenged to the peak of human intellectual ability.

 

And NO, this is not some kind of joke - I am DEAD serious about this. Something of a passion of mine.

Edited by Stinkorninjor, 11 May 2017 - 01:10 PM.

[jroseland]

 

 

What are the best Biohacks for people who can't get their hands on Nootropics or are limited to the selection that they have access to?

 

Brain training (Dual N-Back)

 

 

I recommend the following games, if you would be interested in trying this instead of dual-n-back:

 

Starcraft 2

Path of Exile

Eve Online

Street Fighter 5

Quake Champions

Dota 2

 

And NO, this is not some kind of joke - I am DEAD serious about this. Something of a passion of mine.

 

I was curious about this and was pleased to find that IQ Squared recently debated this topic

 

 

The conclusion seems to be that video games likely can make us smarter and in some cases improve cognition but that it depends upon which games -action games are apparently best actually. However, there's some significant of downsides of video games

• Time consuming
• Addiction
• Abrogated attention span
• Sedentary lifestyle

It seems to me that in moderation, a few hours a week of videogames may positively impact various cognitive dimensions and it's certainly entertaining. We all know losers who have wasted their lives playing videogames, so there's certainly a downside to them.

 

Regarding Dual N-Back, the evidence is quiet good that it does transfer to general intelligence. You, like a lot of people dislike it because it's boring. Personally, I find that my short term memory is a lot sharper as result of using Dual N-Back. Searching on this very forum you'll find a lot of other Biohackers who concur with this.

 

If the goal is Biohacking and performance enhancing, Dual N-Back is 10 minutes a day very well spent. I give a bunch of anecdotes in my videos about Dual N-Back of how it transfers to life outside the game.

 

Like many of you, as a teenager I wasted countless hours playing videos games, it was fun, but it wasn't a Biohack.

Edited by jroseland, 13 May 2017 - 01:18 PM.

[ireneton]

Like many of you, as a teenager I wasted countless hours playing videos games, it was fun, but it wasn't a Biohack.

 

Was like biohack for me, when i was used to play video games they always make me to stay awake for whole night. 

[joost78]

Can't believe TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) isn't posted here yet, no side effects and clinically effective (more than regular psy medicine) for at least Depression, and more to come:

 

http://health.usnews...nd-who-needs-it

[jroseland]

TMS is certainly a Biohack, but in this thread I was looking for Biohacks that would be available in countries that are restrictive of Nootropics. 

Can't believe TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) isn't posted here yet, no side effects and clinically effective (more than regular psy medicine) for at least Depression, and more to come:

 

http://health.usnews...nd-who-needs-it

 

[Mr Serendipity]

This is a brilliant thread, just what I was looking for. We need to find more practical ways of increasing our brain power, rather than just rely on nootropics.

 

I'll add 2 I've had results with:

 

1. Amygdala clicking/tickling - A simple visualization technique which is designed to stimulate the anterior (front) part of the amygdala, which is then meant to activate your frontal lobes.

 

My experiences - An increase in positive emotions (happiness, fun, silliness) and a decrease in negative emotions (fear, anxiety, sadness). You may get laughing fits or syncronicity (meaningful coincidences) when you first try it (my wife did it for the first time yesterday, and later on in bed she couldn't stop laughing lol). I've also noticed headaches (I never get headaches) and nightmares which aren't scary, these may be a sign of neurosis in parts of the brain working itself out, or increased blood flow (headaches). You become more honest, are less afraid to speak up for yourself, and become more silly. Oh and how can I forget the mini pop I had in 2010, zero fear, extreme euphoria, lasted about 15 minutes.

 

I have a thread on the subject here: http://www.longecity...neurotic-fools/

 

 

2. Doing simple maths as quickly as possible (and reading out loud), research done by Dr Kawashima (the famous Nintendo guy). He found out that doing simple maths calculations quickly would activate many parts of the brain (so does reading out loud). Below are some pics from his book.

