Increasing Mental Endurance

[HgaleK]

Does anyone know of any ways to increase mental stamina? Without stimulants my brain tends to run out of gas after only a few hours of intense work and then takes a while to recover. Is there any way to increase the duration of focus or reduce the recovery time without adding chemicals or is this one of those things where you just learn to deal with the fatigue?

 

[yjeezle]

gatorade?

 

[imschatz]

any particular reason for the no-drugs position?

 

[mm84321]

Hate to be that guy. But what's your diet like?

 

[HgaleK]

Originally Posted by imschatz

any particular reason for the no-drugs position?

I'd like to address the problems as opposed to the symptoms. I've never had to study before. All of my life I've bullshitted my way through and then popped a few amphetamine based ADHD pills, pulled an all nighter, and come out with decent grades. I'm wondering how the people who don't do that manage it all.

I'll probably start playing with Acetyl Choline and the pramiracetam again in a few weeks.

MM: diet is unchanged relative to baseline.

 

[unjung]

I never used any study aides. Just paced myself on the material, used active studying methods (writing material and concepts out on a whiteboard, talking to myself, etc.), graduated with a good GPA and many extra-curriculars.

 

[Blackhood]

Consider your structure more than anything. I was/am someone who can't study. At all. Ever. When I have work to do I break it down into micro-goals.

-Dont over-think your work. Just get some **** down on paper and then re-write it later
-Take frequent breaks. Every 1 hour worked gets a 10 minute walk round campus.
-Set a task with an unreasonable time limit. If I want to learn a chapter of a book I will aim to write 20 bullet points in 30 minutes. Make sure that you have a visible timer counting down.
-Try to keep motivated. There is a website called Study Hacks which I have found to be very helpful.

 

[Nereis]

This is a case of willpower more often that not. Of course there are ways to condition yourself to enjoy studying. My asian parents would guilt trip and physically abuse me whenever I slacked off, and I learnt to associate not being busy with pain. You could probably do something similar with a very mild ad-hoc stun gun made from a disposable camera.

 

[gauche.story]

try trying.