In this episode 39 protocols
▶ 9:21 Get sufficient sleep duration Behaviors “So again, all of this points to the fact that we need to be getting sufficient quality and duration of sleep. So if you're sleep deprived, even by an hour or so, you're going to get far less rapid eye movement sleep because rapid eye movement sleep is what occurs toward the end of a sleep night.” ▷ 13:49 Wake up 2–3 hours earlier than habitual time Behaviors “First of all, they told participants to try and wake up two to three hours before their typical wake-up time, two to three hours.” ▷ 14:04 Morning Outdoor Light Exposure Behaviors “But they were also asked to maximize outdoor light exposure during the mornings... So they asked them to get a lot of outdoor light exposure.” ▷ 14:45 Keep sleep-wake times fixed across weekdays and weekends Behaviors “They were also told, and this is very important if you're going to shift your schedule earlier, to try and keep sleep wake times fixed between their work days and their weekends... Within 15 to 30 minutes of their predesignated time.” ▷ 15:20 Go to sleep 2–3 hours earlier than habitual bedtime Behaviors “Participants were also asked to try and go to sleep two to three hours before their habitual bedtime.” ▷ 15:40 Limit evening and nighttime light exposure Behaviors “As I mentioned earlier, they were also told, and I love this because it fits with many of the things we've talked about on this podcast before, to try and limit light exposure during the evenings. Dim the lights or limit altogether artificial lights.” ▷ 16:04 Keep meal times regular Behaviors “And they ask participants to keep a regular schedule for their daily meals... but within, again, about 15 to 30 minutes, they're always eating at the same times.” ▷ 16:30 Avoid caffeine after 3 p.m. Behaviors “And they were told to not drink any caffeine after 3 p.m. in the afternoon.” ▷ 16:36 Nap cutoff and duration limits Behaviors “They were also told not to take naps after 4 p.m.” ▷ 17:11 Exercise early in the day Behaviors “And to exercise during the morning... this study had people exercise in the early part of the day, certainly before 2 p.m. and ideally before noon.” ▷ 47:36 Sunlight Exposure to Skin Behaviors “And that is to get sunlight onto a large portion of one's skin each day... it had people spend at least 20 minutes or so, closer to 30 minutes each day, trying to maximize sunlight exposure to as much of their skin as they could.” ▷ 1:06:41 Caffeine Supplements “Well, it turns out that regular ingestion of caffeine at safe and appropriate levels of about 100 to 250 milligrams is going to increase the number of D2 and D3 dopamine receptors... Better to push that caffeine intake out about 90 to 120 minutes after waking.” ▷ 1:07:44 Caffeine sources early in the day Diet “But you know, after one or two cups of espresso or coffee, I feel like I've had enough. I tend to drink my caffeine early in the day.” ▷ 1:08:44 Adequate salt intake with caffeine use Diet “As long as I'm hydrating enough and I'm getting enough salt, then I tend to feel fine with that much caffeine.” ▷ 1:08:44 Hydration with caffeine use Behaviors “As long as I'm hydrating enough and I'm getting enough salt, then I tend to feel fine with that much caffeine.” ▷ 1:08:49 Eat tyrosine-rich foods Diet “The other way to increase dopamine and to make sure that your baseline levels of dopamine are high enough is to make sure that you're eating sufficient numbers of tyrosine rich foods.” ▷ 1:10:28 Avoid tyramine-rich cheeses if taking MAO inhibitors Behaviors “So mind the cheese effect if you're taking an MAO inhibitor... for most people eating foods like Parmesan cheese... will increase dopamine synthesis.” ▷ 1:13:12 Mucuna Pruriens Supplements “Mucunipurines is actual L-DOPA. It's 99% L-DOPA... I don't take it and I don't recommend it because it tends to so potently and acutely increase dopamine that there's a pretty substantial crash afterwards.” ▷ 1:13:48 L-Tyrosine Supplements “The other two supplements that can increase dopamine in a short-term way, but in a significant way, are L-tyrosine... I'll take it in dosages of anywhere from 500 milligrams to a thousand milligrams... taking L-tyrosine will lead to fairly substantial increases in dopamine within about 15 to 45 minutes.” ▷ 1:14:48 Phenylethylamine Supplements “And then the other supplement that I certainly use and that I know a number of other people use is more fast acting, but more potent, which is phenylethylamine... I'll take phenylethylamine at dosages of about 300 to 600 milligrams, along with some L-tyrosine, or I'll take it on its own.” ▷ 1:16:31 Deliberate