Behaviors

Do not use sunlight or very bright light on young babies the way you would for adults because their eyes are more sensitive and optics are underdeveloped.

For babies, use shortened phases of darkness and phases of light to encourage sleep at desired times because their rhythms are ultradian rather than adult-like.

Keep the room slightly colder during times you want babies to be asleep and slightly warmer during times you want them to be awake, while being very careful to avoid all extremes of temperature, hot or cold.

If caring for a baby, use polyphasic sleep in 45-minute increments or batches spread through the day if that is what circumstances allow; this may reduce the total overall amount of sleep needed.

For young children, if full-night sleep is not possible, aim for sleep batches that match 90-minute ultradian cycles—one, two, or three cycles—rather than waking in the middle of a cycle.

Turn on the lights in a teen’s room before they wake up to help them fall asleep earlier the next night and get about 45 minutes more deep sleep and more total sleep. Some parents also use a flashlight through closed eyelids before wake time to mimic this effect, though this was not part of the standard study.

Older adults should get as much natural light as safely possible to support sleep and circadian rhythms. If they cannot safely get outside, place them near a window for natural light exposure, ideally with the window open if feasible.

For older adults, prioritize natural light and keep them away from artificial light early in the day when possible.

Older adults should keep a regular schedule as a key lever for adjusting sleep and circadian rhythms.

Expect and embrace errors as the basis of neuroplasticity. Continue practicing past the point of frustration rather than quitting immediately; after reaching frustration in a motor task, continue for roughly 10 to 100 more trials. During a learning bout, keep making and correcting errors for about 7 to 30 minutes, and if possible learn to find some reward or excitement in that frustration.

For people younger than about 25, get the broadest education possible across multiple domains—e.g., math, chemistry, physics, literature, music, and learning an instrument—then identify what captures your passion and put substantial additional effort there. Also includes emotional development.

Adults should learn in smaller increments rather than making massive shifts all at once. Use shorter, highly focused bouts for smaller bits of information instead of marathon sessions. For instrument practice as an adult, about 7 to 30 minutes per bout is a significant stimulus for plasticity when fully attentive.

In motor learning, try different movement parameters until you begin to approximate the desired behavior, then work toward consistency.

Motor movements are a straightforward way to access states of plasticity. After an error-heavy motor learning bout, use the heightened learning state for later cognitive work such as reading, or even deliberate therapeutic work.

During a learning bout, visually restrict your world to the material in front of you to help focus engage.

Subjectively attach dopamine or positive meaning to making errors. Use self-talk to frame failures and frustration as good for learning and accelerated plasticity, provided the message feels authentic and you genuinely want to learn the skill.

Identify the time or times of day when you naturally have the highest mental acuity and schedule learning bouts then.

Before learning, assess whether you are too alert and need calming or too sleepy and need alerting. Aim for a state that is clear, calm, focused, and perhaps slightly heightened depending on the task.

Engage the vestibular system in novel ways to create errors and a neurochemical state that enhances learning. Novelty relative to gravity—such as being in a new position or slightly unstable—can increase plasticity. Explore this sensory-motor-vestibular space safely; yoga can be one example if the positions are novel for you.

Raise heart rate three to five times weekly for cardiovascular health.

Do some load-bearing exercise to increase bone density, maintain muscle strength, and support proprioceptive feedback.

Keep low-level walking in the day to keep the glial/glymphatic support systems chronically active, in addition to nighttime slow-wave sleep.

Looking at an image of, or thinking about, a person, pet, or thing one loves can reduce pain experience and increase pain threshold/tolerance.

Keep movement after injury because movement itself can act as an analgesic and reduce pain, whereas icing may reduce pain while impairing tissue clearance.

In some cases, use restriction above and below the injury and then release it to increase perfusion through the site and potentially accelerate wound healing.

Anti-inflammatory drugs that reduce prostaglandins may not be ideal at the beginning of an injury because early inflammation can be beneficial. They may still be useful for limiting pain enough to maintain function.

Having a very full bladder can increase alertness, but do not let it become so distracting that all you can think about is urinating.

Recover from intense focused learning with motor activity involving self-generated optic flow, such as walking, running, or cycling. This can function as a form of non-sleep deep rest and recovery.

If you think you have ADD or ADHD, see a clinician.

Do not try to maintain maximum focus all day long. High performers are not focused all day; instead they deliberately disengage between work bouts, for example by taking walks or bike rides.