3 Comments
Aug 28, 2022Liked by Sam Atis

Regarding weightlifting to provide availability to focus better than Ritalin; I have found that "time under pressure" which is essentially what we are teaching our bodies to accept when we lift, and our minds to acknowledge, is similar to wearing a weighted vest for me.

Expand full comment
Aug 29, 2022·edited Aug 29, 2022

Interesting write-up, but you are leaving out the elephant in the room: smoking.

People didn't need prescription stimulants nor an ADHD diagnosis: approximately everyone used to smoke. Certain professions were almost synonymous with black-coffee guzzling chain smokers.

Nicotine works really well against ADHD. It also has neuro-protective effects against Parkinson's disease.

Now, of course, getting your nicotine by inhaling tobacco smoke is a bad idea for youe throat and lungs, but that didn't diminish its impact on focus.

(But these days you can just use nicotine patches instead of cigarette.)

Expand full comment

Why is weightlifting coming before Ritalin only "slightly surprising" to you? It seems that the physiological research establishment for decades has been focused on cardio as improving cognitive function, and I think found decent evidence for that; although it is highly correlated with non-sedentary lifestyles, which may be the real cause in some cases, but again, one would expect different effects from weightlifting, except maybe in the elderly. I never noticed establishment researchers suggesting that weightlifting could be better.

Expand full comment