Brain Hacking 101:

12 Tangible Ways to Correct Your Neurotransmitter and Hormonal Balance Now

12 Tangible Ways to Correct Your Neurotransmitter and Hormonal Balance Now

Brain Hacking 101

These practices saved my life. Whether you found this book through my blog or a friend of yours, I am glad you decided to read. It wasnt long ago that I was struggling to focus on school, my business, and happiness was a distant illusion always over the horizon. Now, with the practices that I promote and evidence within this book, I have made changes with far reaching impacts. I want to share my success with you in order to make your own life better. Im giving this away for free because it has completely changed my worldview and if you give it a chance, I think it can help you too. If you have any questions regarding this book or you want to know some of the sources to continue with research of your own, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at mans@thehackedmind.com . If you have not yet checked out my blog, but you find this book interesting, you may want to get involved at www.thehackedmind.com . To all the people who have helped shape the layout of the site, the content, and my own practices, I cannot thank you enough. - Mans -

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Table of Contents
Introduction to Brain Hacking3 12-Point Plan for Hacking Your Neurotransmitters and Hormones5 Diet.7 Meat7 Vegetables & Fruits12 Carbohydrates13 Sugar.15 Fats Types and Benefits.16 Dairy17 Fitness / Exercise19 Sleep.22 Hydration24 Meditation.26 Stimulants28 Hacking Your Brain The Process31
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This book will offer tangible changes that you can make in your everyday life (right now even!) that will completely alter the way you behave. I have incorporated several actionable tips throughout the book to help correct your neurotransmitter and hormonal balance immediately. While I recognize that there are several abstract principles that hold you back in life, such as fear, ego, or social conditioning, this book will address wellbeing from a scientific perspective. Many people are skeptical about the changes that I propose in this book, which is why these tangible methods to hack your brain will be accompanied by scientific evidence. You can hack your brain to be more productive, happier, more enlightened, and achieve whatever goals you would like. By analyzing how your brain works with different stimuli, Im going to provide examples of things to avoid, practices to maintain, and my experiences doing all of these things. The only reason I feel comfortable writing about this is because of the tremendous changes I have been able to make in my own life. Now, it is only fair that I share my secrets (and the science behind them) with you.

are your neurotransmitters and hormones. In fact, you can think of these as the atoms of mind hacking the most basic unit that you must control to be successful. We all know of hormones as the stuff that makes teenagers breakout with pimples or become physically developed, but they are far more than that. Both your neurotransmitters and your hormones have evolved with homo sapiens as a species and our ancestors for millions of years, which means there are things that you can do to keep them in balance and things that will upset this homeostasis. Understanding how hormones work and what alters their balance will allow you to hack your mind through diet, fitness, sleep, meditation, and a number of other practices that we will cover in the rest of this book.

Controlling the Brain: Neurotransmitters and Hormones

The word neurotransmitters is probably scary for most readers. Biology was never my favorite subject either, so Im going to break it down in the simplest terms possible for you to understand. Two of the most important things that govern how your mind functions www.thehackedmind.com Page 3

For the purposes of this book, we will narrow down the neurotransmitters and hormones to what are most purposeful for us to successfully hack our brain:

Neurotransmitters
1. 2. 3. 4. Dopamine Serotonin GABA (gamma aminobutryic Acid) Acetylcholine

Hormones
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Testosterone Insulin Leptin Cortisol Melatonin Serotonin

If you have stayed with me this long, you are obviously dedicated to learning more about your own brain and how to successfully alter your life. It may seem difficult, but the rest of this book will get simpler. To make your life even easier, I have started off with a 12 Point Plan that outlines the entire process. You will also find bolded Actionable Tips throughout the book, which can save you reading time and allow you to take action immediately. With an understanding of the basic units of mind hacking, lets begin.

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12-Point Plan for Hacking your Neurotransmitters and Hormones

1. Eat the right type of meat Meat is healthy, but ensure you are eating the right types. Low mercury fish, grass-fed lean meats, shellfish, and eggs are the best source of protein. These meats are nutrient dense with healthy fats, including a good ratio of omega-3 fatty acids. Eating the right meat can increase testosterone levels, reduce cortisol, balance all of your neurotransmitters, and promote healthy brain function. 2. Eat the right type of vegetables Vegetables are required to maintain a healthy hormonal and neurotransmitter balance. Eat a variety of types of vegetables for different nutrients. This includes leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale, arugula), vociferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower), and tuberous / root vegetables (sweet potatoes, yams, carrots). Also include variations of cooking styles including pickled, raw, and cooked for maximum nutrition for hormone and neurotransmitter balance. 3. Remove / reduce refined carbohydrates Your body needs carbohydrates for energy, but refined carbohydrates provide too much in a manner that alters your brains hormonal balance. Remove or reduce your consumption of rice, pasta, bread, tortillas, etc. and you will get fewer spikes of energy www.thehackedmind.com

