There are also various memory tricks. For instance, the people who memorize decks of cards assign each number/suit to something, then develop a scene in their head that goes with the cards. So maybe they see a red banana flying over a purple rainbow, and that would mean the 4 of spades comes after the 6 of hearts... or whatever it may be.
Another thing is changing up locations. Make your locations interesting and novel and you'll be able to recall stuff you learned in various locations. I remember once I listened to an audiobook while on a long walk. When I tried to recall things, I would remember where I was on the walk, and that would remind me what the content was I was trying to remember. It was wild. I find physical books help for that as well. They give context of where you are in the book instead of just a percentage.
Spaced repetition is another thing. Going over the stuff over and over again, over a period of time (days, weeks) helps to lock it in.
Exercise, specifically following powerlifting programs. It makes me tired so I can sleep without stressing over what I need to accomplish work during the next day. It also makes me crave healthier food. It's a feedback loop, and it makes me sharper mentally. If I skip 1-2 days, I immediately notice the negative effects by the end of the week: cloudy thoughts, less motivation, etc. Powerlifting also gives me goals to work towards; PRs on certain lifts. It's replaced my cravings for MMOs which I've spent too much of my life playing - It's feels like I'm the character and I'm constantly working on improving my real life stats.
I vote for strength training in general. I don't follow a specific goal-oriented program, but I work out with weights every day and definitely notice the mental benefits--as well as the mood drop if I miss a couple of days.
I second weight resistance training but emphasizing “powerlifting” probably isn’t the best initial or long term approach.
Find a good trainer (there are A LOT of bad trainers out there) and start working through a routine with simple movements (literally hinge movements).
I’ve been lifting weights for almost my entire life with supervision and coaching by trainers that are former NCAA athletes and Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and I’m still not completely comfortable with complex movements approaching any challenging weight.
I’ve drastically increased strength, avoided plateaus, benefited from increased focus, emphasis on diet, higher resting metabolic rate and the resulting body fat composition benefits while not experiencing a single injury.
Injuries are devastating, especially for beginners and even more so for beginners starting later in life.
Speaking of injuries, I’d question starting with CrossFit as has been mentioned by others in this thread. Like trainers there are a lot of bad “boxes” out there and until you learn the basics and your limitations I’ve been to many CrossFit gyms where the experience, fitness level, and routines have been downright terrifying to witness. I’m convinced that many of the horrors I’ve seen have resulted in people suffering debilitating injuries. Having a beginner fresh off the “couch” be encouraged to stack up weight while doing their first ever snatch (or whatever) is criminal IMO.
Also - remember your heart! I run a 5k (in intervals) at least once a week to not only make sure I can still do it but also to experience the resulting benefits from what is essentially HIIT training. I also believe that as humans running is essentially in our DNA (as bad as the mechanics are - knees, etc). Of course this is another aspect to work on in terms of technique and equipment (shoes).
There are also ways to do HIIT combined with low to moderate resistance training but that’s a bit more involved.
I agree with your evaluation of CrossFit, bad boxes and injury risk, but one thing CrossFit does well is keeping you motivated due to the group setting. I no longer do CrossFit now, but it was the first program I successfully managed to stick with due to the social aspects. Whenever I tried going to the gym by myself previously I would lose motivation after a few months. I think many people who want to start working out have the same experience.
That's why I would still recommend CrossFit especially to beginners - the program that works for you is the one you can stick with. After you've built a habit of working out and lifting weights it's much easier to create your own program and stick with that.
Do note that these mental effects of powerlifting/strength training are mediated by the concommittant increase in circulating endogenous opioid peptides.
These people are effectively using and getting dependent on opioids.
While it may seem healthy at first, the cravings for more lifting can increase until one cannot control themselves any more, leading to constant overtraining, muscle/skeletal injuries, and eventually PAIN which requires actual opioids prescribed by a doctor.
Do you want to guess what happens after a person, unbeknown to themselves an endogenous opioid addict, gets a hold of exogenous opioids?
What the parent is noticing after a couple days of not working out are the withdrawal symptoms.
