[Harriet]

On 10/20/2024 at 6:55 PM, sarakingdom said:

 

I'm not sure who is being referenced, but if it's H*berman, yeah, I've seen an article that puts him in a major credibility pit (or at least a serious ick pit) due to fairly compulsive gaslighting and manipulation.

 

I'd try a protocol by satan himself if it worked. Unfortunately, almost nothing I've tried so far from online health personalities *has* worked.

 

On 10/20/2024 at 5:37 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Far from how these protocols are presented. (How can one even make up a protocol when caffeine affects everyone so very differently and not even talk about dosage?) 

 

Yeah he and others like him do present conclusions with a lot of confidence, from just a few papers. Or even from one paper.

 

On 10/20/2024 at 6:02 PM, Everstorm said:

Ugh, I am noticing this more and more and more.  The speech pathologist with claims to neuroscience insights, the chiropractor who "specializes" in fasting protocols and menopause, etc etc.  I mean, can an intelligent person extrapolate theories from others' research? Yes.  But it does make one pause.

 

It would be fine if any of these worked to deal with our actual large problems. I haven't noticed that any of this hacking or optimization does help, though. I even went off caffeine for a good period--maybe a month or more, can't remember--and I just didn't feel anything except that decaf was disappointingly flat. All this theory about why caffeine is terrible and all these anecdotes about people changing their lives... it's the same damned thing over and over and over with a million different hacks or products or habits. I'm sure each of them worked for one person. I also felt nothing from getting sunlight first thing in the morning. Nothing from all the supplements (and there were many).

 

Not that nothing I do has made any change--there are some things that help. They're just not so predictable via theory and published articles. So I guess... just try stuff?

[Mad Hatter]

 

On 10/21/2024 at 1:47 PM, Everstorm said:

Last Monday my niece was hospitalized for pneumonia with some odd neurological symptoms that baffled the local doctors to the extent that she was shuttled off to the university hospital a couple hours away.  It ultimately lead to a diagnosis of a rare autoimmune disease. 

Oh no, how's your niece doing now? Will it affect her long term or can the disease be managed?

 

43 minutes ago, Harriet said:

I also felt nothing from getting sunlight first thing in the morning.

I think context matters hugely. When I lived in Finland I had a 30 second walk from the beach. In summer I'd take a thermos with coffee and sit on a deckchair and read and chill and watch birds. A+ way to start the day! In winter.... not so much. "In theory" it should help to even get a tiny bit of light, but clearly he's never lived in a place that sometimes gets 2 sun hours in a month. There is no way the theoretical benefits outweigh the pure misery of getting out in the cold and dark. 😄

 

55 minutes ago, Harriet said:

All this theory about why caffeine is terrible and all these anecdotes about people changing their lives...

Caffeine is terrible for some, and for anyone suffering from e.g. anxiety it's worth cutting out as an experiment. But on a population level I don't believe there are any confirmed health implications. And I think for some people it legit works to boost performance, e.g. before a workout or if you need to focus.

 

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

haven't noticed that any of this hacking or optimization does help, though

I think it can for very select people that lead extremely regular lives. Eat the same things, at the same times, sleep regularly, train the same way, don't have external stressors, probably single, almost certainly male, are able and healthy mentally and physically... Which rules out... pretty much everyone. 😄 

[Silmarilliane]

Ooo I love this, following along!

[Sovalis]

I am sorry to hear about your niece, Ever. And the way you had to change your plans for your son’s party. I hope you can resist the junk food until the appointed time. ❤️ 

[Snarkyfishguts]

16 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I am sorry to hear about your niece, Ever. And the way you had to change your plans for your son’s party. I hope you can resist the junk food until the appointed time. ❤️ 

I second this

[Everstorm]

16 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

It sounds like you did an excellent job of holding to your goals in the midst of not great circumstances. Well done.

 

 

Thank you 😊   It certainly could have gone worse.

 

11 hours ago, Harriet said:

I'd try a protocol by satan himself if it worked.

 

Right?!?

 

11 hours ago, Harriet said:

Yeah he and others like him do present conclusions with a lot of confidence, from just a few papers. Or even from one paper.

 

Or my favorite: the I'm a hammer so everything is a nail approach, i.e.  my approach is the best one for everyone in every situation and if it doesn't work for you, you are doing it wrong.

 

12 hours ago, Harriet said:

All this theory about why caffeine is terrible and all these anecdotes about people changing their lives.

 

12 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Caffeine is terrible for some, and for anyone suffering from e.g. anxiety it's worth cutting out as an experiment. But on a population level I don't believe there are any confirmed health implications. And I think for some people it legit works to boost performance, e.g. before a workout or if you need to focus.

So....I had actually considered increasing my coffee consumption as drinking 4 cups of drip coffee a day has been shown to be protective against Parkinson's disease, so there you are with the conflicting studies.  Ultimately, I didn't pursue it because even 2 cups of coffee makes me fairly jittery.  One is my limit, I guess.

 

12 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Eat the same things, at the same times, sleep regularly, train the same way,

 

I would die of boredom.  How is that optimal? 🤪

 

12 hours ago, Harriet said:

So I guess... just try stuff?

 

Yep.  N=1 the most effective study.

 

11 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Oh no, how's your niece doing now? Will it affect her long term or can the disease be managed?

 

She is worlds better -- almost normal.  She will be on steroids for a few weeks, and I believe the doctors recommended that she only return to school part time for a while.  She may need physical therapy to reintegrate her movements (part of the disorder involves demyelinated nerves), but otherwise her prognosis is good.  Many people never have another recurrence, but others do, so only time will tell as far as that goes.

 

11 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

never lived in a place that sometimes gets 2 sun hours in a month.

 

I'm curious what studies have been done on human adaptations to living at those latitudes.  I know my cousin has some pretty wild tales about winter-over syndrome from living in Antarctica, but not sure how much that is from circadian rhythm disturbance vs extreme cold, social isolation, and so on.

 

On a personal note, I have noticed I fall asleep more easily since I started these adjustments.   I am normally prone to an insomnia that varies from mild to moderate, so sleep improvements are always welcome.

 

5 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

Ooo I love this, following along!

 

Welcome!

 

3 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I am sorry to hear about your niece, Ever. And the way you had to change your plans for your son’s party. I hope you can resist the junk food until the appointed time. ❤️ 

 

Thanks.  We were able to freeze some of it, so it isn't as bad as it could have been.  Having the no eating after dark helps too.  So I've had some, but fairly moderate.

 

 

3 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I second this

 

Thanks 😊