Lifehacks! (All the cool kids are doing it, etc.)

Okay, but in all seriousness...

My friend Tracey asked if neuro people knew cool magic tricks and stuff. We do! But that also reminded me that we know some cool tricks that are actually USEFUL, and can make a big difference in everyday life.

These are some simple, cheap, loosely neuroscience/psychology-inspired "lifehacks" I personally use all the time, mostly focused on getting into habits that reduce cognitive overhead and promote good circadian rhythm. These legit took me like... 5 years of trial and error (and the influence of a very methodical girlfriend) to get ANY good at, so don't feel like you're doing it all wrong if either you haven't heard of them, feel they don't work for you, or you've tried and failed to implement something similar. Just keep giving yourself rewards for seeing what works for you and getting it right... good habits tend to build on each other, so it also becomes easier as you go!

Also I am naturally like, the worst-habited person on earth, so if I can do it, by Jesus you can too.

Ordered in how they affect my day:

1. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I avoid ANY exposure to bright (especially blue-tinged) light, since even a flash can mess with the photoreceptors that help your circadian clock know what time it is. No reason to fast forward to "it's sunrise!" at 3:30 AM. (Guys, get to know your bathroom layout VERY well before you try this...)

2. I get up in the morning with stuff next to bed, including a healthy amount of caffeine (I use caffeinated variants of Mio in a water bottle, since I'm not into coffee, it doesn't require prep time, and it's cheap) and my brightly-lit phone, that help me lower the threshold of resistance for getting up and starting the string of habits that eventually lead me out the door without thinking too hard, because the next thing is what I automatically do.

3. I make a specific effort to squeeze some cardio in -- in my case by biking to work -- as it's pretty well-associated with things like positive mental health outcomes, adult neurogenesis (which is probably related), and the rest of the obvious benefits. Plus biking saves gas money. This one took me the better part of a year to get the hang of, though! (If interested, here's a one-stop knowledge base.)

4. When I hit the gym, I go before work because I find it more habit-sustainable (avoiding "but I'm tired and there's Netflix at home" after work), though technically due to things like hormone fluctuation controlled by circadian rhythm, most people actually gain more muscle mass for the same exercise if they work out in the afternoon. If my gym were near my work, I'd probably try to go around then, but this works alright.

5. On most days I do big multi-muscle group exercises like squats or deadlifts first, as that's believed to recruit more sympathetic neural activation and stimulate the greatest release of muscle growth-promoting hormones (cf. this article, §2.3); this effectively gives any exercises you do afterward a big boost in effectiveness.

6. When at work, I use apps like Self-Control to reduce my ability to slack off, using the same kind of logic where Odysseus had himself tied to the mast BEFORE they got to the sirens. I also have alarms at the end of the workday reminding me to turn it on at my work computer for the next 24-hour period, and at bedtime to turn it on for my personal laptop. NEVER TRUST FUTURE YOU, FUTURE YOU IS WEAK AND EVIL.

7. I also use a blue-wavelength light, since my office doesn't have a window for sunlight, to help keep my circadian rhythm up. This is basically the exact opposite of #1. Also may help keep the winter blues at bay if you're susceptible.

8. Your REM cycle is usually kinda like 90 minutes, and it usually takes you about 30 minutes to enter deep sleep (aka slow-wave sleep, or SWS, because of how your neurons sync up when measured by EEG). So I only take naps that are <30m, and thus little "refreshers" (alarms obviously help here), or >90m, which are like "rechargers," if I'm really beat and have a lot more to do that day. If you've woken up from a nap and just been a complete zombie for a couple hours, you probably came to in that 30-90m range where you're in SWS and your brain is busy consolidating learning. It is NOT ready to get woken up by your tomfoolery, it's doing important stuff and doesn't want to be interrupted.

9. I also try hard to avoid taking naps later than about 2pm. There are two systems that control sleep drive: Process C (for Circadian), and Process S (for homeoStatic, which is based on how much neural "fuel" you've used up). The two basically sum to tell you how tired you are. Process S, in particular, sort of knows how long it's been since you last slept, so if you nap at 5, it resets and you only have like half the sleepiness you'd normally have by bedtime. (See various links above.)

10. I mentioned earlier I have caffeine first thing in the morning. For obvious reasons, I avoid having it after dinner, as it's still affecting your system about 6-9 hours later. What's less obvious is that, while you don't want to become a caffeine addict, it's totally justified to have a good amount throughout your morning! That's because caffeine works by suppressing the sensitivity of receptors that drive Process S -- in other words, it tells your brain "everything's FINE, we've got PLENTY of fuel left!" ...which of course may be a lie. But if your brain gets this big wallop in the evening of all that Process S buildup, aka spent metabolic fuel, hitting the receptors at once, you get a nice big urge to unwind. This helps keep your sleep drive nice and reliable.

