Reading: Endurance And Performance

DaveFoster

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I find that my ability to read substantially changes on whether or not I've read for the past hour or so. I can read for a certain amount of time, and then it feels stressful.

Besides breaking up the activity and finding something new that's interesting, what are some strategies that help you guys get through books?

It could be drugs, psychological, or whatever has actually helped you.
 
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Theanine 200 mg gives me something interesting

I can study for 4 hours consecutively without even moving

But I take it with coffee

Are you still taking 500 mg Theanine before bed ?
 
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DaveFoster

DaveFoster

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Theanine 200 mg gives me something interesting

I can study for 4 hours consecutively without even moving

But I take it with coffee

Are you still taking 500 mg Theanine before bed ?
I don't, but I will take 200 mg often. Tried l-theanine, and it helped. Thanks Bahaa.

I should have put this in my OP, but some things that help me are the following:

- Niacinamide
- Thaimine
- L-theanine
- Caffeine (in pulse is low)
- Aspirin
- Progesterone

I think that GABA and dopamine agonists will help greatly, particularly GABA. haidut says anticholinergic drugs help ADD, and I find that in myself. I still have trouble doing the same task for over 20 minutes or so.

Stryker says that Mildronate helps him focus, which makes sense if it opposes sympathetic activity. Larger doses of niacinamide probably would help, but those are hard on your liver unfortunately.
 

Diokine

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Why are you reading? What is the bigger objective?

I think it's unrealistic to have the desire to read all the time - however the constant hunger for knowledge is a virtue. Don't focus on the reading - focus on the objective. Your brain will fill in the rest.
 

Regina

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Why are you reading? What is the bigger objective?

I think it's unrealistic to have the desire to read all the time - however the constant hunger for knowledge is a virtue. Don't focus on the reading - focus on the objective. Your brain will fill in the rest.
Well, that's cool.
 

Art Vandelay

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:p or like, cocaine every hour. That'd probably work for a bit.

Amphetamines + coffee seems like a decent stack:D. Well, it worked for Paul Erdos at least:

"Erdős was one of the most prolific publishers of papers in mathematical history, comparable only with Leonhard Euler; Erdős published more papers, mostly in collaboration with other mathematicians, while Euler published more pages, mostly by himself.[30] Erdős wrote around 1,525 mathematical articles in his lifetime,[31] mostly with co-authors. He strongly believed in and practiced mathematics as a social activity,[32] having 511 different collaborators in his lifetime."

"His colleague Alfréd Rényi said, "a mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems",[16] and Erdős drank copious quantities (this quotation is often attributed incorrectly to Erdős,[17] but Erdős himself ascribed it to Rényi[18]). After 1971 he also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month.[19] Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence, mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was filled with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper." After he won the bet, he promptly resumed his amphetamine use." - Paul Erdos
 

Drareg

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Having interest in the topic always helps.
Having several books open at once with differing topics can also help,it allows you to change between them when the writer or subject matter is wearing thin a bit,this tactic is similar to getting up and changing the routine,if this fails go for a walk.

Try taking notes of main points in the book as you go if it's like the following --try decide early on if the author is in love with long winded vocabulary or desperately wants you to know they are "intellectual" by using terrible metaphors which ruin the perception of the subject matter,think Dawkins selfish gene for example,horrifically bad metaphors that caught on in pop culture like wildfire.
The reason for the notes is because you can be confused by poor writing in particular poor metaphors,you may have got the main point in the first few paragraphs yet forgot by the end as the author has to keep giving metaphors all the while diluting the message. Keep on reading and this will get worse and possible where fatigue comes in as part of your brain is being forced to form many images for the same topic/message.
If it's research orientated take notes at the end of each chapter even if it has a recap of main points,some authors recap better than others.

The best books IMO are like Peats,less than 200 pages and are clear with the message,or "what is life" by Erwin Schrodinger. To write like these 2 is an example of deep comprehension of the subject matter.
Some of the better styled longer books now have well written and condensed chapters you can read and leave,go back to rather than devour the whole thing which will always leave you missing valid points.

If it's very good philosophy you should be tired and confused at the end,it takes maybe a few days for the brain to process complex topics ,this of course is relevant to the individual,you can speed the process of recovery/understanding up but some down time just like sleep is always necessary.
 

Regina

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Having interest in the topic always helps.
Having several books open at once with differing topics can also help,it allows you to change between them when the writer or subject matter is wearing thin a bit,this tactic is similar to getting up and changing the routine,if this fails go for a walk.