that result in crashes later in the day. Removing refined carbs produces a far more sustainable balance of neurotransmitters and hormones. 4. Remove / reduce refined sugar In the same way that refined carbohydrates are bad for your body, refined sugar is detrimental. Remove this from your diet completely if you can. Excessive sugar (not from fruits and natural sources) will reduce insulin sensitivity and disrupt the balance that your body needs in order to stay healthy, alert, focused, and successful. 5. Use the right fats for cooking Not all fat is created equal. Avoid vegetable oil (such as canola, sunflower, safflower, and vegetable oil). Opt instead for coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil. Butter that is full-fat, grass-fed and hormone free is also a great option for cooking. These fats will be high in the same ratio of omega-3 fatty acids that you need for proper brain function. 6. Eat only certain types of dairy if you must Try to cut out dairy from your diet if you can. If you must continue, make sure all products are full-fat, grass-fed, hormone and anti-biotic free. This will ensure that you are getting the right ratio of fat, protein, vitamin-D, and calcium. 7. Walk and stand more with the tools to help you

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To be healthy and balance your brains neurotransmitters and hormones, you do not have to run miles every week. In fact, it is healthier for you to just do more standing and walking throughout your day. Target 10,000 steps (approx. 5 miles) per day of walking and stand whenever you can. This will bring your body into a balance with the food that you eat. Use a FitBit (aff link) or Dans Plan to ensure you are doing enough activity. Otherwise, you will overestimate the daily activity you perform. 8. Get proper sleep and the tools to help you Staying up late can be fun and social pressures often require it. Nonetheless, you need to get between 7-8 hours of sleep every day for proper health. While it varies by the person, getting sleep at the right time is also imperative. Melatonin and serotonin production are based on dark and light patterns that require sleeping not too long after the sun sets and awaking not too long after it rises. Use blue-blocker sunglasses late at night to remove certain light wavelengths that prevent melatonin production before bed. You can immensely improve alertness and focus with proper sleep habits. 9. Hydrate properly You can live weeks without food, but a few days without water and you will die. Never neglect to drink enough water or else your brain will start to power down for protection mode. Stay hydrated with at least 3 liters of water per day. It might seem excessive, but force yourself to drink this volume. If you are trying to www.thehackedmind.com

build muscle for a healthier lifestyle, hydration is also key. 10.Relax, meditate, calm down Too much modern stimulation of information and stress will increase cortisol levels to an unhealthy level and create other hormonal imbalances. Even if meditation is not for you, simply take a few minutes out of your day to observe your breath or observe something outside. Anything to remove the mental noise from your mind for a moment will be effective for rebalancing stress hormones. 11.Remove un-natural stimulants of modern abundance and technology Our bodies were not meant for certain stimulants. Things like alcohol, caffeine, and even porn are available in an abundance that will destroy the balance of neurotransmitters and hormones in your body forever if used too often. Find more natural ways of filling your cravings. 12.Stop giving a fuck about what other people think None of the steps I have provided you are normal or practiced by many people you know. Follow what is scientifically going to produce the best result for your brain, your focus, wellbeing, and success.

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Diet
Imagine your body as a car for a minute. The arms and legs can be the wheels, the head the engine get as creative as you would like. Now, think of all the food you eat as the fuel that provides for your body. Considering your brain, organ, and muscle function are all dependent upon the food that you eat, it is essential that you focus on maintaining a strict diet that is all natural based around lean meats, vegetables, and fruits. As you will see in the rest of this section, the food that you eat not only informs your waistline, but also considerably alters the way your brain functions.

amounts of corn-fed red meat, many vegetarians are healthier. However, eating a diet that is based on lean meats is going to have a profound impact on your overall health and the balance within your brain. Lean meats typically include low-mercury fish (see diagram courtesy of the Sierra Club on next page), poultry, and some red meat like bison, deer, or other wild game. While labeling myself by one diet or another is limiting and conjures many false images, taking a Paleolithic (I prefer evolutionary) approach to meat is fruitful. Our ancestors relied primarily on meat for sources of protein and fat for millions of years. Agriculture that allows us to eat refined carbohydrates has only been around for 8 10,000 years and the modern abundance for less than 250. Both of those are drops in the bucket when compared with our evolutionary history. Not only are these meats high in protein, but they are high in the essential fatty acids that your body needs to function. While most mainstream health information should raise a fair bit of skepticism, the new omega-3 craze is spot on. The biggest natural indicator that omega-3 fatty acids and is good for your brain is the brains cell membranes are made of fat! Cell membranes are made of omega-3 fatty acids, Lesithin, and cholesterol, but we will talk about the other aspects later. For now, it is important to understand what omega-3 fatty acids really are, how they impact your brain, and how they differ from other types of fats. Page 7

Meat
For most people, meat is considered a staple for a happy lifestyle. It is a great source of protein and fat, but it is important to specify which types of meat you consume. Vegan diets have become wildly popular in the past few years as studies found meat (especially red meat) to be less healthy. The problem with these studies, and the subsequent decision to eat a plant and grain based diet, is that they are not factoring the type of meat into the studies or the people that eat them. For example, the standard American diet consists of predominantly corn-fed beef, which is unhealthy for your body and your brain. Compared to individuals who eat copious www.thehackedmind.com

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Actionable Tip: The best source of omega-3 fatty acids are grass-fed, free range, antibiotic free eggs. If you can spare the time and money, go to a local farmers market to pick them up.

