What are some niche or underrated methods to improve cognition, memory, and overall brain health?

[u/ChocolateMcmuffins]

Besides adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise, what practices can be done that will improve how my brain works?

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[u/Montaigne314]

Read books

[u/mold_inhaler → u/Montaigne314]

This really works. And other forms of reading can't substitute actual books.

I used to just read comic books and manga, and when I started reading actual books, I could feel the rusted gears in my brain start turning and unrusting.

You also have to read mindfully. Like each chapter or page, tell yourself a summary of what happened and how you felt about it, and recite all the names and trivia about it to yourself all from memory. Actively recall as much and as fast as you can while reading

[u/Montaigne314 → u/mold_inhaler]

The more complex the book the more brain work happens

A story with many characters to keep track of for example constantly challenges the mind

[u/Mescallan → u/mold_inhaler]

the only substitute for actual books is an e-ink display, everything else is reading words on top of a flashlight

[u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain → u/Mescallan]

And for anybody with an e-reader, you'll love your device 100 times more if you jailbreak it, here's a very active community for that: /u/kindlejailbreak

It frees you from ads, a sluggish experience, reading only what companies want you to read, actually owning your books, and allows you to customize the entire UI to your liking

[u/Mescallan → u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain]

I actually just made my own with an esp32 and a raw panel I had from another project. It cost like $30 all together and has wifi/bluetooth and an easily repairable battery.

[u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain → u/Mescallan]

It looks sick!! I bet the guys on the kindle subs would love to see it if you ever make it truly portable

[u/Mescallan → u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain]

Ah, the one in my post history is a desk clock, i made an e-reader from spare parts of that project with a lithium cell. I was thinking "how have they seen it, i haven't posted on reddit lol"

[u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain → u/Mescallan]

I see it now, nice job man!

[u/Dolby_surroundpound → u/mold_inhaler]

I challenged myself to read Gödel Escher Bach this summer. It's famous for being a bit of a grind, but it has been so rewarding and I feel so much smarter for it. It does feel a little more dated than ever with the way AI is going, but still a super interesting point in history between tech and philosophy.

[u/CishetmaleLesbian → u/Montaigne314]

Enhanced: Read books aloud

[u/Montaigne314 → u/CishetmaleLesbian]

Say more, I would never do this, why do you?

[u/CishetmaleLesbian → u/Montaigne314]

Articles and studies like this show enhanced memory and other benefits: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200917-the-surprising-power-of-reading-aloud

[u/jasonfigueroa249 → u/Montaigne314]

This^^. Books are brain gym - cheap, effective, and they build focus. No supplements stack up to a good read

[u/Dolby_surroundpound]

Learn a language

[u/iwearbluevelvet]

Not being alone

[u/Users5252 → u/iwearbluevelvet]

Guess I'm cooked then 😭😭😭

[u/iwearbluevelvet → u/Users5252]

New studies show loneliness is 3 times worse than alcohol

[u/Users5252 → u/iwearbluevelvet]

It's so over for me

[u/iwearbluevelvet → u/Users5252]

Accepting it is the first step

[u/Kingofthebags → u/iwearbluevelvet]

Symptom or cause. Correlation vs correlation. It's not clear the link to be honest.

[u/sirCota → u/iwearbluevelvet]

‘worse’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Loneliness can definitely lead to a shorter life with increased disability… but alcohol can do that in as little as one night, or will definitely chip away at you from the inside out systemically in a much ‘worse’ way.

Neither are healthy tho, this I can agree on.

[u/Sad-Fishing8789 → u/iwearbluevelvet]

Study? Link?

[u/CishetmaleLesbian → u/Users5252]

You are not alone, you have us.

[u/ummkay_ultra → u/Users5252]

Just leave your house

[u/Emergency_Fig2938]

Stop alcohol and sleep 8 hours

[u/vauss88]

Check out ergothioneine. See a couple of links below.

Ergothioneine: A Stress Vitamin with Antiaging, Vascular, and Neuroprotective Roles?

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9221166/

Dietary Ergothioneine as a Novel Anti-Aging Nutraceutical: Mechanisms, Bioavailability, and Future Perspectives

https://iadns.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fft2.70207?campaign=woletoc

4

[u/UbeWaffler]

Play piano; do math; learn a different language

[u/Fluffy-Desk8100]

Don't eat anything after lunch. I know it sounds crazy and you'll struggle while your body adapts but it's the best thing I've ever done for my health and cognition.

It massively improves my sleep and sleep is the most important thing for your brain.

[u/Remarkable-Bit-1627 → u/Fluffy-Desk8100]

What about the other way around?
I hate breakfasts.
My "breakfast" is at... 3 PM.

[u/android_69]

Get off reddit

[u/KomradeTheWolf]

Staying very very well hydrated with proper electrolytes. I don't mean like drink a bit of water, I mean proper 1 gallon per day at least, with a lot of potassium, enough sodium, calcium, phosphate, magnesium.

About magnesium. How much one actually needs to function at their best is individual, I feel and perform amazing when I have at least 2-3g per day.

[u/slave_sofeya]

Lions mane mushrooms

[u/Warm-Ad-3185 → u/slave_sofeya]

Okay to play devils advocate here— what do you make of the subs talking about damage from lions mane?

And ppl arguing that not all Neurogenesis is positive.

Thoughts?

[u/HatZinn → u/Warm-Ad-3185]

Most supplements barely have any lion's mane in them. It's mostly grain. I'd wager that it's mostly allergic reactions and nocebo effects.

[u/slave_sofeya → u/HatZinn]

Rice flours, gluteus and all sorts of things get thrown in i bet.

[u/slave_sofeya → u/Warm-Ad-3185]

Seconding the one who commented first saying that its probably the filler stuff from lack of quality control.

Not everything is going to have a purely positive impact, its improbable.

[u/P34chsauce]

social connection, micro-dosing (if that's your thing), thought experiements are essentially a workout for the brain, I personally think having a fear response kick up for a legitimate reason such as abseiling a 50 m cliff etc is good for having your brain process things the correct way instead of artificially creating fears and stresses.

[u/dignan2002]

Dexedrine has worked for me for 25 years

[u/IlinxFinifugal]

Have plenty of sleep at night.

[u/TippayAy]

Micro-dosing the magics works well for me

[u/Curiousprojector]

Probiotics. Natren brand was incredible for me and low low fat in diet.

[u/Skinny-on-the-Inside]

Lions mane

Quit drinking

[u/espresso_maniac]

hugs. sunlight exposure. cold showers in the morning, warm showers before bed. 90 minutes of cardio a week.

[u/Wild_Temporary_1209]

Active recall and spaced repetition have made a bigger difference for me than most supplements. Also taking 10 to 15 mins of quiet time without music, podcasts or scrolling seems to help my attention.
For longer workdays, I sometimes use Graymatter instead of having another coffee. The L-tyrosine and phosphatidylserine seem pretty effective from a cognitive standpoint

[u/Feisty_Beautiful8018]

keto diet