Cold Exposure Behaviors “Without question, the most potent behavioral tool for doing that is going to be deliberate cold exposure... you want to use a temperature that is safe, meaning you're not going to have a heart attack, but that is uncomfortable, such that you really want to get out and then staying in for anywhere from one minute to 10 minutes.” ▷ 1:21:28 Vitamin B6 Supplements “And those are sufficient number of B vitamins. So it turns out that B vitamins, in particular B6 or vitamin B6, can potently reduce prolactin levels... you should be cautious about taking excessive levels of B6.” ▷ 1:22:09 Vitamin B12 Supplements “But you do want to make sure that you're getting enough B6, B12, et cetera, such that you can keep prolactin levels in check.” ▷ 1:30:05 Delay caffeine 90–120 minutes after waking Behaviors “Better to push that caffeine intake out about 90 to 120 minutes after waking... By pushing it out 90 to 120 minutes after waking, you will avoid the afternoon crash to a large degree.” ▷ 1:31:49 Cyclic Hyperventilation Behaviors “If you did that for 25 repetitions, 25 inhales and exhales, you would feel more alert... There are protocols... where for instance, you would do 25 big inhales and exhales, followed by a brief breath hold with your lungs empty... and then repeat again for a third round if you like.” ▷ 1:34:07 High-Intensity Exercise Behaviors “I think the tools of exercise, and should you want very potent increases in adrenaline, high-intensity exercise, as well as the tools of caffeine, cyclic hyperventilation, and deliberate cold exposure...” ▷ 1:38:09 Eat choline-rich foods Diet “The ideal situation is to regularly ingest foods that provide enough of the precursors for acetylcholine to be made.” ▷ 1:41:28 Huperzine Supplements “Supplements that I have used and do use for increasing acetylcholine are things like Alpha-GPC or Hooperzine... Hooperzine is mainly in the enzymatic pathway. It tends to adjust how much acetylcholine is broken down and lead to net increases in acetylcholine.” ▷ 1:41:28 Alpha-GPC Supplements “Supplements that I have used and do use for increasing acetylcholine are things like Alpha-GPC... I will often take 300 milligrams of Alpha-GPC prior to workouts or prior to cognitive work bouts... anywhere from three to four times a week.” ▷ 1:44:03 Garlic Supplements “One way to prevent the increase in TMAO, if you're taking Alpha-GPC at all, is to take 600 milligrams of garlic because it contains something called allicin... alongside, or even just same day as Alpha-GPC.” ▷ 1:45:01 Visual Focus Exercise Behaviors “Things like staring in a particular visual target at the same distance at which you're going to perform some work and doing that for 30 to 60 seconds, narrowing in a very deliberate way, your visual field, and then moving into a focused work bout.” ▷ 1:48:39 Physical contact with loved ones Behaviors “Well, for instance, physical contact in particular with loved ones... friend to friend contact, even a friend to animal contact.” ▷ 1:51:07 Eat tryptophan-containing foods Diet “One simply has to go online and search for it. They put in tryptophan containing foods and you will discover that there are a lot of foods that are enriched in tryptophan that can lead to net increases in the amount of serotonin available in the brain and body.” ▷ 1:53:34 Cissus Quadrangularis Supplements “One of the ones that has received increasing attention as of lately is Cisus Quadrangularis... when taken in dosages of about 300 to 600 milligrams, can pretty dramatically increase serotonin levels. In fact, anywhere from 30% to 39% increases in circulating serotonin.” ▷ 1:54:51 5-HTP Supplements “I know many people also take 5-HTP, one of the precursors to serotonin, in dosages of anywhere from 300 to 500 milligrams. Typically, people are doing this in anticipation of sleep, meaning in the final hour of wakefulness before going to sleep.” ▷ 1:56:34 Myo-Inositol Supplements “I've been taking 900 milligrams of myoinositol every third night or so, as a test of its ability to improve sleep... Again, I've been using the 900 milligrams of myoinositol in the 30 to 60 minutes before sleep to improve my sleep.” ▷ 1:56:48 Magnesium Threonate Supplements “I've used it alone and in combination with the magnesium 3-in-8 apigenin theanine sleep kit that I've talked about.” ▷ 1:56:48 Apigenin Supplements “I've used it alone and in combination with the magnesium 3-in-8 apigenin theanine sleep kit that I've talked about.” ▷ 1:56:48 L-Theanine Supplements “I've used it alone and in combination with the magnesium 3-in-8 apigenin theanine sleep kit that I've talked about.”