Try taking notes of main points in the book as you go if it's like the following --try decide early on if the author is in love with long winded vocabulary or desperately wants you to know they are "intellectual" by using terrible metaphors which ruin the perception of the subject matter,think Dawkins selfish gene for example,horrifically bad metaphors that caught on in pop culture like wildfire.
The reason for the notes is because you can be confused by poor writing in particular poor metaphors,you may have got the main point in the first few paragraphs yet forgot by the end as the author has to keep giving metaphors all the while diluting the message. Keep on reading and this will get worse and possible where fatigue comes in as part of your brain is being forced to form many images for the same topic/message.
If it's research orientated take notes at the end of each chapter even if it has a recap of main points,some authors recap better than others.

The best books IMO are like Peats,less than 200 pages and are clear with the message,or "what is life" by Erwin Schrodinger. To write like these 2 is an example of deep comprehension of the subject matter.
Some of the better styled longer books now have well written and condensed chapters you can read and leave,go back to rather than devour the whole thing which will always leave you missing valid points.

If it's very good philosophy you should be tired and confused at the end,it takes maybe a few days for the brain to process complex topics ,this of course is relevant to the individual,you can speed the process of recovery/understanding up but some down time just like sleep is always necessary.
I have to keep several articles/books open to toggle between because of my ADD and mild dyslexia and I take copious and voluminous notes--filling whole composition books on a daily basis.
 

Amazoniac

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For those that have studied West's work in depth, you should know that the ideal thing to do is to diversify. So, as soon as your capacity to read diminishes, instead of straining, switch to another media: listen to a book while walking or a during light therapy section, or switch to a video without texts, etc.
Make sure you rapefo20fy your browser before buying any books at audible.com..
archive.org also has audios.
 
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AJC

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Another consideration is that your eyes are getting tired, tense, or strained. Perhaps some simple exercises to relax them would help.
 

Stryker

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I don't, but I will take 200 mg often. Tried l-theanine, and it helped. Thanks Bahaa.

I should have put this in my OP, but some things that help me are the following:

- Niacinamide
- Thaimine
- L-theanine
- Caffeine (in pulse is low)
- Aspirin
- Progesterone

I think that GABA and dopamine agonists will help greatly, particularly GABA. haidut says anticholinergic drugs help ADD, and I find that in myself. I still have trouble doing the same task for over 20 minutes or so.

Stryker says that Mildronate helps him focus, which makes sense if it opposes sympathetic activity. Larger doses of niacinamide probably would help, but those are hard on your liver unfortunately.

Yes Mildronate and tianeptine probly help me focus with reading the most and in general anything that increases Co2 and gives me that "clear nasal" feeling.

One night i had some phenibut and tianeptine and mildronate ( which i take daily) and i was reading a paper dewitt wrote for the old peatarian site on the randle cycle infront of about 8 dinner guests when were having a debate about diabetes and i had not one anxiety induced slip up.
every word was pronounced clearly and it was like i was already reading the next line as i was speaking the current one.
 
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DaveFoster

DaveFoster

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@Constantine

Most of the standard Peat supplements. I've noticed that two things greatly detract from reading: hyperthyroidism/anxiety and gut inflammation. Activated charcoal and a carrot salad greatly improves my focus.

Yes Mildronate and tianeptine probly help me focus with reading the most and in general anything that increases Co2 and gives me that "clear nasal" feeling.

One night i had some phenibut and tianeptine and mildronate ( which i take daily) and i was reading a paper dewitt wrote for the old peatarian site on the randle cycle infront of about 8 dinner guests when were having a debate about diabetes and i had not one anxiety induced slip up.
every word was pronounced clearly and it was like i was already reading the next line as i was speaking the current one.
Hopefully @haidut comes out with his FAS inhibitor soon. I enjoyed tianeptine, but some people get withdrawals. I'm considering antibiotics, as I distinctly remember similar effects between tianeptine and antibiotics (actually more positives from the latter.)
 

Constatine

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@Constantine

Most of the standard Peat supplements. I've noticed that two things greatly detract from reading: hyperthyroidism/anxiety and gut inflammation. Activated charcoal and a carrot salad greatly improves my focus.

Hopefully @haidut comes out with his FAS inhibitor soon. I enjoyed tianeptine, but some people get withdrawals. I'm considering antibiotics, as I distinctly remember similar effects between tianeptine and antibiotics (actually more positives from the latter.)
I completely understand the gut inflammation factor. I can't do anything with an inflamed gut. How many calories do you eat? If your pushing your brain you might need a ridiculous amount of calories for energy. Robert Sapolsky a neuroscientist at Stanford claimed professional chess players can burn 6000+ calories a day via brain activity. Ray Peat said something about periods of intense learning doubling calorie demand.
 

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