Cognitive Performance Bias

Neill Smith · 08-21-2007, 02:33 PM

How would you train, eat, sleep and supplement for optimal cognitive performance?

Steve Shafley · 08-21-2007, 05:16 PM

Short term (2-4 hours) or long term?

Gittit Shwartz · 08-22-2007, 01:23 AM

Steve, I'd like to hear your answer on both!

Mike ODonnell · 08-22-2007, 06:03 AM

Coffee
Fish Oil
Lower Carbs/No sugar
More Fresh Fruits/Veg
8 hours sleep starting at 10pm
ZMA
Morning Fasting

Workouts would depend on what you consider "performance" or your goals....I imagine a non glycolitic training like more strength reps would be easier to recover from and not leave you feeling "bonked".

William Hunter · 08-22-2007, 06:13 AM

yup, short strength-based WO's leave me feeling mentally and physically charged up. I ran 4 800m intervals with 2min rest yesterday morning in the GA humidity and couldn't see or think straight the rest of the day. Skipping breakfast, or a low/no carb breakfast also helps me stay sharp (relatively speaking).

Awaiting Professor Shaf's next post...

Neill Smith · 08-22-2007, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Shafley

Short term (2-4 hours) or long term?

I was referring to long-term, but I'm also curious to hear about both.

MOD, Will:
Thanks for your replies, very helpful.

Steve Shafley · 08-22-2007, 06:27 AM

I get the feeling that optimal short term cognitive enhancement is going to have a price. My vision on that is that it's going to be a short "crunch" time.

Think about first providing the optimal environment for the brain...brains love glucose. There is no way around this. Ketones aren't going to do it for the short term, though they might serve just fine for the long view. The trick is to get a very functional level of glucose entering the brain during that period. The paleo complex carb sources people like would be fine, I'd imagine.

A multi-factorial stimulant package would also be needed. A suite of several complementary smart drugs come to mind coupled with a mild amphetamine like ritalin or maybe another ADD drug. I'm out of the smart drug game, and have been for a few years, but a quick browsing of relevant websites should reveal what's good. As far as supplements: Acetyl-L-Carnitine, L-tyrosine, gingko biloba, DMAE, phosphadyl serine, maybe even L-taurine.

I don't even know where to start with the smart drugs, but selegine (deprenyl), piracetem, and vasopressin might all be candidates. I know there are some updated version of these available nowadays.

Neill Smith · 08-22-2007, 08:04 AM

Steve:

It looks like all of this (glucose, stimulants, smart drugs) is tailored for short term enhancement? What do you think about long-term?

Steve Shafley · 08-22-2007, 09:08 AM

Long term it's going to be moving towards what Mike mentioned above:

Quote:

Coffee (Green Tea too-Shaf)
Fish Oil
Lower Carbs/No sugar
More Fresh Fruits/Veg
8 hours sleep starting at 10pm
ZMA
Morning Fasting

With the addition of a smart drug regimen when needed.

Short term is just funny because there are things you can do to improve memory and focus that aren't viable for long term use.