That is exactly what I was saying. Those ”endorphines”, i.e. endogenous morphines, are opioid molecules and have opioid effects in the human body, including addiction, dependency and withdrawal.
Some do anything for a fix.
Many vehemently deny this and that they like getting high from it.
Interesting that you would compare ”unnatural” food ingredients to the exercise high.
There is a difference between ”exercise” and ”power lifting”.
Cardio is definitely good for you, even though it releases the same peptides. In cardio you progress by going longer.
Lifting is a different beast. In it you progress by increasing weights, because increasing reps does not gain muscle as fast. Each trip to the gym causes muscle damage, which also releases opioids, and it is completely possible to become dependent on that in the same manner that someone cutting themselves becomes dependent on the opioids released by cutting.
I have no idea how to view upvotes/downvotes on other posts or my own, but I see this one is greyed out, which I guess means it was downvoted by someone.
Since I don't see a reply explaining why, and it's at least an interesting point of view, I upvoted it.
Addiction and dependence are not matters of how much drugs someone has in their bloodstream; they are matters of why there is drugs in the bloodstream.
A terminal pain patient could be having a daily dose of morphine equal to an opioid abuser’s, but we usually don’t consider them addicts, because they have a reason to use opioids for pain management.
An opioid addict could be consuming a quarter of a codeine tablet a day and still be considered an addict, because emotion management is not usually considered a valid reason to use opioids.
For some reason, a lot of people recommend going to the gym as a first-line treatment for various emotional issues. I find this doublethink hilarious.
The only “loaded and oversimplified” rhetoric here is your refusal to consider even the simplest facts of the matter beyond “opioid receptors are activated at all!”
The only “doublethink” is how you claim not to be opposed to exercise in one comment while denigrating the very thought of going to the gym in another, in spite of clear evidence that lack of exercise is broadly detrimental to one’s mental state, rather than your narrative of “self-medication with endorphins that induces dependence and withdrawal symptoms where none existed before”. And claim that some source of endorphin release is good when that contradicts your only rationale for equating exercise with opiate abuse.
I have not denigrated anything except power lifting, which is what many equate with ”going to the gym” in my peer circles. That is certainly a source of confusion here.
It is a fact that power lifting can be addictive, for the very reasons I’ve mentioned. It is not for all people. Those with genetic and psychiatric predispositions (work stress included) are much more at risk.
The risk, however, is very real, and some don’t realize it before they have made permanent damage to their musculoskeletal system and are forced to deal with serious pain issues—and some turn to opioids. THAT is the real apogee of why ”exercise can be a dangerous drug (for some people)”.
I strongly urge you to either hire a trainer to go over form or, at least, carefully watch some YouTube videos on form. Weight lifting is a wonderful form of exercise and probably the safest when done correctly. However, it's really easy to hurt yourself if you lift too much in the wrong way.
My quick advice is (1) go light at first [nobody cares how much you lift] (2) go slowly and try to feel tension in the correct muscles for the exercise if you don't know which muscles you should be feeling you should look it up (3) go over form very carefully with videos or a trainer
Strong agree. I started with programs like Starting Strength but I regret not working with a trainer earlier. There were so many technical mistakes I made that I never noticed myself. Worst case I would've hurt myself in the future, best case my progress would have stalled due to bad technique. There is only so much you can learn from YouTube videos because you need to know what you're looking for. Nothing wrong with these programs, but having someone experienced correct your technique is invaluable. That's perhaps less the case for simpler lifts like bench press, but I can't imagine someone learning to properly clean, snatch or jerk all by themselves.
If you can't afford to hire a trainer, start with going to a weightlifting group class to learn technique. Even Crossfit is good for that (just don't learn your pull-ups there :)). At least you will have someone correcting you. Once you're confident in your technique you can quite and start following your own program.
I will third this with a caveat that MOST trainers are either incompetent or don't care. But you will literally save years of wasted time and injury if you do it right from the start. Just find the right person or cross-check with multiple. There is also a program called "5x5" which is ok for beginners. Don't forget to do pull ups and crunches too. The whole "liftings works your abs" enough thing is a myth. Maybe some cardio too.
Gotta 2x this comment: hire a trainer. It’s changed my life. You are accountable to someone who is invested in seeing you make progress and get better.