11. Because I'm personally a pretty addictive personality, and I love video games, I have a sort of "safebox" system with my girlfriend. She keeps the games in a hidden place, and when I'd like to play, I ask her to get one for me. It may sound extreme, but I actually asked her to do this, because otherwise I make all kinds of excuses to play when I've really got shit to do. Also helps me remember how much fun one can have in... more like life-positive activities, basically.

12. Before bed, I try to abide by good "sleep hygiene." This means having a pattern of habits that lead you to bed, just like you have some that help you wake up; avoiding screens where possible, and using apps like f.lux and Twilight to filter blue light from your devices where not (these turn the screen kind of reddish, but get rid of most of the light in wavelengths that affect circadian photoreceptors); only hanging around in bed for sleep and, er, other stuff, so your body knows when it gets into bed it's probably bedtime; keeping backlit clocks out of sight so you don't wake up at 3:30 and get stressed cuz you're awake at 3:30; and getting up if I fail to fall asleep for like 20-30 min, so I keep my relationship with my bed trusty and healthy.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I've got for now. Happy hacking!

Larry Lessig -- or, the Man Who Wouldn't Be President

In case you've heard murmurings but have found it all very academic, here's an explainer on the latest campaign to stir things up for the Presidential primaries.

Lawrence Lessig is a law professor famous for various exploits around things like Creative Commons and Net Neutrality. More recently, he founded the Mayday PAC, whose goal was basically to destroy all SuperPACs so as to decrease the influence of money in politics; he's done some well-received TED talks on all these topics. And much more recently, he's begun exploring the possibility of a run for President on the Democratic ticket, as the first "Referendum President."

In short, this means if elected, he would pass a single bill reforming campaign finance and electoral mechanics, then promptly resign and pass the Presidency to his Veep.

Lessig has political views, but more than that he is a tinkerer with systems. He sees the way games are played, sees that they're out of balance and causing all kinds of bad behavior, and tries to step in and set the rules straight so everybody can get back to playing the way the game was intended.

Because of my previously stated views on the bad equilibrium in American electoral politics, I support Lessig's run, which will not work. You read me correctly, he will not be elected "Referendum President," though many people will earnestly tell you it's possible. Don't believe them, but just go with it.

That is because "working" as thus far defined -- that is, being elected President -- is really secondary to "working" as it's actually intended, which is raising awareness around the issue and maybe laying the groundwork for actual policy change.

I was inspired to write this post by the IAmA Thread that Lessig and his exploratory committee chair, Wikipedia [co-]founder Jimmy Wales, did on Reddit. The main thing I wish to comment on is the (reasonable, but ultimately misguided) concerns voiced by the Redditors who pointed out that Lessig's stated plan, erm, wouldn't actually really work, probably.

What Lessig is attempting is basically a weighted Xanatos Gambit with some Batman Gambit thrown in. The victory condition he espouses, where he wins, passes the Citizens Equality Act, and steps down, is exceedingly unlikely, but ultimately unnecessary; what matters is the more likely outcome that stems from his declaring such a victory condition.

Lessig does not need to get elected. Frankly, I don't think Lessig expects, or even hopes, to get elected. I think Lessig just wants people talking about the issue seriously, and unfortunately, talking about the issue on its own (i.e., the Mayday PAC) has not produced required results, because it is too peripheral to the average American's political consciousness. Therefore, what has to happen for people to see the issue is for Lessig to run, and completely front his own candidacy around the issue.

The point is that the host of people in the thread asking about the legitimacy and plausibility of his plan being enacted once in office are doing what they believe is an important service, and it's not counterproductive really, but neither is it (likely to be) relevant.

This approach threads the game theoretic needle in order to arouse political will, and that's all it has to do to be the best available option at the moment. We can deal with the rest when we get there.


Some evidence is starting to accrue, aside from Lessig's increased name recognition (he's now on the polls), that the intended shift is occurring. Not only is Trump seen as a bizarro ally to the cause, but there is speculation to the effect that electoral reform will be a central issue in the campaign.
Job done, eh? Now we'll just see if they shoot the moon.


One footnote: if you're interested in what kinds of reform platforms would ACTUALLY, DIRECTLY result in the appropriate policy changes, check out Represent.Us, which has a more local and state, grassroots approach -- even though they're maybe a little more accusatory with their #Corruption rhetoric than Lessig's gentler "don't hate the player, hate the game" message. Disclaimer: the link used gets me points on a silly but effective incentives tree on the site. Whatever, don't judge me.

A second footnote: while I support his ideas about campaign finance, I'm more jazzed he's including Ranked-Choice Voting (AKA Alternative Voting, Instant-Runoff Voting, etc.). See Sir Red Squirrel for details.