Actionable Tip: If you dont think you are getting enough omega-3 fatty acid foods, you can supplement with fish oil. While I do not take any supplements, this is a relatively safe way to maintain the right ratios. them up.

The term omega-3 fatty acid is used to define chains of carbon atoms that are linked with hydrogen. The location of the bonding between these atoms simply determines whether it is an omega-3, 6, or 9 fatty acid. Each of these have significant impacts on your brain in two respects. First, your brain will be made of the fatty acids that you consume, which makes it important to have the right type and ratios. Furthermore, the fatty acid you consume will also have an impact on your brains production of hormones. The omega-3 fatty acid has the carbon in a location that makes it extremely malleable and flexible, which allows for tremendous neurological connections. With the right amount (and ratio) of fatty acids, you will quickly recognize your reflexes get quicker, you remember things better, and there is less brain-fog in general. While it is important to also consume omega-6 and 9 fatty acids, the common ratio for Paleolithic man was about 1:1. This ratio allows each individual cell to maintain hormone receptors in the right place so that they interact with hormones that circulate through the body.

Unfortunately, the standard American diet has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 20:1, which is around five times higher than where your body starts to see a breakdown of normal hormonal function. Most of the corn-fed meat is far higher in fat content because animals have evolved evolutionarily similar to humans when it comes to digesting grains. Their body cannot handle the proteins that are in the grains, which promotes higher fat gain and results in higher omega6 fat content rather than omega-3 fatty acids. When you eat grass-fed meats, you will get the omega-3 fatty acids in a better 1:1 ratio. For your brain, this has immense impacts. When it comes to your brain, there are four main functions for omega-3 fatty acids. They truly are, as Dr. Mark Wyman indicates, the #1 ingredient to promote cellular brain growth. The omega-3s will help to: Build cell membranes Reduce inflammation in the brain (which is often the cause of degenerative and mood disorders) Balance your blood sugar Increase the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps to support existing neurons and promote neurogenesis. Page 9

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If you take anything away from this meat section, it is that omega-3 fatty acids are essential to your brain function and lean meats are the best methods of receiving this type in an optimal ratio. For your hormones and circadian rhythms (sleep patterns), meat can have a profound impact as well. By eating the correct types of meat, you provide your body and brain with the perfect balance of sleep hormones that can boost your mental capacity, willpower, and improve cognition. Successful sleep relies primarily on an interaction between three different hormones. We will focus on two of the most important: melatonin and serotonin. In order to enter a proper sleep cycle, your body will start to produce melatonin when it becomes dark, which is a sign for the body to sleep. When you wake up, your body should start to produce serotonin to provide a level of alertness and focus. While the vast majority of people drink coffee to wake up in the morning, eating some form of meat or eggs will kickstart your bodys production of serotonin. Protein, rather than caffeine, informs the stomach that you are awake and the day has started. Considering 95% of your total serotonin production comes from the stomach, animal protein is fundamental.

Actionable Tip: A single scrambled egg with olive oil and whatever veggies you would like to add will make you more alert and prepare your brain better than any caffeinated beverage. Other protein alternatives include bacon, sausage, or even a steak. Dont let other people tell you what constitutes breakfast!

Making the change to include many lean meats to your diet will offer you a number of mental and bodily benefits. However, it is important to keep two specific things in mind when eating meat: grass-fed matters and organ variation is the next step forward. Studies of grass-fed meat, have shown that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3s are far more balanced than any grain fed meat. This is extremely important for the brain, but also has far more antioxidants in grassfed meat than grain-fed. Removing toxins from your body and brain is the job of glutathione, which is also far more abundant in grass-fed meat. While it can be far more expensive to buy grass-fed meat every time, it is a good investment in your health. Furthermore, for those who are brave, experienced, or ready to take the full step to mental health and improved cognition, you can vary the type of meat consumed. While a variety of red meat, poultry, shellfish, and fresh fish are fundamental for a balanced nutrient intake, the organs of the meat are also important. This includes the liver, brain, and even the insides of bones (marrow). Page 10

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Animal protein from muscles has a certain set of nutrients, but the organs and bones have other nutrients. Our Paleolithic ancestors were so healthy, in part, because they had a wide variety of meat types, which offered all the nutrients they needed.

Actionable Tip: If you are vegetarian like I was, start slowly. Increase your egg consumption, add a bit of chicken and fish / shrimp to your diet, and then try some leaner red meat like bison.

Actionable Tip: Most stores will not have organ meat and bones. Talk to local butcher shops and/or farmers for the freshest, grass-fed bones/organs. Grass-fed is even more important for bones/organs. them up.

