HN Explorer

Ask HN: List everything you know that is good/bad for our brains.

69 points by chanux ↗ HN
I have seen some good ideas on this topic here and there, buried in several HN comment threads. But I thought it'll be better off being a separate topic, aggregating everything good/bad for our precious brains.

55 comments

[ 1.8 ms ] story [ 112 ms ] thread
helveticaman
Mercury is really bad for your brain. It inhibits myelin production, which is the mechanism by which people learn and develop skills. Mercury is found in all aquatic animals, which is why I stay away from all of them.
chanux
This one is less obvious and I read it on a random magazine.

Covering head to toe when you are sleeping is bad for your brain. The reason is that it'll increase CO2 concentration in your breathing air.

ddemchuk
Social News sites have permanently fucked most people's brains up
oscardelben
Unless you live with no tv and you check them 10 minutes daily to keep yourself informed of what's happening in your industry (i.e. they're not an addiction).
shasta
Yes, if you spend no more than 10 minutes with them daily, it stands to reason that you're not addicted or have your addition well under control. Unless you have a TV. ?
pohl
Novelty is good for your brain. But then repitition (a.k.a. "practice") can be too. Caveat: practice makes permanent -- not perfect. Malpractice makes malperfect.
da5e
I like that: "practice makes permanent". Also "perfect practice makes perfect" although lousy practice is pretty good for developing "perfect practice." And turning practice into "your practice" in the yogic sense is good for the brain too. Routine doesn't have to be routine.
brettnak
On the practice subject - in college I studied in the double bass studio for a few years. He always said that his goal was to teach us how to practice. He told us that we'd probably forget everything that he actually said, but if he taught us how to practice properly we'd be able to learn anything if only we knew the proper way to practice. He'd also make us tell him exactly what we were going to do after each lesson in order to be ready for the next lesson. A lot of what he taught us, i've found, could be applied to other areas of life.
talbina
Loving friends and family and caring for people is good for your brain.
yan
Practice is good for your brain.
keefe
good stuff :

omega 3s

good nutrition - vitamins, protein, fiber

regular exercise

deliberate practice

meditation

regular sleep

will_critchlow
You might be interested in this project a friend of mine is running called Mind Apples: http://mindapples.org/

The idea is to look for the mental health equivalent of "an apple a day".

todayiamme
one of the best sources I have found on the internet for stuff like this is mind hacks; http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/

They have some pretty interesting stuff over there. It's too bad that I can't afford to buy the book.

da5e
Learning a new language is good for your brain. Either kind of language.
da5e
And in other (Hacker) News... Ask HN: My brain refuses to think, what should I do? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1545774 Ask HN: Suggested Reading List http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1547988 Ask HN: Anyone have OCD? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1546203 Ask HN: Food hacks for eating well? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1545325 Ask HN: Your "Keeper" articles. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1540610 Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1521190 Ask HN: Loosing Faith - the startup killer http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1531518 Ask HN: What's your most interesting life goal currently? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1497164 Ask HN: Lack of self-discipline driving me hopeless. Tips? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1486708 Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1419556 Hacker News | Ask HN: List everything you know that is good/bad for our brains. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1583623
kashif
there is really no value in putting searchyc.com results here
da5e
Sorry, those are just ones I had bookmarked as advice. Not a search.
jonbischke
I've read a ton in this area so let me offer some of my findings. If I get time this weekend I'll put together a blog post and link to it from here so I can include references, etc:

Generally thought to be good for the brain:

Fish oil (Omega 3 in general but fish oil is tough to beat)

Exercise (Read the book Spark for more details)

Meditation (While this needs to be studied more some of the studies on long-time meditators look very promising)

Keeping the brain active, especially as we age (learning a language, doing crosswords or other brain puzzles, etc.)

Quality sleep

Some supplements (While I think there may be more definitive studies necessary, certain supplements like blueberry extract, vitamin D and melatonin are showing promising benefits to the brain)

Generally thought to be bad for the brain:

Excessive consumption of alcohol (1-2 drinks/day may be OK but more than that is typically

Excessive consumption of sugar (the book Sugar Blues goes into a lot more detail)

Toxic fats (Trans Fatty Acids, etc.)

Head injuries (concussions, wear helmets, seatbelts, etc.)

Many drugs (while some drugs are neuroprotective, many are neurotoxic, proceed with caution and reference Daniel Amen's work for more details)

Overexposure to certain chemicals (many people who work in factories with constant exposure suffer problems)

Two of my favorite books in this are are Making a Good Brain Great by Daniel Amen and The Ultra Mind Solution by Mark Hyman.

adammichaelc
I've also done a lot reading in this area and the overall topic is really interesting to me.

