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14 Comments

Taking care of your most important asset: your brain!

Hello IH!

I was wondering if anyone here has a routine that they do or have recommendations on maintaining your mental prowess. I've been recently getting more and more interested in the topic.

As an Indie Maker, our brains might be the single most valuable asset we all possess.

At the moment there are two main things I am personally doing.

  1. Nootropics: Probably a bit trendy, but these are supplements that you can take that are supposedly to improve brain performance. You might have heard of one called Alpha Brain that Joe Rogan popularized through his podcast. I generally think this has improved my focus and concentration, but I am not sure if it's necessarily opened up the creative of side of my brain. (Admittedly, it could all be a placebo).

  2. "Brain Diet": There are a number of foods that are known to have different properties that promote brain health. Blueberries, Green Tea, nuts, etc. are some of the most studied. Probably the most beneficial thing for me is that I have eliminated consumption of energy drinks.

Anyways, would like to hear what anyone else has to stay on the topic!

  1. 5

    Sleep. Exercise. Avoiding too much sugar/carbs. Coffee.

  2. 4

    I'd like to add meditation as 3) =D

    1. 1

      Yeah meditation is great, do you have a routine or something that others can follow? I would love to get more into meditation.

  3. 2

    I don't know if this could help but If I eat too much sugar in the morning, towards the evening my energy levels crash and I get Brain Fog. Try to eliminate all sugary cereals, pancakes & waffles, muffins, granola bars etc. Not related to the brain, but I also take Floradix in the morning to boost my energy levels. Hope that helped you!

  4. 2

    I am reading Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power by Lisa Mosconi at the moment. I read a lot of books about nutrition and this book is the best book I ever read on nutrition. If you want to learn more about the effect nutrition has on our brain I highly recommend reading this book.

    1. 1

      Ordering it on Amazon as we speak, thanks for the recommendation.

  5. 2

    Things that improve my mental health significantly are (in order of importance)

    1. Eating healthy (no junk food, minimum of sugar, no alcohol)
    2. Running every second day for 30 min (also good for listening to podcasts/audiobooks)
    3. Meditation, everyday, after breakfast, for 15-30 min (I use Pause app for first ~5 mins)

    I tend to avoid magic pills that pop up every now and then in the media/ads (and disappear fast too)

  6. 2

    Yoga can be more powerful than you'd imagine.
    Other than that, mnemonics is a topic I've been interested at, memory can truly be improved by training and that is something that we all can benefit from.

    1. 1

      Yeah definitely would like to find a routine, do you have any recommendations?

      1. 1

        there's an app called Down Dog that I used in the past which is pretty good and beginer friendly

        1. 1

          Awesome, thanks! I'll check it out... I am not very flexible, which is why I have been avoiding yoga. But it might be the very reason I need it at the same time.

          1. 1

            You start with easy poses and progress slowly, it's really awesome to see your own evolution within just a few weeks.

  7. 1

    I've noticed that my highest level of brain activity is in the evening or the morning. During the day and at night I can't concentrate at all. I tried eating 98% chocolate, but it wasn't very effective for actively remembering info. Some time ago, I bought myself a box of glycine tablets. It was for two months. It was about 40% effective. But the best nootropics I started taking after that https://spacecoastdaily.com/2021/10/4-best-nootropics-reddit-2021-what-do-users-say/. They can help develop our thinking activity by 95%. I love their effects!

  8. 1

    100% agree that our brain, or more generally our mind, is the single most valuable asset we all possess. With the right mindset, we can achieve almost anything.

    Fitness, healthy eating/drinking, and sleep have all been great for maintaining energy and a positive mindset. Meditation is my secret (not-so-secret) weapon though. While it's always hard to precisely attribute outcomes to causes, I'm confident that my almost-daily meditation habit has helped me become less stressed/worried and more open, creative, confident, and compassionate which has led to better relationships, more success as a maker, and much greater life satisfaction.

    I personally love Sam Harris's Waking Up app (https://wakingup.com/) but have heard that Headspace (https://www.headspace.com/) or Calm (https://www.calm.com/) work for people too. Like most things in life, you'll have to try out a couple methods and see what works best for you! Happy to answer any questions as well.

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