Behaviors

Treat meditation as repeatedly bringing attention back after mind wandering. Reframe mind wandering as training rather than failure, and think in terms of refocus ability rather than uninterrupted focus ability; more refocusing repetitions can mean more effective training.

Use a breathing cadence of inhale, inhale, exhale during meditation if desired.

Use slow inhale-exhale cyclic breathing as a common meditation breathing pattern.

Use a cadence of 3 to 6 seconds inhale, 2-second hold, and 7-second exhale.

Use deliberate control of breathing depth and cadence during meditation to shift brain and body state. First ask whether you want to be calmer, more alert, or remain in the same state when you finish.

Keep inhales and exhales relatively balanced in duration if you want to end the meditation at about the same calm/alert level you started.

If you are stuck in your head and want to get out of it, pair exteroceptive meditation with natural cyclic breathing rather than more complex breathwork.

If you feel pulled out of yourself and want to bring awareness into the body and calm down, use a deliberate somewhat unnatural or non-default breathing pattern.

Traditional focus/refocus meditation close to bedtime may impair sleep onset in some people.

Regular meditation reduces stress and may improve functioning on reduced sleep by offsetting unhealthy cortisol patterns.

If using cannabis, edibles from controlled sources allow more defined THC/CBD milligram dosing than smokable forms from unclear sources.

If cannabis was used during adolescence and brain function recovery is desired, stop using cannabis in any form.

Recommended as part of the general health practices that support recovery of brain function; he groups healthy metabolic function and healthy body weight together.

He strongly warns that cannabis use in adolescents, teens, and young adults up to age 25 disrupts brain development, accelerates prefrontal cortical thinning, and raises later risk of anxiety, depression, and psychosis.

Avoid cannabis use entirely if possible, especially for adolescents, teens, and people age 25 or younger. If cannabis is used at all, keep both frequency and potency very low to reduce the risk of psychosis.

Foundational prerequisite for mental health, physical health, and performance; also described as part of the general environment of health.

Measure ketones and adjust the diet based on ketosis level and clinical response; Palmer mentions both general ketone measurement and specifically recommending urinary ketosis in Atkins-style ketogenic approaches because clinical benefit often appeared only once patients got into ketosis.

If reducing psychiatric medications, do it safely, cautiously, gradually, and with supervision from a mental health professional or prescriber; do not stop cold turkey because rebound symptoms can be severe or dangerous.

Use frequent contact and education rather than simply prescribing a diet and checking back months later; Palmer describes weekly visits as useful for adherence and adjustment.

Monitor glucose levels alongside ketones during ketogenic interventions.

Avoid sleep disruption because Palmer says it impairs mitochondria and mitochondrial function.

Avoid tobacco smoke because Palmer says it impairs mitochondrial function.

Do not drink the same amount of alcohol you normally would while on a ketogenic diet, and do not drive after your usual amount, because blood alcohol levels may be much higher and could be dangerous or even deadly.

Use behavioral sleep measures first when keto triggers sleep disruption or hypomania: get at least six hours of sleep per night, stay in bed and try to fall back asleep if you wake very early, and aim for three nights of decent sleep in a row, which Palmer says often extinguishes hypomania.

For serious mental illness patients on keto who cannot sleep despite behavioral measures and supplements, Palmer uses prescription sleep medication only as a temporary stopgap to get 3-7 days of decent sleep and break hypomania.

Use fasted exercise/cardio as a way to stimulate GLP-1 release; presented as a vote in favor of fasted exercise for this purpose.

Figure out your body weight in kilograms and use 1–3 mg/kg as the range to explore for a single caffeine dose.

Look up the caffeine content of your beverages and foods online, especially commercial coffees, sodas, teas, etc., to know how much you are actually ingesting.

Be careful about very high caffeine intake over long periods because it can bias toward anxiety, electrolyte depletion, headaches, irritability, and microvasculature disruption.

If you like exercising fasted, caffeine just prior to exercise can be a fantastic tool.