Boosting brain processing? The best study drugs? GABAergics vs mindfulness tech? & More

Beat the July heat with this old-school Q&A episode droppin' Biohacking knowledge...

Disclaimer

What you find here is NOT medical advice. I’m not a doctor. I’m just an experienced, unlicensed self-experimenter practicing free speech by talking about my own extensive experiences and my interpretations of published science. Please see my guide on How to Biohack Smart and Safe. You should consult a doctor about any biohacking you’re doing and, ideally, also get a second opinion.

#14 Questions

Q

Hi Jonathan, what products are great for increasing the brains processing speed. Thank you. I hope you are keeping in good health.

A

Recommendations

Tyrosine - A good all-around Nootropic that turns down the biological impact of acute stress

Modafinil - A hardcore smart drug--read my full overview of it before trying it

Phenylpiracetam - The mathematician's smart drug

Nicotine - A quintessential cognitive enhancer

Brain training for working memory

Mitochondrial Nootropics (CoQ10, PQQ, D-Ribose, etc)

Q

I’ve read your “ultra human protocol”. I’m a student and I will have an exam in november that will be very important to me.

My question, I have a limited budget, and I leave in europe. I have easy access to modafinil but I don’t use it that much because It’s not good enough for memorizing - most of the exam is memorizing.

What would you recommend and where can I get them in Europe?

A

Recommendations

Piracetam (RUPharma.com in Europe)

NO-BS Guide to Lifehacking Studying for High Leverage Skill Set Acquisition

Q

One thing that I woke up with on my mind is creating problems, say Xanax is to treat anxiety and one that has never experienced anxiety in life can take Xanax and have a great time but soon there after will need it to be at a level that was once normal, I’m not saying my nootropics don’t all have warnings like phenibut says 2 days only 5 day wash out. I’m the type that needs something daily because even with phenibut I haven’t stopped taking it since I got it I haven’t continued to double doses like most say to do while abusing but have kept around 1 g just to avoid panic attacks or that moment that brings on so much fear you are 1thread from admitting this place is hell , sorry to ramble but this isn’t bad compared to when I was hooked to the bucket of pea best and worst month ever, weight loss and what seemed to be a hollowing of the head but I haven’t touched pea since May 16th , I am about to weigh out 110mg of N.D noopept in a moment but do you do oxiracetam daily or is it ok to do so?. I had gone to N.D to buy oxi and got to reading and decided to get more phenibut since I was there and discarded the oxi as N.D is VERY HONEST AND HELPFUL TO CUSTOMERS EVEN IF IT MEANS THE LOSS OF A SALE. These guys are great and the more I research the more I find that everyone in the community is AWESOME and loves the neighbor as I do. I will check out more videos..... what type of business do you run? You sell Nootropics?

A

Recommendations

Oxiracetam - The discipline molecule

Noopept - Keep the dosage under 30 milligrams daily

Meditation and mindfulness technologies: Dual N-Back and Emwave2

Q

I doubt that dual n-back pro has a transfer effect that is as significant as any other n-back application. Frankly, it’s hard to see why anybody would use it when there are dual n-back apps you only have to pay for once for a couple of bucks rather than the pay-to-play system that dual n-back pro uses. You pay ~$30 for 990,000 “neurons” (some bullshit in-game currency). Every time you use a session, you deplete neurons (heh). If you quit a session, you revoke those neurons. You are allowed only 2 practice sessions per day before the game disables (free) practice sessions. Even a subscription service sounds more appealing than the pay-to-play system that they use. And another thing... This app wasn’t and still isn’t optimized for Android phones without a physical home button; I couldn’t exit from the app without rebooting my phone. What’s more, the PC version is clearly ported directly from the phone version. It somehow manages to look like it’s running off of an emulator. Oh and one more thing, the sound doesn’t work when you have the emotional option switched on. This seems to be a problem in both the PC version and the Android version. Overall, it’s a piece of shit that is not worth the price. You’re better off paying a one off price for a decent dual n-back app (or better yet, using a free version) and evaluating for yourself whether dual n-back works for you, as a personal experiment. If you’re technically inclined, you could replicate dual n-back pro because there’s nothing special about it. Eat wisely, limit your alcohol intake, drink plenty of water, research your nootropics carefully, don’t eat too much, fast from the moment you wake up until lunch, exercise, meditate, manage your stress, do cognitive training that strengthens your ability to pay attention (any activity that forces you to pay attention, so long as it isn’t too stressful will have the effect of increasing your working memory capacity and therefore your intelligence) and learn to be more compassionate towards others.

A

Recommendations

Update: N-Back Challenge - Has a clever “pay when you don’t play” model

Book review: The Shallows - delves a lot deeper into the topic of working memory

Q

When using the rehearsal strategy for dual n back, should we repeatedly say the letter and remember the location or only once to really engage the working memory?

A

Dual N-Back Pro

Q

Regarding to NAC: Why not just take glutathione?

A

Recommendations

NAC is best for those who have succumbed to vice (or need a little more immune power)

Bulletproof’s Glutathione Force

Q

Hello i have in my hands pi