Quote · Huberman Lab
Accelerate Learning & Increase Cognitive Capacity | Dr. Tommy Wood
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GLP-1s, Peptides, Supplements & Evaluating Efficacy
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Wood introduces a framework for evaluating how you feel versus how you actually perform — noting that an athlete's subjective 'readiness to perform' rating consistently predicts performance better than HRV or any blood biomarker. But stimulants break this link. Studies using the N-back working memory task show caffeine users feeling like they're performing better while actually making more errors. A Science paper on methylphenidate (Ritalin) in non-ADHD individuals shows the same dissociation. Cannabis users feel more creative; blind judges rate their output as worse. This matters because the whole promise of nootropics and stimulants is that how you feel reflects how you're performing — and at least for complex cognitive tasks, it doesn't. Exercise-induced arousal doesn't create this problem, which is one reason Wood positions it as the most reliable cognitive enhancer: it improves both performance and the subjective experience of performance in tandem.
Studies using the N-back task show caffeine users feel like they're performing better while actually making more errors. The same dissociation appears with methylphenidate in non-ADHD individuals. Exercise-induced arousal doesn't create this problem — which makes it the superior cognitive enhancer.