Because I work out three times a week my life is better on multiple fronts, including my concentration and coding.
Two years on I’m down 27 pounds and can do push-ups. I have never been able to do push-ups.
I'll go against the grain and say don't follow Stronglifts or Starting Strength (although the book is good if you're interested).
The problem with both is that they overindex on squats and on 5 rep sets. You want to get a mixture of the number of reps you do per set, and doing squats as often as they recommend will turn you into a t-rex. Plus, when you fail at a certain weight (which you're bound to do), then there's not the flexibility necessary to help you push through and so you get frustrated. I know--I've been in that situation with both programs.
I've recently taken up GZCLP[1] and I'm very happy with it. I'm already doing, 3 months in, more weight than I was doing on either SL5x5 or Starting Strength, and I'm over a decade older than I was when I did this programs.
Starting Strength is an excellent program. Be aware that not all trainers are equal. https://startingstrength.com/
Mark Rippetoe’s book started it all and is an invaluable resource for understanding proper form and how to approach weightlifting - and what to look for if you decide you want a trainer. That said, when I was starting out, I didn’t follow the aggressive weight buildup that many plans suggest. Your muscles will respond much more quickly than your joints, and you have to give them time to adjust. Buy a proper belt (discussed in the book) and consider taking some collagen to help your joints adjust. Slow and steady wins the race.
> Your muscles will respond much more quickly than your joints
Funnily enough, when I tried couch-to-5k it I had to pause to recover from shin-splints aka tendonitis.
Now I've started bouldering more than usual, I'm getting climbers elbow (tendonitis) as well as other pains in the wrist and forearm that are not muscle-related.
I went to my first powerlifting meet in the early 90s.
The problem with powerlifting is it really beats up your body over time and as you age. Once you get past 405lbs or so for squat you are almost insuring future disc herniation. Disc herniation is a concern with aging even without constantly loading 400lbs+ on your spine.
This is patently obvious but when young and indestructible hitting PRs becomes completely obsessive and that is another problem. There are not many things that give the rush of hitting a new PR or milestone with strength. Your strongest pound for pound in powerlifting weight classes relative to your height at much higher body weight than what is healthy. Pull up a group photo of any hardcore powerlifting gym and that will be super obvious.
Instagram and people posting PR videos has caused this explosion in powerlifting popularity and conventional deadlift popularity along with Rippetoe. It use to be an almost deviant aspect of bodybuilding for guys obsessed with strength with a disregard for aesthetics.
If I could start over I would never powerlift. I would train absolute strength still but I would also focus on relative strength. Relative strength as displayed by the number of pull ups or muscle ups you can do. I would always want to be able to pass the army running/situp/pushup standards. I would mostly squat with a belt squat and trap bar and be very careful about loading the spine instead of the ridiculous powerlifting game of seeing if you can get your legs strong enough to break your spine over time.
I am still under the delusion that you can stay healthy if you never lift beyond near-perfect form. But I say this as someone who has been working out all his life and still only has a 3.5 plate deadlift.
I also stretch religiously, run, and hang on the pullup bar to decompress.
You made a very good note about army standards - they are actually pretty good at ensuring overall health. Especially if you go to SOF with the swimming requirements (Pararescue, SEALs). If someone has anything against the military, Iron Man standards are pretty much the same thing.
As a side note, I take glucosomine for joints. Jury is still out on it, but most doctors feel like it at least doesn't hurt.
edit: Another thing to worry about here is posture. If you are lardotic and you squat or OHP, you put way more pressure on your spine than someone with ideal posture. Contrary to popular belief, I don't believe lifting fixes this. At the very least, you have to worry about form way more.
I'm 50 now and deliver cloud training. The discipline of passing one or two more difficult tech certifications a year gets my brain pumping. It's surprising what information the brain can store. When studying intensely I do 45 minutes study, 15 minutes rest. I have also observed anecdotally that information gets consolidated in your brain overnight.
Finally, I have also observed some people have exceptional memories, like my wife. She is just wired better than me in this regard. My stance is to look after what you got, not worry about comparison too much.
