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Meditation is the Ultimate Rest Hack – Light Watkins #580

Can TMS Therapy Alleviate Your Depression?

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[tldr]

  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy uses strong magnets to influence the electric currents that run through your brain. It targets your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which influences your mood, memory, mental flexibility, and more.
  • TMS therapy is a powerful way to alleviate depression and improve your brain function without the side effects of prescription drugs.
  • TMS therapy involves 20-minute daily sessions with a doctor over 4-5 weeks. The results last for months and the process is painless and noninvasive, with few to no side effects.

[/tldr]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy is a powerful new way to hack your brain, particularly if you tend toward depression.

TMS therapy uses strong, specialized magnets to change the electrical currents in your brain. It’s a great way to boost mood without the many side effects of antidepressants.

Before becoming Bulletproof, I suffered from serious mood swings. I had bursts of anger and bouts of depression and anxiety that sabotaged my work, my health, and — most importantly — my relationships. I haven’t had depression or unstable mood in years, but I’m always interested in ways to relieve depression, especially because it’s been on the rise over the last few years[ref url=”https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression.shtml”].

Recently, I tried TMS therapy with Dr. David Feifel (you can hear us talk about treating depression on this Bulletproof Radio podcast episode). When we did it, I felt really weird, like there was a little scrunching in my scalp and a shift upward in my mental energy. I felt happier afterward, like I was a little more in the zone and it was going to be a great day. I could see how doing TMS therapy daily could be a powerful way to boost mental performance and relieve depression.

This article will cover how TMS therapy works, and how you can use it to improve your mood without drugs.

[LINK]

TMS therapy for depression, anxiety, and OCD

TMS therapy works by sending strong magnetic waves deep into your brain. Your brain cells communicate with each other using a combination of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) and electricity. You constantly have low-level voltage running across your brain, and if you change your brain’s electrical patterns, it can have a major influence on how you think and feel.

Your brain also seems to need magnetic fields to orient its electrical activity. Astronauts have magnets in their helmets because their brains don’t work right in space when there’s no magnetic field there.

You can use magnets to influence your brain in a profound way, which is exactly what TMS therapy does. In a TMS session, you sit under a little coil that looks like a butterfly, and it sends an electromagnetic pulse through your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a part of your brain that influences mood, memory, and mental flexibility.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24405294″]

More than a dozen human studies have found that TMS therapy relieves treatment-resistant depression[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23367835″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4492646/”][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5329982/”]. Other human studies have found that TMS therapy can treat social anxiety[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3837365/”], general anxiety[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26247218″], and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30023172″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6029675/”].

If you have depression, anxiety, or OCD, TMS therapy could be a powerful treatment that doesn’t involve medication or nasty side effects.

Related: Natural Anxiety Relief: 7 Ways to Treat Anxiety Without Medication

TMS therapy for cognitive enhancement

More recent research has found that TMS therapy can help you learn faster. Healthy people who did TMS sessions had significantly faster skill acquisition afterward — in other words, they could learn new things with ease[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4083569/”]. Participants also had better accuracy and speed during cognitively challenging tasks.

TMS therapy could be a valuable new tool for brain hacking, although right now it’s challenging to do TMS sessions without a doctor or a diagnosis. If you want to try something similar without a doctor’s approval, you can visit Upgrade Labs in Los Angeles and try pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy on your brain; it can activate untapped mental energy by making your mitochondria stronger[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3022316″]. You can also use nootropics to unlock more brain power.

How to do TMS therapy

To try TMS therapy, you’ll have to work with a doctor. Usually you do a 20-minute TMS session every day for four or five weeks. The benefits start after your first couple sessions, and they last for about six months after your last session. The process itself is painless and noninvasive. It actually felt kind of good when I tried it. It’s like a massage for the inside of your brain.

TMS therapy is a great way to relieve depression, anxiety, and OCD without taking damaging prescription drugs. Give it a try, and for more ways to get control of depression, check out my guide to fighting depression without medication. Thanks for reading.

