All protocols

A serotonin precursor used by some people as an over-the-counter way to raise serotonin and support mood or gratitude-related states. The common practice is to use it cautiously or avoid it altogether, since it can push serotonin too directly and is often viewed as a poor fit for routine self-experimentation.

Increase intake of dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and romaine as a regular part of the diet. These foods are emphasized as nutrient-dense sources of magnesium and as a core feature of heart-healthy eating patterns like DASH, with the main benefit being support for preserved cognitive performance and overall brain health.

Audio tracks are played so each ear receives a slightly different frequency, creating a binaural beat effect. The usual protocol is to listen with headphones, which is how the two tones are kept separate and the effect is most reliably produced. Different frequency ranges are commonly used for different states, such as delta-range beats for easing the transition into sleep.

Avoid drinking alcohol in the evening or near bedtime if you want better sleep. Alcohol can make you feel sleepy at first, but it fragments sleep later in the night and suppresses REM and other restorative sleep stages, leaving sleep less refreshing overall.

An over-the-counter herbal source of L-DOPA, the direct precursor to dopamine. It’s used to produce a strong, short-lived dopamine boost, which is why people discuss it for Parkinson’s symptom support, lowering prolactin, and other dopamine-related effects.

Use red or red-plus-near-infrared light early in the day for brief eye exposure, typically about 1–3 minutes per session from a comfortable distance, a few times per week or daily for short periods. The practice is aimed at adults over 40 with age-related vision decline, and is thought to help photoreceptor mitochondria function better, potentially supporting visual performance and slowing age-related loss.

Use weekly training volume as a hypertrophy target: for most muscle groups, aim for roughly 10 working sets per week at the low end, with 15–20 sets being a stronger default for many lifters. More advanced trainees may benefit from pushing toward 20–25 sets if recovery is good. This volume range helps provide enough stimulus for muscle growth while still allowing recovery between sessions.

A quick morning breathing check used as a low-cost marker of recovery and stress load. After waking, do several deep nasal inhales and full exhales, then take one deep nasal inhale and time a slow, controlled exhale until the lungs are empty; repeat under the same conditions each day for a more comparable reading. Longer times generally suggest better CO2 tolerance and may track with readiness, stress management, and overall recovery.

During fasting, plain water is the baseline drink, and unsweetened tea or black coffee are commonly treated as compatible additions. The idea is to stay hydrated and, if desired, use caffeine for alertness without adding calories that would meaningfully interrupt the fast.

A periodic DEXA scan used to measure body composition rather than relying on BMI or scale weight alone. It provides practical metrics like lean mass, bone mineral density, and visceral fat, making it useful for tracking changes over time and checking whether muscle mass is sufficient. It is often treated as the gold-standard assessment for body composition, even though it does not directly measure muscle quality.

At the early stage of feeling sick, use heat before sleep: a hot shower or very hot bath/shower as hot as comfortably tolerable without scalding; some may create a steam-filled bathroom. Avoid sauna if already running a fever because body temperature could rise to dangerous levels.

Use an electrolyte mix in water, especially first thing in the morning and around training, rather than relying on plain water alone. The common protocol is to add sodium-rich electrolytes before and/or during workouts, with many recommendations landing around 200–400 mg sodium per serving and higher amounts for heavy sweaters. This helps replace sweat losses, support hydration, and maintain normal nerve and muscle function during exercise.

Eat in ways that nourish beneficial gut microbes, especially by emphasizing fiber-rich foods and fermented foods. The goal is to shift the microbiome toward producing helpful short-chain fatty acids and away from patterns that can damage the gut lining, which may support lower inflammation, better immune function, and broader metabolic health.

Get broad blood work on a regular schedule, often every 3 to 6 months, with at least annual testing as a minimum and baseline labs established early in adulthood. Include key markers such as hormones, lipids, metabolic markers, and nutrient levels, and consider both fasting and non-fasting draws when relevant. The goal is to catch silent problems early and use objective biomarkers to personalize diet, supplementation, and other health decisions.

Use the largest safe, controlled range of motion for each joint during resistance training, and check that technique stays solid as depth or reach increases. Doing so across the week can improve strength and hypertrophy, help preserve mobility, and may reduce injury risk by keeping joints moving well.