I know you said that you aren't looking for something like Anki, but: if you want to improve your general memory, there is really no better method than spaced repetition. It doesn't need to be Anki or even a software program; the Leitner system, for example, just uses basic flash cards.
I liken a spaced repetition system to any other tool that helps you improve basic functions. For example, while you could brush your teeth using your finger, it's infinitely more efficient with a toothbrush and even better with an electric toothbrush. It's just a tool to accomplish a particular physical task (in your case, improving your memory), so why not pick the best tool?
Otherwise, I've read a lot about the benefits of blueberries. And you really can't go wrong with sleep.
I found myself resorting to memory-palace-like approaches when doing anki in the past, which almost felt like cheating. I didn't keep up with Anki, but definitely felt my ability to remember new vocabulary improved as I learned new words. I don't recall general recall improving, but maybe that comes later down the line.
Sleep/exercise has been fine, diet could use some work. Maybe another crack at spaced repetition is the answer.
Having more adventures. There's plenty good that can be done by trying out some routines and input chemicals, but at the end of the longest day, what memory is there in a forgettable life? A good adventure is sort of like a mnemonic, we encode stuff very well in stories. So in much of what we do, we ought to make an adventure of it.
Along with a greater focus on my diet and exercise, I found deleting facebook off my phone certainly improved my focus throughout the day. I didn't realise how often I impulsively doom scrolled until I removed it.
Since you are not these people you think to have a better memory than you, shouldn't you first try to figure out why you should have the same memory as you think "some" people have, and then what the reasons might be that you don't?
By the way, how do you know that these others have a better memory?
Anecdotes and subjective impressions?
Apart from that, there is nothing better for an otherwise mentally and physically healthy person than moderate sleep, moderate exercise and a balanced diet.
Disclaimer:
If your memory has suddenly deteriorated, you'd better talk to a doctor.
In combination with other symptoms, this can be an indication of mental and physical illness.
Oh, and never ever just take for granted what some stranger writes on some random newsboard.
Mostly anecdotes. My girlfried and I maintain a very similar schedule, yet she remembers details from months ago from events that I need to be reminded even happened. Books too, I'll read an entire book and really struggle to recall more than a few details that stuck out the most. In general, I know that my memory could be a lot better than it is. Sleep is fine, exercise is decent, and diet... well that could be improved. Thanks for the response!
Stopping alcohol and stimulant use almost entirely. The way I see it, psychoactive substances induce different modalities of thinking. The fewer modalities we have, the better preserved are our memories.
Unfortunately, I am an obligate coffee drinker. I find that need it to keep pace with work, so I am not running optimally under my own framework, but it's a locally bound sacrifice I make. To try to keep "modalities" stable, I just drink much less and only at a specific hour in the morning, and with food to slightly decrease uptake. It's a work in progress, but it has helped tremendously, specifically with memory.
To complicate matters, [method] actors might be better adapted for that sort of mental exercise than the average individual. I have the strong suspicion that method acting would adversely affect my memory, though. It would be an interesting experiment, if someone could devise one!
For me: diet (vitamins, algae oil, a little creatine), sleep (tracked), exercise (HIIT), reading (non-fiction - help build your vocab/mental maps), dual-n-back.
There are other tricks that I have heard of like the 'memory palace' [1], or mindfulness meditation, but those I don't think really worked for me personally, YMMV.
Have always been interested in nootropics, but I'm a dot the i's cross the t's kind of person, so haven't had anything to do with those.
The method of loci doesn't work really well for people who have aphantasia, which I believe is more common for software engineers than the general population.
Which part do you find hard to believe? That people with aphantasia can have a hard time with the method of loci, or that aphantasia is more common for software engineers than in the general population?
Well, there's a paper from 2020 that suggests that people with aphantasia are more likely to be working in a scientific or mathematical occupation: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.003
Anecdotally, one can also search for engineer on the aphantasia subreddit to find many threads with engineers chiming in.
Too late to edit, so I'll add a reply: if you really feel like something in your brain is holding you back, you might want to do some tests with a specialist. I know people of all ages who have done this and benefited from the insights. GL.
Completely removing all alcohol, coffee and tobacco consumption from my life.