 

 

How To Get Off Adderall And Still Be Productive

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[tldr]

  • Adderall improves attention, boosts focus, and leads to better productivity.
  • It does this by raising the amount of dopamine and norepinephrine in your prefrontal cortex, the area of your brain associated with concentration.
  • Adderall carries significant risks, including psychosis, dependency, poor sleep, and depression.
  • There are safer alternatives to switch your brain on and get the laser focus you’re looking for.
  • Adderall alternatives include improving sleep, strengthening your mitochondria, and taking natural supplements that boost attention and focus.
  • Read on for my own experience with Adderall.

[/tldr]

More and more people are taking stimulant drugs like amphetamine (brand name Adderall) to help them focus and get stuff done. Doctors are prescribing it for kids with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), college students are taking it to get through exam time, and people are popping it to keep up with the pressures of the workplace.

Adderall improves attention, boosts focus, and leads to better productivity. It does this by raising the amount of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine in your prefrontal cortex, the area of your brain associated with concentration. [ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25499957″] Focus and productivity are all good things. That’s why Adderall is so popular among successful and high-functioning people.

But like any drug, Adderall comes with some potentially serious side effects (more on those below). A recent study found that certain ADHD medications, including Adderall, can cause psychosis in teens and young adults.

The good news is, you don’t need to rely on Adderall to perform at your best. There are safer alternatives to switch your brain on and get the laser focus you’re looking for. Read on for my own experience with Adderall, side effects, and things you can do to improve concentration, without the drugs.

And remember, work with your doctor and don’t go off your medication unless he or she says it’s OK.

Download this 30-Day Bulletproof Upgrade to supercharge your body and mind 

Adderall side effects

Doctors typically prescribe Adderall for ADHD, as well as narcolepsy (extreme sleepiness during the day). But Adderall can have some not-so-great side effects. These include:

  • Poor sleep
  • Dependency 
  • Depression
  • Aggressive behavior
  • High blood pressure and stroke
  • Psychosis

My personal experience with Adderall

Here’s the deal: It’s OK to want Adderall. It doesn’t make you a bad person. Adderall actually works. I know this, because I tried it. When I was going to business school, I couldn’t focus. I was exhausted all the time, I was moody, forgetful, and my attention was all over the map.

I was desperate, so I got something called a nuclear imaging test, which tells you which parts of your brain is using energy. And what do you know — the scan showed that my prefrontal cortex was creating almost zero energy. Every time I tried to focus and pay attention, the area of my brain that was supposed to help me do it showed little signs of life. Brain health expert Dr. Daniel Amen told me, “Dave, this is the brain scan of someone who’s on street drugs living under a bridge.”

It was something of a relief to get the news. My inability to focus wasn’t because I was lazy or not trying hard enough. My brain simply wasn’t working as it should. I was put on Adderall at first, a low dose for six weeks. It helped my attention, but it made me want to hide in a closet. So I switched to modafinil, a prescription drug, so I could finish my MBA at Wharton while still working a full-time job. I took modafinil for eight years and it completely changed my life. I can’t recommend it for you — you’ll need to ask your doctor about it. Read more about my experience taking modafinil here.  

Now I rely more on the habits and supplements I recommend in this article to give my brain the energy it needs.

Adderall alternatives

Boost your mitochondria

Think of your mitochondria as the battery packs of all the cells in your body. Mitochondria make energy, and they determine how your body, and your brain, feel at any given moment. Your brain has an especially large amount of mitochondria,[ref url=”https://www.pnas.org/content/111/1/7″] and it uses more energy than any other organ in your body. When you don’t have enough mitochondria, and the ones that you do have are weak, your energy drops and your brain power tanks. So the stronger your mitochondria, the more energy your brain has to focus, giving you what you need to barrel through that office spreadsheet. Learn all the ways to support and strengthen your mitochondria here.