While I have yet to take this final step with organs, I have found a diet high in lean-meats can be mindaltering. I was raised vegetarian with a heavy emphasis with white or brown rice. I am the last person that would be considered biased when it comes to eating meat. Within the past year, I have been far more efficient with work, my cognitive abilities have markedly improved, and overall I feel much better. With the omega-3 and omega-6 balance and regulated hormones, my brain is functioning better than it ever has in the past.

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Vegetables and Fruits

The importance of fruits and vegetables for your mental and bodily health cannot be overstated. Certain types of vegetables and fruits were abundant in nature during the Paleolithic era, which makes them great vessels for many mind-enhancing nutrients. Vegetables and fruits can provide carbohydrates for the body at a manageable level that is sustainable and effective for enhancing your cognitive performance. As indicated earlier, omega-3 fatty acids are required to maintain neurological health within the brain. Many of the omega-3 fatty acids that are in lean meats are only available through the grass and vegetation that the animal ate. You can go straight to the source for your omega-3 fatty acids. However, the leafy green vegetables are the best to eat and most indicative of what our ancestors ate (and thus what our body can efficiently process).

At the same time, providing your body with unrefined carbohydrates is a healthy way of providing fuel for your brain to function. Sweet potatoes and yams are both excellent sources of carbohydrates as are most fruits. While eating too many fruits in a day can result in high blood sugar, getting an assortment of colors and types offers the full spectrum of anti-oxidant types. For optimal effect for your brain, mix up the types of vegetables and the cooking methods. Avocados and olives are excellent sources of fat from vegetables (which is why the oils are so healthy!), but also look into zucchini, cauliflower / broccoli, and other types. Finally, eat some of the vegetables raw, cook some of them, and even eat fermented vegetables in any variation that seems tastiest to you. The microbes in the fermentation process will help to remove many of the toxins and produce additional vitamins and minerals of their own.

Actionable Tip: Try to include a salad with leafy green vegetables at least once a day. Your local supermarket will probably have salad mixes available pre-packaged. Look for spinach, kale, arugula etc.

Actionable Tip: Head down to your local market to buy some sauerkraut, kimchi, or even pickles. These fermented vegetables provide microbial nutrients necessary for good health.

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types that are found in fruits will not provide an instant rush to your brain that can create hormonal problems as well as mood swings and crashes throughout the day. Being raised as a vegetarian, an abundance of variety was always provided. However, my mothers specific type of cuisine was based largely around the same cooking methods. Since I have varied the methods of cooking the vegetables, I have been far happier and healthier. More importantly, I recognized the immediate impacts on my own mental connections and mental health.

carbohydrates can create huge neurotransmitter and hormonal problems that take weeks or months to recover from. While you may consider rice, pasta, bread, and baked goods to be the sources of carbohydrates, many natural foods have an abundance as well. For instance, nuts and fruits have huge quantities of carbohydrates, but they are released slowly, which produces no surge of energy to the brain. These types of carbohydrates are high in fiber and phytonutrients, which help absorb sugar and balance the neurotransmitter levels within your brain. Eating refined carbohydrates will provide a spike in blood sugar, result in a period of increased activity (if your body is used to it) and then a crash. You may get a headache, you will definitely feel more tired, and your mental capabilities will be impaired. These broad shifts of energy can produce intense mood swings that make you feel terrible. Controlling these will bring a much more calming sense of happiness that is free from extreme highs or extreme lows. This is often a main cause of depression and has been linked to cancer, Alzheimers, and many diseases exclusive to modern, urban man. Eventually you can just achieve a higher baseline level of blood sugar so that your brain feels better in a sustainable way.

Actionable Tip: Eat fruit daily, but try to vary the types just like vegetables. Eat some citrus, some melon, and ensure that you have different colors between your vegetable intake.

Carbohydrates
One of the most contentious and well-studied aspects of our modern diet are carbohydrates. The impacts that carbohydrates can have to our overall health and our cognitive ability are profound and in many cases, dangerous. While the body definitely needs carbohydrates, modern abundance and processing methods have made it easy to consume more than the body needs to sustain a healthy lifestyle and cognitive function. Consuming too many and the wrong types of www.thehackedmind.com

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Actionable Tip: If you like refined carbs, find creative alternatives. Instead of tortilla wraps, make lettuce wraps, instead of pancakes with normal batter, create your batter with bananas. To do this, mash two bananas in a bowl, add one egg, add one tablespoon of almond butter, and thoroughly mix together. Use this batter with coconut oil and voila Primal pancakes! (Check Marks Daily Apple.com for more recipes similar to this one)

Actionable Tip: Use the following food-related methods to reduce your cortisol: 1. Eat less / no processed sugar or flour. 2. Vitamin B5 and folic acid are both required for maintaining low cortisol 3. Alcohol increases cortisol in the body 4. Fish are a great source of nutrients to reduce cortisol (see low mercury fish chart above)

On a hormonal level, refined carbohydrates can be tremendously detrimental to maintaining balance as well. Refined carbohydrates produce unbalanced spikes in cortisol, which are nice when natural, but problematic when they are too high for prolonged periods of time. Fundamentally, cortisol is a stress hormone that is required to provide your brain and body a number of advantages. Produce too much, as many refined carbs do, and your body will be continually in a state of shock and alarm. Anything to decrease the level of cortisol, such as cutting out refined carbohydrates, is going to be beneficial for your brain function.