I still consume caffeine and nicotine. I’ve found that my cognition is improved by them; in the case of nicotine, I might just as well have regular pauses from work, though.
Coffee and tobacco, however, contain a host of other psychoactives which tend to bring about an easily distracted, impulsive frame of mind.
So many impulse buys are connected to a craving for the bitter, MAO-inhibiting alkaloids in coffee and tobacco smoke… it’s good for the economy, but not for your bank roll.
Alcohol for sure but I need something to look forward to at the end of the day. I exercise, have a great family and lots of hobbies I enjoy but it’s not enough of a release.
If you really want to save money, Walmart brand Stay Awake caffeine pills are 80 200mg tablets for a few bucks. I split them in 4 so it is like 320 50mg servings for a few bucks.
The best thing about caffeine pills is you can actually know how much caffeine you are getting. I limit myself to 100-200mg a day. I wouldn't even want to know what I use to take drinking coffee but it was quite a bit. I will just drink coffee now as a treat.
Exercise, be in nature, travel, play physical sport, prepare healthier food, make sure you get enough sleep in a well ventilated room; abstain from alcohol/drugs, develop better routines; minimize distractions in your workplace and home, seek inspiration in other areas (new hobbies etc), pick some books (not self help) that are relevant to your work and hobbies, try to see at things from a different perspective; stop engaging with energy vampires (be it your relatives or colleagues)
The basic everyone else mentioned (sleep, diet) + minimizing negative influences: especially alcohol (which mess heavily with both sleep and digestion), negative thought patterns and ... negative people. Sleep conditions matter also -- it needs to be quiet, restful sleep, with the windows open if at all possible.
Cutting down on screen time (i.e. this thing you're looking at right now), in favor of book time, or just-about-anything-time if its happening, you know, outdoors and in beautiful scenery, helps also.
Even if you close your eyes, you would still know where your monitors are, where your keyboard is, where your laptop is, and so on. You would know where your bed was. Where the table where you eat sat and the number of chairs around it. If you want to have a better memory, put things into the part of you that handles remembering where objects are in the spaces you occupy.
To do that you need to be able to encode information into objects and decode objects back into information. You also need to put the encoded information in storage - a spatial context. Once you've written an object to this spatial storage, you can read it back out again by remembering that space. You can also move through the space in a predetermined way. Your mind will recall the other objects you told it were in that space. So you'll see them there as you move through the space.
There is literally a part of your mind dedicated to handling this type of spatial association. You will need to practice it so you can build connections to it so your memory can improve from it. You can get an MRI and see the difference between people who practice this technique and those who don't, because they have more connections to this region than those who aren't winning memory competitions.
The trouble is that the encoding and decoding step are hard to learn. You'll be really slow at doing that part until you practice it a lot.
You've probably heard of this technique of memorization by using your spatial memory. This is the method of loci or the memory palace technique. It was once more well known that it is now. Writing and reading supplanted it as the dominant way to memorize things.
To give a bit more contrast - a lot of the other methods people are sharing will definitely help your memory. Getting enough sleep is important. So is eating well. Yet if your goal is to improve your memory to an extreme - like lets say, fully memorizing every word in a large book or being able to recite a number to ten thousand places or being able to be repeat back card for card fifty two cards in a row - what you need isn't just to be rested and healthy. You need actual technique. The comparison I would use is sports. Yes - if you want to be good at sports, you should be in peak shape. However, being in peak shape is only a part of the solution. You also need the proper technique.
Neurocognitive effects of melatonin treatment in healthy adults and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Exercise definitely has helped me accelerate my mental sharpness and I would recommend running or swimming if possible, otherwise weight lifting would help too.
One thing for me was paying attention to what I ate, and what my brain did after I ate it. I found that some things would slam my brain anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours after I ate them. My mind did better if I stopped (or at least reduced) eating those things.
A number of the ideas here are given chapters in “Search Inside Yourself.” For learning/remembering things try the free “Learning How to Learn” on Coursera. It builds on a lot of cognitive science research and is only four weeks.