Do an elimination diet

Food allergies and intolerances don’t just manifest as physical symptoms. They can cause anxiety, depression, and numerous other things that impact your ability to focus. Gluten, grains, and dairy are common triggers. An elimination diet helps you identify the foods that are impacting your performance and making you feel like crap. Using the Bulletproof Diet Roadmap as your guide, eat only from the green zone for three weeks. The foods in this zone are the one’s least likely to cause an allergic reaction in most people. Learn more about how to do an elimination diet here.

Try intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting — when you eat all your daily calories during a specific period of time — can switch on your brain and clear away any mental cobwebs. Studies show that restricting your food intake improves learning and memory.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633586/”] Get started with this beginners guide to intermittent fasting.

Do a digital detox

I’m all for technology. It makes our lives more efficient, and it can be fun. But the digital world, and especially social media, can also be highly addictive. Endlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed, and jumping from one app to another, is doing your attention span zero favors. Your productivity suffers when you’re distracted by endless notifications and beeps. Even a short break from technology can power up your brain and help it recharge. Learn why a digital detox is a good idea, and how to do one.

Sleep better

A bad night’s sleep makes concentrating really tough. Sleep deprivation lowers your reaction time and your memory and attention span take a hit.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19742409/”] When you sleep deeply, however, your brain resets and consolidates all the information it picked up during the day. It also flushes out cellular waste and repairs damaged neurons.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651462/”] Your ability to learn goes up,[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5458149/”] and your brain processes information 50 percent faster.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1739867/”] Get science-backed sleep hacks to help you sleep better, starting tonight.

Try binaural beats

You may have heard of binaural beats, a type of sound therapy that changes the frequency of your brainwaves, improving focus and boosting memory. You put on headphones, and listen to two sounds with different frequencies, one in your left ear, and one in your right. Your brain responds by producing a third frequency, which is equal to the difference of the other two frequencies. That’s the binaural beat, and you can use it to induce certain states of mind. For example, you can listen to a delta binaural beats session to hack your way to better sleep. For focus, listen to a binaural beats session in the gamma range. Learn more here about binaural beats, and how to use this technique for stronger focus.

Related: Brain Health: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Your Brain Young and Strong

Natural supplements to boost attention and focus

Nootropics

Nootropics (aka smart drugs) can be a powerful tool to kick your brain into high gear. I started using nootropics in the late 1990s, and I’ve been a big fan ever since. The thing is, some nootropics carry more risks than others. Adderall is actually considered a nootropic, but it’s potentially more harmful to your health than some other nootropics, like the adaptogen bacopa, for instance. Learn here about the most common nootropics, and which one is the best fit for you.

Mucuna pruriens

An adaptogen rooted in Ayurvedic medicine, mucuna pruriens is loaded with L-dopa, the precursor to dopamine. It’s similar to Adderall in that way — both ensure you have more dopamine in your system, which increases focus, learning, and reaction time.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12185401″] Pick a high-quality supplement and take 200 – 500 mg a day, 4 – 5 days a week. Learn more about mucuna pruriens here.

Brain Octane Oil

If you drink Bulletproof Coffee, then you’re already familiar with Brain Octane Oil, a purified form of saturated fatty acids called medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) from 100% coconut oil. Brain Octane boosts your brain power within minutes. Your body quickly converts Brain Octane into ketones, which your brain can use for an instant dose of energy. Add BOO to your coffee, drizzle it over sushi, or use it in your salad dressings.

Choline

The right brain foods will help you build a stronger brain and keep it running for years. Here are the top 5 brain foods you may not get in your normal diet.

If you have trouble with focusing and learning, up your intake of choline. Your body makes choline, but you need to get it from outside sources, like supplements and egg yolks, to meet your needs. Choline is the building block of acetylcholine, a chemical messenger that plays a key role in problem-solving and mental processing. When you have enough choline, you’re better able to pay attention and focus.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252552/”] Learn more about choline and dosage recommendations here.