This cortisol increase also leads to serotonin irregularities within the body. Increased levels of cortisol will reduce the serotonin in the body, which can lead to depression and mood disorders. Hacking your brain to be more focused and alert requires a balance between these hormonal connections, which does not occur with excessive refined carbohydrate intake. Furthermore, testosterone and insulin are affected by refined carbohydrates as well. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas with the role of regulating nutrient storage and maintaining stable blood sugar. From an evolutionary perspective, simple sugars were incredibly rare (think of fruit in the wild). This meant that our Paleolithic ancestors were very sensitive to insulin, which is directly correlated to testosterone levels. Studies have shown that increased testosterone will produce better focus, stronger willpower, improved cognition, and mental development.

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As of now, the only carbohydrate-rich foods that I eat are sweet potatoes. While I was raised eating rice every single day for the first 20 years of my life, I was quickly able to make the transition once I realized how great my mind worked without it. Recognizing the benefits (and feeling terrible when I did not stick to my rules) made it immensely easier to stick to this.

confusion. Studies have indicated a marked decline in cognitive ability as a result of insulin sensitivity. When the body is resistant to insulin it continues creating the hormone, which leads to fatigue and mood disorders such as depression. The human body has evolved for millennia to handle roughly 20 tablespoons of sugar on an annual basis. Modern humans consume 34 teaspoons of sugar per day. Even more important is the source of sugar. Huntergatherers were lucky to get their sugar from an apple while modern humans consume high fructose corn syrup. This syrup is not only far sweeter, but also leads to inflammation of the brain and other disorders (such as Alzheimers, dementia, etc.). Sugar disrupts hormonal responses in the same way that carbohydrates do (especially given that sugar is a carbohydrate).

Actionable Tip: You dont have to cut out the carbs all at once. Cut back gradually and replace refined carbs, like bread and pasta, with sweet potatoes and yams.

Sugar
While sugar is a carbohydrate, it is an even more sinister and serious problem within modern dietary habits. Your brain on excessive sugar is akin to drugs or other stimulants. You may not realize the severity of the problem due to the widespread abuse of sugar and how the body adapts to excess, but rest assured it is impairing your ability to focus and maintain a balance of neurotransmitters and hormones within your body. One way that sugar is negatively affecting your brain is evident through analysis of insulin. Abundance of sugar in modern diets produces insulin resistance. In this state, the body no longer responds to insulin properly, which leads to significant hormonal www.thehackedmind.com

Actionable Tip: If you need something sweet, trade table sugar for honey.

High sugar consumption is not always your fault, however. The rarity of sugar in the wild makes it evolutionarily difficult to resist. The higher the calorie the food, the more nourishment it provided our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Modern business and marketing has exploited this evolutionary trait, but

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you can take steps in order to protect yourself from

ready source of fuel for your body (especially for high performance athletes). Cut refined sugar from your diet completely if you want to maintain a more even-keeled and sustainable mental focus that will provide you with clarity of thought and protect you from many degenerative diseases that plague modern society.

Actionable Tip: If you cannot completely cut refined sugar from your diet, at least cut out soda and other foods with high fructose corn syrup. excessive sugar abuse. I do not expect you to go as far as I do when it comes to refined sugar. Indeed, not even I have removed refined sugar from my diet completely. I indulge in 85-88% dark chocolate, but that has less sugar than a couple of dates. Otherwise, I have removed refined sugar from my diet and even high-sugar fruits (or dates) are minimized. Juice is even absent from my diet because it alters the balance of sugar to fiber and other nutrients that would be been consumed in the whole fruit. Read the ingredient deck or the nutrition information on the back of apple or orange juice and you will recognize why this might be a good practice for you to emulate. Overall, carbohydrates in general are going to negatively impact the way your brain functions and regulates hormones. However, sugar is associated with so much pleasure that it will also impair your production of dopamine and lead to extreme addictions. Keep sugar to a minimum despite being a www.thehackedmind.com

Fats Types and Benefits

Despite mainstream media harping on fat as the culprit for diabetes, obesity, and human weight gain, only certain fats will prove harmful for your long-term health and mental wellbeing. As I have discussed in the meat section, the omega fatty acids are some of the most important for your brains function and preventing neural degeneration. The right kind of fats are essential for survival and there are two main kinds: oils from vegetables and meat fats. I am of the opinion that extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil will offer all the health nutrients that you need, but there are many who believe butter,

Actionable Tip: If you saut vegetables, olive oil works well. However, if you must cook something where butter is required, you can always use coconut oil instead.