A studied protocol of roughly 6 to 8 grams per day of vitamin C, usually taken with the goal of preventing or shortening colds and flu. The consensus here is that the evidence for meaningful benefit is weak, so it is generally not considered a high-value intervention despite the popularity of the approach.

After crossing time zones, shift your meals to the destination’s schedule as soon as you arrive, even if that means skipping or delaying breakfast to match local timing. Pairing food timing with the new day-night rhythm helps reset circadian cues faster and can reduce jet lag and gastrointestinal discomfort.

Rhodiola rosea is commonly used to reduce physical and perceived fatigue, with some early evidence suggesting it may also support memory and cognition. It’s often taken strategically rather than as a blanket cortisol-lowering supplement, since it appears to act more like a stress-response modulator and may be better suited for later-day use or fatigue-heavy periods than right before hard training.

Build in a planned deload after about 4 to 8 weeks of hard training by cutting volume and intensity to roughly 70% of normal, or taking a lighter week entirely. This periodic back-off helps you keep progressing while reducing accumulated fatigue, nagging aches, and the risk of getting beat up from continuous hard work.

A very low-dose daily tadalafil protocol, typically around 2 to 5 mg rather than standard higher doses. It’s used mainly to improve urinary symptoms and prostate/bladder congestion, with reports of reducing nighttime urination frequency, likely by improving pelvic blood flow and smooth-muscle relaxation.

A simple eye covering used during psychedelic-assisted sessions, especially psilocybin and MDMA therapy. The usual protocol is to put it on for most or all of the session so external visual input is minimized and attention can turn inward. This can reduce distraction from changing visuals and support a deeper, more introspective therapeutic experience.

A structured, non-drug treatment for insomnia that uses cognitive and behavioral techniques to retrain sleep. It typically includes sleep restriction or bedtime rescheduling, along with sleep-hygiene and stimulus-control strategies, often guided by a clinician. It is valued because it is highly effective, with benefits that can match sleeping pills short term and last longer over time.

Oral L-arginine is commonly taken in doses around 3 to 10 grams, often before bed or before exercise. The main rationale is to support a substantial growth hormone pulse, though doses above about 9 grams may blunt that effect and it can have cardiovascular effects, so it should be used cautiously.

A daily oral saffron supplement, typically around 30 mg, used as an anxiolytic. It’s been supported by multiple human studies, including double-blind trials in both men and women, and is associated with lower scores on standard anxiety measures such as the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale.

A 600 mg garlic capsule or extract taken alongside alpha-GPC, mainly to blunt a possible rise in TMAO. The practice is used as a precaution because the TMAO effect of typical alpha-GPC doses is uncertain, while garlic may also offer broader cardiovascular and immune-support benefits.

During workouts, use the Galpin hydration equation: drink about body weight in pounds divided by 30 in ounces every 15–20 minutes, or roughly 2 mL per kilogram at the same interval. Start exercise already hydrated and include electrolytes when needed, especially for longer or sweatier sessions. This helps limit the performance and cognitive drop that can happen when even mild dehydration reduces work capacity.

Increase intake of tyrosine-rich foods such as red meat, nuts, Parmesan, and other protein-containing foods to support dopamine and catecholamine production. The idea is that providing more dietary tyrosine can help maintain baseline dopamine levels and promote alertness and wakefulness, especially when mental energy is low.

Sleep with the feet slightly raised, typically by placing a thin pillow under the ankles or feet or by lifting the foot end of the bed a few degrees. The usual protocol is a modest incline of about 3–15 degrees, with the head lower than the legs. The goal is to promote glymphatic washout and related fluid clearance during sleep, which may also support deeper sleep.

Intentionally smell a small set of distinct odors on a regular basis, often using household items or food ingredients, by taking repeated sniffs over several seconds for each scent. This kind of olfactory training is used to improve smell and taste sensitivity and can help support recovery when smell is reduced or lost by keeping olfactory pathways active.

Take at least one completely off day from training each week, with some people benefiting from two. The goal is to give muscles, joints, and the nervous system time to recover so you can adapt to training and reduce accumulated fatigue or overuse.