L-theanine

l-theanine and gaba

Stress is bad news for concentration. When you’re stressed, your mind jumps erratically from one thought to the next, making it difficult to focus on the task at hand. L-theanine — a natural component of tea leaves — calms your mind and eases mental stress.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16930802″] For even more brain power, pair L-theanine with coffee. Together, they improve memory and help you focus for longer.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296328″] You can drink green tea, which has moderate amounts of L-theanine. For a more powerful punch, take 200 mg of a L-theanine supplement with your Bulletproof Coffee.

Read next: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Calm

 

What Are Stem Cells And Why Do People Get Stem Cell Treatments?

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[tldr]

  • Stem cells have a reputation for being an ultra-advanced, super expensive, and controversial biohacking procedure.
  • That’s changing. Treatments that you once had to go overseas to get are now available all over the U.S..
  • The government already approved stem cells as a treatment for a narrow assortment of cancers, and as safety and knowledge around stem cells expands every day, a wider range of applications should follow.
  • Keep reading to find out what a stem cell does and to see what happens at the stem cell clinic.

[/tldr]

Stem cells have a reputation for being an ultra-advanced, super expensive, and controversial biohacking procedure. That’s changing at lightning speed. Just a short time ago, most people who wanted stem cell treatments had to go overseas to get it. Now, there are stem cell clinics all over the U.S., and regenerative medicine, the science behind tissue repair, is solidifying into an accepted medical discipline.

Stem cell research breakthroughs are happening every day. For example, scientists have been able to create primitive human kidneys and restore vision in blind patients using stem cells.

Costs have already fallen through the floor. As more and more facilities begin to offer stem cell procedures, you’re going to see costs come down even more. When the government starts approving stem cells as a legitimate treatment, you may someday get treatments covered by insurance. As of now, stem cell treatments are not approved for injuries and overall aging benefits, even though people use them for just that.

The government already approved stem cells as a treatment for a narrow assortment of cancers, including cancers of the blood and bone marrow, and as safety and knowledge around stem cells expands every day, a wider range of applications should follow.

Keep reading to find out what a stem cell does and to see what happens at the stem cell clinic.

Instantly download a 30-day program to upgrade your mind and body.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are cells that are undifferentiated — meaning, they’re not assigned a cell type, like bone cells and nerve cells, when they’re in stem cell form. Depending on what kinds of stem cells you’re talking about, they can differentiate into many different types of cells to build brand new organs when you’re a fetus, or regenerate and repair damaged tissues when you’re an adult.

Types of stem cells


You have several types of stem cells in your body right now, and other types are available for treatments.

Adipose-derived stem cells

You get adipose-derived stem cells from your adipose tissue, aka your fat cells. These are ideal for regenerative therapies like IV stem infusions for overall resilience, because you can extract them over and over without much pain or risk of infection.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5040903/”]

Mesenchymal stem cells (from your bone marrow)

To get to mesenchymal stem cells, you have to get to your bone marrow, which is as painful as it sounds. Mesenchymal cells can differentiate into some of the same types of cells as adipose-derived stem cells, and also into different types of cell lines. Your doctor will know which types to use for your goals.

VSEL stem cells – very small embryonic-like stem cells

You have a small number of very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs or V-cells), circulating in your bloodstream. These are made in the bone marrow and organs,[ref url=”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556508001642″][ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12015-008-9018-0″] and are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12015-008-9018-0″] Extraction is as simple as a blood draw, but they’re more plentiful in umbilical cord blood. VSEL treatments are a cutting-edge science that not many stem cell centers offer to the public yet. It’s legal to use them in humans for research, but not yet approved as a treatment.

Cord blood stem cells and placenta stem cells

Instead of extracting your own stem cells, you can purchase stem cells that have been harvested from newborn umbilical cords and placentas that have been donated and would otherwise be incinerated and disposed of.