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ghee, and other animal products are worthwhile. If the animals have been fed grass, this is true. Not all fats are created equal. Any common vegetable oil, such as canola oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, and safflower oil are toxic to your brain and cause inflammation. Not only are all of these high in omega-6 fatty acids rather than the omega-3 chain, but they are oxidized when processed, which leads to significant health risks. If you want to avoid brain inflammation, steer clear of these oils. Many of the processed foods and restaurants that you visit will incorporate these oils. Unless they explicitly say olive oil, you can assume they are using cheaper options that are less healthy and toxic to your system.

your brain and cause severe problems. Considering most fried foods also have a flour-based batter (heavy carbohydrates), it is a good idea to avoid fried foods at all costs. If there is one warning to heed in this entire section regarding fats, it is to cut out the fried foods from your diets. Avoid the French fries, keep your fingers off the chicken fingers, and please for the love of god, step away from the donuts! There are many types of fats and although you may hear that they are bad, that is only half of the truth. In reality, certain oils are extremely bad for you and should avoided. Realistically, many of them should be ingested very rarely or in small quantities. However, if you buy the right kinds of oils for your home use, such as olive oil and coconut oil, you will see a significantly different result. I do not hesitate to eat a small spoonful of coconut oil, lick the olive oil off a plate, or even sip some olive oil out of the bottle. They are all calorie rich, but the omega-3 fatty acids in high quality oils are necessary for strong brain function.

Actionable Tip: Eat at home as much as possible. It will save money and you know everything going into the food. Dont be lazy. Of course, it is nearly impossible to avoid these at all times for the rest of your life, but it is important to know the truth about the food that you might eat. Finally, anything fried contains many harmful toxins and significantly alters the chemistry of the fat. Even with olive oil, the high heat creates molecular changes, which result in food that will surely inflame

Dairy
While drinking milk is certainly healthy after birth, humans are the only species that consumes dairy products long into adulthood and oftentimes until death. Worse, we are the only life form that consumes milk from a different species! While it is true that humans have evolved to digest cows milk, it is a poor health practice for both the mind and body.

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Most people are unaware that dairy products (along with gluten) produce the most significant allergic reactions in humans. You may not feel sick when consuming dairy, but it could still be impairing mental function and reducing cognitive abilities. People go their entire lives with brain fog without recognizing that dairy is the cause.

Actionable Tip: If you must eat dairy, try to have 1-2 tablespoons of full-fat, organic yogurt that contains no added sugar. Alternatively, you can buy full-fat, grass-fed butter can be used for cooking.

Actionable Tip: Just take a week off from dairy and see how you feel. Everyone is different so it is good to test things for yourself.

Still, there are some arguments in favor of dairy of particular types. For children it is good to provide dairy in order to increase their calcium supplementation. After this growth stage is over, you can discontinue dairy consumption. While I do not partake, some types of butter are also healthy. Those who eat dairy should aim for yogurt if possible. If you consume other types of dairy, include full fat and grass fed / organic in order to get the same healthy fats that are in the meats.

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Fitness / Exercise
Diet is incredibly important for maintaining a balance of neurotransmitters and hormones within the brain, but fitness and exercise play a crucial role as well. Taking an evolutionary approach to exercise, it is evident that most people have good intentions, but are sorely misguided. Despite common misconceptions, Paleolithic man was actually quite sedentary. In an effort to preserve calories when not on the hunt or running away from a saber-tooth tiger, most humans tried to avoid repetitive exercise and running. The human body is not physiologically designed for intense repetitive motions, such as running, biking and swimming, which can often lead to long-term pain and injuries. When it comes to your mental capabilities, excessive exercise can kill brain cells and shrink your overall brain function. Although you may feel that pushing yourself will make you better and healthier, this competitive nature is misguided. By providing such a stressful stimulus to your body, you are entering a prolonged catabolic state (meaning breaking down of your body) rather than anabolic (meaning building up as in muscle). The excessive catabolic state is what caused Paleolithic man to have an average age of around 47 years old. Most importantly for your brain, this www.thehackedmind.com

catabolic state comes with increased cortisol production. While this natural hormone is forever present in your body, it is important to recognize that it will do disastrous things to your cognitive ability when constantly elevated. A more even-keeled approach to fitness and exercise is effective to keep you healthy and fit, while improving your cognitive ability rather than impairing it. Exercise can naturally increase your levels of dopamine, which can improve your ability to focus and make you feel good. At the same time, serotonin can help you to calm down and be more relaxed. Exercise helps produce brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which are both integral for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. In short, they make your neural connections stronger and faster. Finally, when exercising you will recognize an increase in testosterone (whether male or female), which can improve brain function. Without exercise, your natural testosterone levels will drop, you will feel lethargic and less motivated. By now, I am sure you are thoroughly confused and waiting for an explanation about the optimal amount of exercise. If you can maintain a diet that is low in carbohydrates and free of refined carbs and sugar, there is a good possibility you really only need a single high intensity workout per week. Engaging in high intensity weight lifting, when done properly, will help you to build lean muscle at a natural and steady pace.

