Focus on accessing and directing neuroplasticity towards specific desired changes, rather than making plasticity itself the end goal.
Initiate learning and plasticity during states of high focus and alertness, but understand that the actual brain rewiring and reconfiguration occurs during non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) and deep sleep.
Ensure sufficient quality sleep and rest, as these are essential for the brain to access plasticity and rewire connections effectively.
View sunlight in your eyes within the first 30 minutes of waking to help optimize wakefulness and reinforce plastic connections between light-detecting cells and the circadian clock.
Delay caffeine intake for the first two hours after waking to potentiate the natural neural circuit for cortisol release and alertness, allowing caffeine to provide an additional lift later.
Drink water first thing in the morning to prevent dehydration, which can lead to headaches and compound vulnerability to migraines.
Align your daily activities with your natural biological rhythms, avoiding attempts to force wakefulness during natural sleepiness or sleep during natural alertness.
Perform linear, implementation-focused tasks when highly alert, and use more relaxed or slightly sleepy states for the initial conception and exploration phases of creative work.
Utilize periods of high alertness for tasks requiring strategy implementation and linear execution, as the brain is biased towards action and focus during these times.
If you are highly alert or ‘keyed up,’ work in complete silence and quiet, as this state is optimal for learning and focus without distraction.
If feeling tired or sleepy, introduce background chatter or noise to help elevate your level of autonomic arousal and increase alertness.
Recognize that the three-hour period after the initial two-hour caffeine delay (or roughly 3 hours after waking) is often when most people experience peak alertness and focus, making it a vital time for demanding tasks.
Exercise early in the day (within an hour, or no later than three hours after waking) to promote earlier waking and trigger neuromodulator release, leading to heightened arousal and mental acuity later in the day.
Intelligently slot one or more 90-minute ‘brain optimization segments’ into your day, anchoring them to your biology (e.g., peak alertness times) to maximize learning and mental capacity.
Shift to more mundane tasks requiring less cognitive load in the early afternoon when alertness naturally dips, saving demanding analytical work for peak focus times.
Implement a 10-30 minute non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) protocol in the afternoon to combat grogginess and achieve a ‘second wind’ for renewed focus and creative work.
Recognize creativity as a two-stage process involving a relaxed, playful ‘discovery mode’ for novel configurations, followed by a linear ‘implementation mode’ to make ideas concrete.
Engage in the ‘creative discovery mode’ (exploring novel configurations) when feeling relaxed or even slightly sleepy, as this state facilitates playful and non-linear thinking.
View sunlight in the evening to help delay your circadian clock slightly, preventing premature waking in the early morning hours (3-4 AM) and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule.
Minimize exposure to bright, especially overhead, artificial light in the evening (roughly 10 PM to 4 AM) to favor falling asleep and achieving a good night’s sleep.
Consume a more carbohydrate-rich evening meal to facilitate calmness and sleepiness, as carbohydrates stimulate tryptophan release, aiding the transition to sleep and replenishing glycogen.
Anticipate the natural peak in alertness about an hour before bedtime without worrying, and use this time for mundane tasks like organizing or light cleaning that require minimal effort.
If you wake up in the middle of the night with an anxious or looping mind, do not trust any thoughts or ideas that arise, as this is not a productive state for creative or linear implementation.
If you wake up in the middle of the night with looping thoughts, use a non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) protocol to help turn off the anxious thinking and fall back asleep.
Consume your first meal around midday, opting for a low-carbohydrate meal rich in meat, salad, nuts, and fats, to support focus due to choline content.
Become a diligent observer of your own biological system to understand what specific tools, timings, and states work best for your individual brain optimization and performance.
Evaluate any tool or protocol by asking how it influences your autonomic arousal, specifically whether it makes you more alert or calm, and more focused or less focused.
Consciously tailor your level of alertness and calmness to match the specific type of learning or activity you are about to undertake for optimal performance.
Distinguish between biologically anchored tools (e.g., light, sleep timing) and subjective tools (e.g., specific music, visualization) for brain optimization, understanding their different levels of certainty and individual applicability.
Adjust music volume to modulate arousal: loud music tends to increase alertness, while soft music has less of a waking effect.
Understand your individual autonomic nervous system baseline (e.g., naturally more ‘go’ or more ‘calm’) to tailor strategies effectively for your specific goals.