Stem cell secretions

The fluid that stem cells secrete is rich in growth factors, which are a mix of vitamins and hormones that stimulate cell growth. This is how stem cells signal for repair and anti-inflammatory compounds to promote healing.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4197270/”] Some stem cell clinics will offer stem cell fluid in combination with stem cells themselves.

What does a stem cell do?

There’s a common misconception that stem cells float around your body and become whatever they need to become. That’s not the full story. Here’s what actually happens.

The stem cells that are already in your body will sense things like:[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4197270/”]

  • Low oxygen (hypoxia)
  • Inflammation
  • Abnormal cell proliferation (tumors)

Stem cells will migrate to the site of these stimuli and hang out there for a few weeks. While there, they will secrete a fluid that is rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, chemicals that regulate the immune system, antitumor compounds, and growth factors for regeneration.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4197270/”]

So, if you’ve hurt your wrist, you probably tore up your collagen. Stem cells will sense inflammation, and the stem cell juice will signal to your fibroblasts (collagen-producing cells) to start linking up amino acids to make collagen for the injury site.

Related: How Adult Stem Cells Can Help Stop Pain and Reverse Aging

If your body does this already, why do you need a doctor to take stem cells out and put them back in?

Your body’s own healing mechanisms only take you so far, and your pace of healing and repair declines with age. That’s where regenerative medicine comes in. There are two main reasons stem cell clinics can boost healing and regeneration using stem cells: growth, and direction.

Stem cell growth

Depending on your treatment goals, the doctor may extract your stem cells and put them right back in, or opt to grow your cell line, or reproduce them in a culture dish. If you plan to get a series of treatments or get on a stem cell maintenance program, it may be a good idea to grow the cell line so that you don’t have to extract them over and over. They’ll be ready when you are.

How labs grow stem cells

After the doctor extracts your stem cells, they will flash-freeze them and send them to a lab for culture. From there, the lab thaws your vial and spins it in a centrifuge to separate out the live stem cells. Stem cells are immediately placed into an incubator with a “feeding” solution — a mix of growth factors, amino acids, and other compounds to encourage cell replication. Lab technicians feed and monitor the cell culture every day, and freeze and send them back when ready.

That means you’ll need two appointments — one to extract your cells, another several weeks later to use them.

Targeted regeneration with stem cells

Once the doctor has your stem cells, she can then put them back into your body. If your goals are to address an injury or arthritis, the doctor can simply inject them into the injury site.

If the goal is to act on your aging clock, improve the body process you cannot see, and increase your overall resilience, the doctor may administer stem cells intravenously (IV). That way, the stem cells can course through your bloodstream and find their home in areas of low-level inflammation that you don’t even know you have.

Who should get stem cell treatments?

Stem cell treatments will be much more common in the near future than they are now. For now, people get stem cell treatments to address things like:

  • Injuries
  • Arthritis
  • Localized pain (muscles, joints)
  • Cancer
  • Autism
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Alopecia (hair loss)

Stem cells have not been approved as a therapy for many of these conditions.

Clinics will also administer IV stem cells for general wellness and as an anti-aging preventive measure, and the procedure can be repeated yearly or twice a year. The idea is that stem cells in your bloodstream will find places in your body in need of repair and distribute to multiple sites to strengthen them.

“The two main contributors to aging are inflammation and oxidation,” says Dr. Harry Adelson in an episode of Bulletproof Radio (iTunes) featuring himself and Dr. Amy Killen, both doctors of regenerative medicine at Docere Medical in Utah. “Your body’s biologic aging really is a response to how well you can cope with and respond to inflammation and oxidation. Both of those processes are entirely controlled by stem cells.”

Stem cells aren’t just about injuries. The hallmark of a youthful body is your cells’ ability to recover from everyday stresses and strains. As long as you get as much out of its way as possible, your body’s ability to heal itself is amazing. Stem cell therapy takes self-healing a step further. Working with a qualified doctor to direct the stem cells that you already have can make incredible strides in reversing aging and recovering from injuries and everyday wear and tear to reverse your aging clock.

 

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