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This will provide you with the testosterone and dopamine that you need in order to improve cognitive ability without the excessive cortisol. The days that you are not doing high intensity weight lifting in order to build muscle should include plenty of standing and walking.

Actionable Tip: Do some of the following in order to fill your day with standing or walking: Try to get a standing desk if you work in an office. If you spend time on the phone, walk around rather than sitting all the time. Track walking so you do not overestimate your achievements. Avoid modern transportation if you can walk Spend time in the kitchen standing and walking around

Actionable Tip: The following digital and tangible tools can help increase your activity: Use a FitBit One tracker to count your daily steps and upload it wirelessly (I use this $99 affiliate link included) Use Dans Plan to upload information from your FitBit and track progress (I use this) Pedometer Step Counter iPhone App Free Pedometer & Step Counter Android App

When it comes to skill-based training, this is healthier territory. A variety of different motions that come from soccer, hockey, Frisbee, and many other fun games can be a healthy way to work many aspects of your body without doing so in a repetitive motion. High intensity skilled sports will also lead to excessive cortisol, but playing all of these things for fun can greatly enhance your health and mental wellbeing. After years of competitive soccer and living in a virtually continual catabolic state, I had hip surgery at the age of 22. While I lived the majority of my early life following typical conventional wisdom, evolutionary theory and scientific research has shown me the error of my ways. With more walking and less running I feel more mentally alert, focused, and less stressed due to excessive physical exertion.

A healthy goal per day is to walk a total of 10,000 steps. Studies at Arizona State University and Japan indicate an extreme risk reduction for Type II diabetes, heart disease, among other things. People in Switzerland average this many steps per day, but most Americans are stuck at around half that.

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All that being said, sometimes it is enjoyable to go out and push yourself in a run, at the pool, or doing something else that is equally as taxing for the body. The endorphins that your body provides in many situations will increase your mood. As a competitive, semi-professional athlete, I used to make the sacrifice of my health for the love of the game. If you want to make that sacrifice as well, keep in mind that you are trading your general wellbeing and potentially your cognitive health in exchange.

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Sleep
Often neglected by college students, younger people, and even many elderly, sleep is one of the most important methods of improving your cognitive ability, ensuring well-maintained neurological connections, and leading a happier and more successful lifestyle. This resting period governs production and cycle of a wide array of hormones and neurotransmitters, which as we have indicated earlier, are the building blocks of mental health and brain hacking. If you havent already guessed, the importance of sleep has an evolutionary perspective. While fire provided man with the ability to stay up longer than sunlight allowed, it was a far more scarce resource than the electricity that we have today. Given that our body has spent far more time evolving around sunlight rather than electricity, it is no wonder that our hormonal balance has been disturbed. The electricity that keeps us awake until midnight or later actually tells the brain that the days are longer and the nights are shorter. This can only mean one thing for the large part of human history summer.

Electricity has made our brains function as if it were eternally summer, which means increasing many of our sexual hormones as well as our body fat storage hormones. Historically, summertime has been the window to pack on the pounds for hibernation and mate in order to have babies in early Spring. These shorter nights mean that the body produces far less melatonin, which means an increase in estrogen, testosterone, insulin and cortisol. While testosterone can be helpful in some situations, it is frequently unbalanced. The additional cortisol will stress you out and lead to cognitive decline as. Reaction times, an indicator of brain function and alertness, are also decreased. One easy way for you to encourage more normal melatonin production is prevent excessive light and computer screen exposure the last couple of hours before you go to bed. Try to dim the lights if possible, read a book and do meditation.

Actionable Tip: If you must stay up late for social situations, just make sure you are in bed early other nights.

Actionable Tip: Buying blue-blocker or amber sunglasses (available on Amazon for $10) can block the wavelength of light that prevents melatonin production. Once you do this, your circadian rhythm will probably normalize.

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The disruption of melatonin has a number of disastrous impacts on the brain and the body. The immune system is largely controlled by prolactin and melatonin, which are both hormones with a normal regulation by the body. The light and dark cycles of the day are responsible for creating much of the immune protection that can save you from disease of the mind and the body. From an evolutionary perspective, sleeping for 8 9 hours also tells your body that you do not need to be alert to protect yourself from predators. Staying up late indicates a lack of food, which can increase cortisol and is problematic for your brain in general. Finally, ample sleep will offer you the proper release of growth hormone and testosterone that all of your cells need in order to repair themselves overnight. At the end of the day, this is probably the easiest way to hack your own brain because it is something you want to do anyway. Who couldnt use a few more hours of better sleep?