 

 

 

My experience - I never did the reading out loud exercise, but years back I did practice simple multiplications quickly for a time period, sometimes up to 1000 a day. The result I got was my mind started to become super quick at retrieving information. Things I use to have to think harder before to retrieve, would come pretty much instantly. I'm not sure how else I could explain it, except my retrieval of information was faster.

Edited by manny, 20 February 2018 - 01:37 PM.

[Daniel Cooper]

I'm currently experimenting with Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) for anxiety reduction.  Should also increase neural plasticity.  

 

Can be accomplished with a very cheap programmable TENS unit and a auricular electrode clip.  The output voltage of most TENS units are a bit on the high side for this application but careful control of the intensity will give you something appropriate on a low setting.  Alternatively, adding a 2kohm resistor in series with one of the electrodes will make it less sensitive to intensity setting.

 

We're talking about a ~$25 TENS unit off of Amazon that will allow you to set the pulse width and repetition rate with some precision.

 

If anyone wants recommendations on specific products PM me. 

 

https://www.research...G-Variables.pdf

 

 

[Mr Serendipity]

Found this awesome website to play chess, no sign up required: https://lichess.org

 

5 Ways Playing Chess Can Boost Your Mind and Your Life

 

 

1. Chess improves key thinking skills

As a game based on logic and processing of numerous potential combinations of moves at once, it is tailor-made for engaging your brain functions. There are a number of studies that show how chess can enhance your thinking powers. One way has to do with pattern recognition. Studies of the former world champion Garry Kasparov showed how quickly a player of his caliber recognized patterns.

It has also been shown that better chess players use both sides of the brain to make decisions, engaging the visual information processing part of the brain to find patterns and the analytical side to pick the best logical move.

Other studies highlight the interesting fact that the brains of elite players are actually smaller compared to the non-experts, possibly pointing to “localized shrinkage” in order to increase neural efficiency.

2. Chess can improve your memory 

Chess is an excellent memory exercise because it encourages remembering moves for various strategical purposes. The better players fill their memories with possible combinations. A study showed how the brains of grandmasters worked by recalling thousands of moves. 

World blindfold chess champion G Koltanowski playing chess blindfolded against ten opponents at the Empire Chess Club in Whiteleys, Bayswater, London. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

3. Chess players are successful

The 2012 YouGov poll also found a clear relationship between being a regular chess player and various measures of achievement and success. 78% of active chess players are university graduates. 20% of households making above $120,000 regularly play chess. Chess players are 5 times more likely to read in-depth analysis and high-brow publications. They are also likely to be affluent, 40% more likely to purchase luxury items. 

Peter Thiel, a prominent venture capitalist, co-founder of Paypal, and a major figure in the 2016 Presidential election is an avid chess player. 

And he’s not alone among the famous. Microsoft’s founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen have been known to play each other as do other Silicon valley titans. Acting legends Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Marlon Brando were lifelong chess aficionados. As was John Wayne. So was directing great Stanley Kubrick. Other celebrities known for their chess prowess include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nicholas Cage, Ray Charles, Ben Affleck, Bono, Will Smith, and Howard Stern.

Businessman Peter Thiel © makes the honorary first move during the game between Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess grandmaster and current World Chess Champion, and Sergey Karjakin, Russian chess grandmaster during First of Two Tie-break rounds of the World Chess Championship on November 30, 2016 in New York. (Photo credit: EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images)

4. Chess can make your kids smarter.

Several studies have been done to show that playing chess (in one case for 18 weeks) increased the IQs of the children involved. Other studies show chess improves the analytical and critical thinking skills as well as visualization abilities of kids in all stages of school, enhancing their development. Chess has also been shown to boost kids' math, readingand verbal skills.  

French primary school children between six and eleven years old, shake hands prior to competing in a chess tournament. (Photo credit: PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP/GettyImages)

5. Chess can keep an aging brain sharp

 The game has been shown to protect the elderly from degenerative brain diseases like Al

 

 

Edited by manny, 25 February 2018 - 01:16 PM.