give your brain downtime...

[Darren Dirt]

...and other tips for cognitive longevity:

http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/blog_page/your-brain-doesnt-have-to-decline-as-you-age

[Mr. Analog]

TL,DR version:

Stay mentally active

[Darren Dirt]

Yeah, kinda, basically.

But this site also has a TON of other tips to improve brain health, such as http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/blog_page/tips-to-improve-brain-health-for-every-generation

More @ http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/blog#SEARCH?q=improve <-- click SEARCH; there is no bookmarkable link with query parameters


But brain health is far beyond just "use the muscle and it will stay strong", there's also stuff you can and should do to balance out the "use" aspect -- stuff that should NOT wait until you notice things going downhill!

Including some simple things like reducing multi-tasking, and especially increasing sleep!

[Tom]

A recent study I read about said that exercise is also very important (duh!) but especially so in people with ADD/ADHD.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/exercise-seems-to-be-beneficial-to-children/380844/

Now, it was done on children, but I can't imagine it's too different in adults.

[Thorin]

That led to http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/research/research_topic/autism, which led to this video about what it's like for someone on the autism spectrum to try to pay attention to someone talking: http://youtu.be/3af5JJ3DRJU.

[Darren Dirt]

...which led to this video about what it's like for someone on the autism spectrum to try to pay attention to someone talking: http://youtu.be/3af5JJ3DRJU.

She is more than just "someone" apparently, she has done a ton of videos about living with Aspergers/ADD/anxiety etc. and also she and her fiancee started up a forum http://asperclick.com/ for sufferers. And hey Tom (and self!) one thing (obvious to some, sacrilege to others) she suggests is avoiding caffeine -- thankfully I'm cold turkey off (for good this time!) for going on 3 months now... but I remember how terribad my focus was back when "on" pop
http://www.willowhope.com/blogs/willowhope/8808171-caffeine-enhancing-anxiety-in-aspergers-syndrome

[Tom]

Yes. Caffeine is bad. very bad. It does almost all of the same things a proper ADHD med would do (aka: good stimulant) but it doesn't solve the focus problem, and can make it worse.

Sad, but I can deal with some focus loss, so long as I'm awake. heh.

I also started taking some Taurine, and it seems to help me focus. At least it cuts the edge off the frustration I feel when I can't focus so well, and sometimes get some of the ADD "Hyper Focus" back (aka: The Zone).

[Darren Dirt]

Yes. Caffeine is bad. very bad. It does almost all of the same things a proper ADHD med would do (aka: good stimulant) but it doesn't solve the focus problem, and can make it worse.

Sad, but I can deal with some focus loss, so long as I'm awake. heh.

I also started taking some Taurine, and it seems to help me focus. At least it cuts the edge off the frustration I feel when I can't focus so well, and sometimes get some of the ADD "Hyper Focus" back (aka: The Zone).

Try Buckley's daytime cold medicine (or others with pseudo) and at least you've also got a headache treatment built in


Another reminder to self: "mental" ability/energy is only ONE of 4 "layers" that can enable or cripple productivity and/or quality of life -- found via https://twitter.com/DoMeetings
(and sometimes "success" of ANY kind just takes a positive emotional state i.e. CONFIDENCE to be the deal-breaker/maker aka biggest factor in any kind of "success", even the small personal stuff that ain't as visible as "work" stuff etc.)

[Thorin]

(and sometimes "success" of ANY kind just takes a positive emotional state i.e. CONFIDENCE to be the deal-breaker/maker aka biggest factor in any kind of "success", even the small personal stuff that ain't as visible as "work" stuff etc.)

Thanks to coaching courses, I learned an interesting thing about confidence and how it affects your performance.

It's not actually the confidence in your abilities that gets you to your end goal, it's the belief that even if you fail this time, your skills will improve and you will eventually make it to your end goal.  When first starting something new, you won't have any confidence in your ability to do said thing (since you've never done it before), but as long as you tell yourself that you will get better every time you try, then you will keep trying and eventually get better.

As an example: babies have absolutely zero confidence in their ability to walk.  However, they want to walk just like everyone else, and they refuse to give up, and almost all the time there are older humans around urging them on to keep trying, and eventually those babies become very confident in their ability to walk (and then run) everywhere.

The key here is that it's okay to fail, and it's okay to not feel confident in your abilities, as long as you get back up and try again every time you fail.  This belief that you will eventually succeed.