Getting rid of my phone entirely. Although now I cannot do this because I have on-call for work. Does anyone have recommendations for a phone that is as well-manufactured and reliable as an iPhone but without data capabilities?
There's modern Nokia feature phones with LTE (which if you live in the US it's a must even if you don't want a data connection). Of course they aren't built with such nice materials like newer iPhones but they are well reliable.
I've heard really good things about sunbeam wireless phones. I'm switching to a cheap flip phone for a while and depending on how it goes I think I'll upgrade to one of theirs eventually
Completely quitting alcohol. I don't know if it's an age thing, but a single glass of wine will guaranteed drop my cognitive function the next day. It sucks to quit, but sucks less than living in permanent brain fog.
Anecdotally I think so. Stress and anxiety are the worst things you can do to your mind so I’m always better at conversations on my frequent sabbaticals.
Yes I agree with this. It's the level of stress that takes a toll on the brain. We need considerable time off to heal, probably more time off than the average person is currently taking.
I had savings from my vested RSUs which I received working for a rising company. Then I turned into an angel investor and made some good money which should last me for a while. I still can't retire but I will deal with it a bit later. To retire I would need 39_600_000 dollars.
1) exercise. 6 days a week (2 good cardio days, two stretchy (Pilates/yoga), and two sports/outside/weights)
2) eat healthily a) 90% plant no carb plant based (salads etc) 10% whatever you want. Extremely limited drugs (alcohol) (like once a month)
3) adequate sleep ( #1 and # 2 help a lot)
4) spend at least an hour a day outside (bike to work, have lunch in the park, go for a walk)
5) use your calendar to create time for yourself
6) challenge yourself to learn new things that do not come easy I’ll to you (for many of the people that are stem oriented here, that means dancing and watercolors)
Diet, 2-3 hour exercise daily (cardio I've found is best) and disabling notifications - I find that if I don't work out, I internet more and cell phone browse.
Also core friends and people to "hang out with" you'd be surprised how much you get sucked up by just the Internet and meta of it.
With the 2-3 hour of daily cardio and diet changes, most of my issues disappeared - inability to focus, irritability, fear of missing out and it helped analyze things in my life e.g. am I in the right place/environment?
Quit drinking, eat more salad, try to stick to drinks like espresso rather than massive coffees, treat allegies so you get decent sleep rather than focus on paying someone by the hour to recite your traumas.
Weed helps too -- specifically sativas high in CBG and limonene seem to help with concentration issues that stem from anxiety or depression, paired with indicas high in Myrcene in the evening.
I experienced this back when I did keto as well. Usually I probably have something like subclinical ADHD or something. I'm not sure I actually got smarter, but I felt extremely lucid.
For me, lots of training in heart rate zone 2, preferably hiking on steep terrain. I shoot for 4 hours a week, I'd like to get 5 or 6. It may help you sleep better (and in less time) too.
getting 10 pm to 6 am sleep, some things are that simple, life in general is much much better, for one I hardly get irritated about small things like I used to.
IMO you probably just have an average memory but you are comparing yourself to people with incredible memories.
I think of Magnus Carlsen holding 10 chess games in his head and doing it perfect enough to beat everyone he was playing against. Of course, that is extreme but there are many people who have above average memories.
I am spot on with hydration, sleep, cardio, weightlifting but I don't think any of this really makes my memory better. Mood and energy but not memory. The only thing I have found that makes my memory better is trying to memorize things like a daily exercise. Learning another language is really the way to go.
There are also various memory tricks. For instance, the people who memorize decks of cards assign each number/suit to something, then develop a scene in their head that goes with the cards. So maybe they see a red banana flying over a purple rainbow, and that would mean the 4 of spades comes after the 6 of hearts... or whatever it may be.
Another thing is changing up locations. Make your locations interesting and novel and you'll be able to recall stuff you learned in various locations. I remember once I listened to an audiobook while on a long walk. When I tried to recall things, I would remember where I was on the walk, and that would remind me what the content was I was trying to remember. It was wild. I find physical books help for that as well. They give context of where you are in the book instead of just a percentage.
Spaced repetition is another thing. Going over the stuff over and over again, over a period of time (days, weeks) helps to lock it in.