I met a guy at Hackers and Founders (SF) and the topic of Vitamin D came up. We discussed some of the research that I've found lately about how much good it can do you in terms of general health/brain health/immune health, etc., and how more-than-likely most hackers are deficient because they stay out of the sun during the hours when your body produces Vitamin D (generally thought to be 10am - 3pm).

Then we got on the topic of how it would be cool to have some kind of Health for Hackers meetup to discuss this and other things hackers can do to have optimal brain and general health.

jonbischke (or others with an interest in this topic), if you're interested in putting on something like this with me in the Bay Area shoot me an email (see my bio). I'm curious if this would be of interest to anybody else who is in the area. Send feedback if anybody's interested in attending or help put on something like this.

Edited for clarity

Bradenchase
I'm interested but I am neither a hacker nor in the Bay Area. I live in Brazil where most of the research is being conducted (but not published).
eainla
Great post, Jon!

Saving Your Brain is a fantastic book by Jeff Victoroff, M.D. He reviewed 14,000 medical research studies to write that book. He's also the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for Nolan Bushnell's new company, Anti-AgingGames.com.

I would add to your list above: not smoking; being within 5-10 lbs of your ideal weight; partnering with a doctor who is both proactive and focused on prevention; getting an annual checkup with tests that can spot if you have Vitamin D, E, B12, calcium, or iron deficiency; maintaining regular social contact with your friends; buying cars with a good safety rating (in one study the chance of getting Alzheimers was 4x higher in people who sustain head injuries after the age of 39; doing activities that are new and mentally engaging (helps keep the brain's plasticity). You said this but I wanted to stress that the activity should be new because that's what helps the most.

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[dead] rgejman
Smoking reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease... that's more brain-healthy than not smoking :p.
huhtenberg
Coenzyme Q10 was brought up by my family doctor when we were talking about brain maintenance.
limist
Be sure to take a look at "Brain Rules" by John Medina.

http://brainrules.net/

The short version:

EXERCISE | Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.

SURVIVAL | Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.

WIRING | Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.

ATTENTION | Rule #4: We don't pay attention to boring things.

SHORT-TERM MEMORY | Rule #5: Repeat to remember.

LONG-TERM MEMORY | Rule #6: Remember to repeat.

SLEEP | Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.

STRESS | Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way.

SENSORY INTEGRATION | Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.

VISION | Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.

GENDER | Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.

EXPLORATION | Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.

da5e
Good stuff! But just for fun: 1. Sitting on your ass programming for long periods of time develops brain power too. 2. We've held on tightly to our lizard brains too. 3. Faulty wiring can be creative if it's faulty in the right way. 4. We do pay attention to annoying boring things. 5-6. Imagine to remember 7. Sometimes it takes an all-nighter to get your brain over the hump. 8. True, although not always a bad way. 9. Or isolate to concentrate and build myelin. 10. Only if you're a visual learner. 11. Viva la difference 12. We are also inveterate couch potatoes.
alanthonyc
Cool stuff. I'm thinking of getting the book. Is it sufficient to get just the book itself (going to do it via my Kindla app) or should I spring for the DVD?
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henry_flower
Bad:

- reading news, fiction books (99.99% of them are crap);

- programming in boring languages (Java);

- chatting drunk in a bar;

- watching any movies (youtube included), tv;

- blogging about nonsense (life, politics, etc);

- listening to a podcast while doing nothing (like sitting on a sofa);

- participating in any social network (livejournal, facebook);

- living in the countryside (I don't really know this, but it seems true by my observations on other people).

Good:

- living in a country where common language isn't your mother tongue;

- reading very carefully chosen books (non-mother tongue are preferred);

- regular sex;

- friends which share your interests;

- regular jogging (not on a treadmill);

- walking when you are stuck;

- programming in functional languages.

sage_joch
What's wrong with running on a treadmill? I've found the measurability to be useful.
henry_flower
Maybe it's personal, but looking on the screen (while running) with a dumb simulation of the nature makes me feel blue.
pgbovine
i don't see why everyone is downvoting this guy ... many of his claims are just as arbitrary and unsubstantiated as others posted on this thread
jc-denton
- programming in boring languages (Java);

It's not the language IMHO, but for me rather the problem that Java programming involves using libs and configuring stuff (which is rather dumb and boring) rather then designing algorithm and understanding how stuff really works..

pavs
Ear massage.

Wet your hands with cold water and twist and turn your ear with two finger (not too hard, the idea is to generate blood flow so they get warm. You are not trying to hurt yourself). It jolts my attention for about 20-30 minutes.

When I was writing this, I thought to myself if there is any science behind it. Turns out this seems like a fairly well-known thing to some people. I found this out myself. Now I will go read what causes this to happen.

_delirium
I have a feeling that if you list everything that at least one study or credible report found to be good or bad for our brains, it'd end up looking sort of like the compendium of "things that cause and/or prevent cancer": http://kill-or-cure.heroku.com/