[Mr. Analog]

This is a big thing, something I see a lot of people struggling with: trying stuff

People think if they can't do something perfectly the first time they shouldn't try, but the person who fails 10 times in a row has 10 times the experience, can then look back at what they've done with a critical eye and sort out areas they need to develop.

In general I've seen people that are afraid to try, or who have tried but became easily dissuaded, or continually try but don't review and develop. These concepts together help a person build experiences and learn how to master things.

[Darren Dirt]

Thanks to coaching courses, I learned an interesting thing about confidence and how it affects your performance.

It's not actually the confidence in your abilities that gets you to your end goal, it's the belief that even if you fail this time, your skills will improve and you will eventually make it to your end goal.  When first starting something new, you won't have any confidence in your ability to do said thing (since you've never done it before), but as long as you tell yourself that you will get better every time you try, then you will keep trying and eventually get better.

As an example: babies have absolutely zero confidence in their ability to walk.  However, they want to walk just like everyone else, and they refuse to give up, and almost all the time there are older humans around urging them on to keep trying, and eventually those babies become very confident in their ability to walk (and then run) everywhere.

The key here is that it's okay to fail, and it's okay to not feel confident in your abilities, as long as you get back up and try again every time you fail.  This belief that you will eventually succeed.

Wow, just realized that is the kind of confidence I was actually promoting (without realizing that it's not assumed to be that) ... I often forget that "the masses" mainly think of confidence as this kind of vaccuous "The Secret" kind of driver that is really a longterm dead-end. But the "I am skilled/prepared enough to now take action, and hope the results will reflect my efforts (but if they don't, that's not just fine but in fact an opportunity to improve my skillset" type of confidence and inner voice and mindset etc, THAT is what is critical and invaluable (and hard-won from life experience, not just put into practice after reading a blog or book or watching an emotion-stirring video).

[Thorin]

Well Darren, I was just responding to the description of confidence as it was given in the linked article.  The article talked about telling yourself about all those other times you'd already succeeded, which is based on this idea that if you pump yourself up you can't fail.  Which is a fallacy.

Also,

"I am skilled/prepared enough to now take action, and hope the results will reflect my efforts (but if they don't, that's not just fine but in fact an opportunity to improve my skillset" type of confidence and inner voice and mindset etc, THAT is what is critical and invaluable (and hard-won from life experience, not just put into practice after reading a blog or book or watching an emotion-stirring video).

I'm actually saying that one should take action long before being skilled or prepared enough.  For instance, the baby trying to walk has no skill but tries anyway.  And then keep trying.

[Darren Dirt]

I'm actually saying that one should take action long before being skilled or prepared enough.  For instance, the baby trying to walk has no skill but tries anyway.  And then keep trying.

"Ship fast, fail fast, TRY AGAIN FAST"
(which also is considered a myth by some -- https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ship+fast+fail+fast+fail+often )

[Darren Dirt]

...and other tips for cognitive longevity:

http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/blog_page/your-brain-doesnt-have-to-decline-as-you-age

on this topic...

"even the simple act of walking can lead to brain functions improving..."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11803682/Sian-Williams-how-to-rewire-your-brain-to-avoid-decline.html
^ an article from a Masters grad student in Psychology, who discussed consciousness and cognition, and STRESS etc. with a neuropsychologist and her mother. Fascinating stuff, if not immediately practical too. And it reiterates what others have said in recent years: "...the stress hormone cortisol ... [its levels] explain why it's best to turn computers off at night, too. Morning light is blue; evening light falls into the red spectrum. Electronic devices naturally emit the blue light, giving your brain all the wrong signals and priming it to stay awake."

[Mr. Analog]

it's best to turn computers off at night, too. Morning light is blue; evening light falls into the red spectrum. Electronic devices naturally emit the blue light, giving your brain all the wrong signals and priming it to stay awake."

I'm sure I've mentioned this in another thread, that's why at night I try to give myself at least 30 minutes of 0 screen time reading or listening to music before I hit the hey

All too often I've gone to bed and pulled out the tablet and then just ... been up for most of the night (it's amazing how many episodes of "Freeman's Mind" you can watch before the battery dies)

I've been struggling with on and off insomnia for a little while now, I think I'm finally getting out of a bad / low cycle. I have a lot more energy during the day when I sleep at night (who woulda thunk it)