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This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVzKCk066g and this book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316113514/ref=as_li_tl?ie... suggest that it’s movement.

They talk about how complex movement in creatures typically correlates with the size of the brain.

Anecdotally, I’ve been doing the Cambridge Brain Sciences[1] tests every so often over the past few months to see how various things affect my score (mainly because I wanted to see which nootropics were most effective) and the best scores always occurred on days where I got exercise and the worst scores were in days where I didn’t and also got little sleep.

My absolute best scores (99.5 percentile, although the next days scores were much, much lower and my average has been about 50-60ish) were on a day when I got approx 1.5 hours of brisk walking (throughout the day, not all at once), 8+ hours sleep the night before and I had been taking nootropics. I imagine diet also plays a part, but I’ve not yet experimented. I’m also not sure f sleep or exercise affects me most positive, but together they certainly make a huge difference.

Nothing conclusive, for sure, but it does make me think that exercise/movement may play a big part.

[1] https://cambridgebrainsciences.com




The youtube video mentions BDNF. The hilarious 'Exercise boosts brain power' video https://player.vimeo.com/video/16335377 of http://brainrules.net/brain-rules-video says "BDNF are created when you exercise".

Highly recommended book BTW, IMHO a must for anyone who learns as it explains scientific brain research in layman's terms. It explains how we humans are ruled by our brains. When you understand your brains better, you can make better use of them. In conjunction with Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister, a golden couple.


Thanks, I’ll check that out.




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