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Hydration
Ever had a really bad headache after a night drinking alcohol? Most of the post-partying trauma is related to a lack of hydration. Alcohol dehydrates your body, but most individuals are chronically dehydrated. While you may not have a continual headache, there is a good chance that you are not optimally hydrated. When this is the case, you will significantly impair your judgment. Most of your body weight is composed of water. Even those with lean muscle have about 76% water composition, which is enough to alarm any man or woman who does not drink enough. Our huntergatherer ancestors were forced to hunt and live predominantly around streams and rivers for most of their existence simply due to the need for water. While you can survive for weeks without food, you will not last more than a few days without water. While anecdotal, I have witnessed just how bad dehydration can be for the human mind. My youngest sister becomes quick tempered, irrational, and neurotic as a result of getting too little water. Without counting any of the physical effects of the lack of water, her brain is taking a significant beating. As a soccer player, I also saw how dangerous dehydration could be on the field. Many players passed out or fainted as a result of being too dehydrated. If cognitive ability and mental function is www.thehackedmind.com

your goal, dehydration at this level can be as bad as a blackout night while drinking.

Actionable Tip: Do not just rely on drinks during meals to satisfy your hydration needs. Drink an entire 8-ounce glass of water at certain intervals of the day whether you want to or not.

The amount of water that you consume not only rids the body of toxins that would otherwise cloud your mind, but it also brings nutrients to much needed locations in your body. Your brain benefits from adequate hydration because it can result in a higher circulating blood volume, which brings more nutrients and blood flow to this vital area. This is also key in providing oxygen to the brain, which is essential to prevent significant brain cell damage and even death. Having inadequate hydration will result in short-term memory loss as well. If you havent been convinced that hydration is important for your brain, Ill briefly touch upon water from a molecular perspective. The cytoplasm is the water-containing interior of every brain cell and when well-hydrated, it can receive passing hormones in a much more efficient manner. Receptors in your brain cells stop to pick up hormonal signals (such as dopamine, cortisol and testosterone), which can alter a delicate balance. Page 24

For those who are exercising vigorously, it is even more imperative to replenish your bodys store of liquids with water. Even if you believe sodas, juices, or energy drinks can relieve your thirst in these situations, it is only because of their water content. Go straight to the source and drink as much water as you possibly can. Without it, you will end up with mind mush.

Actionable Tip: Drink at least 3 liters of water per day (approximately 101 oz or 13 cups).

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Meditation
For many people, meditation might be getting a bit new-agey for practical purposes. Have no fear, I promised to take a scientific approach and that is what Ill do. Numerous studies show the positive impacts of meditation on the brain from a physiological perspective. A single study performed at UCLA used MRI scans to test both people who meditated and those who didnt. The study showed that those who have been meditating for over a year had high levels of gyrification, which is an indication of superior / faster information processing. This informs how quickly and efficiently you can solve problems. Published in early 2012, the study not only showed a distinction between those who did meditation and those who did not, but it also showed that the longer you meditated, the greater the benefits. People who do mindful meditation are known to have far better neuroplasticity than those that do not. A neuroscientist named Sara Lazar conducted a study that showed increased growth of the brain (measured in gray matter) over a three month period due to meditation alone. The frontal region of the brain, important for working memory and decision making, was most impacted. In addition, meditation was shown to decrease the rate of age-decline of the brain.

Actionable Tip: Here are some simple ways to start mindful meditation: Look outside the window and observe your breath Take a walk outside focused on all your senses Close your eyes wherever you are and observe your breath

A second study by Sara Lazar took MRI brain scans of a group who had never done meditation before. After 8 weeks of meditation (where subjects were told to meditate daily for 30-40 minutes), test subjects rescanned their brains and found that the left hippocampus (responsible for emotion regulation) had grown significantly. When looking at gray matter in depressed individuals, the gray matter of this area is typically far less than normal. The second significant finding indicated that the temporo-parietal junction (located behind the ear), which is responsible for empathy and compassion, was also enhanced. While meditation has been proven to improve your cognitive ability, it also helps to regulate hormones through relaxation. Stress, induced by physical exertion or mental anguish, will deplete nutrients and significantly alter your hormones. High levels of stress Page 26

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are often dangerous for the memory and mood part of the brain, which is why relaxation is so vital. Even though I only do meditation for 20 minutes per day, I have seen an amazing emotional change. While I cant comment on the neurological changes in my brain without an MRI, my experience has proven to me how powerful of a tool meditation can be. Events or problems that would have stressed me out before meditation no longer bother me. Overall, my demeanor towards my work and stressors in general are greatly enhanced.

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Stimulants
Even if only a small percentage of people take hard drugs like cocaine and heroin, the vast majority of the population partakes in stimulation with many similar consequences. In some cases, stimulation can be beneficial and I partake in some myself. Abusing stimulants as most people do is not only terrible for your brain, but is not sustainable in the long term. In this section, I will briefly touch upon some of the major drugs, but focus primarily on alcohol, caffeine, and even pornography.

Drinking excessively to blackout stage or even until drunk can cause significant brain damage. Alcohol kills brain cells rapidly and relentlessly, but it also has adverse affects on your nervous system. Reaction time is greatly impaired over time and speed of recall is far worse among those who regularly drink in excess. Hormonally, alcohol will disrupt the balance within your body as well. Alcohol in your system will prevent the liver from excreting excess estrogen, which will create an imbalance of testosterone in the body and brain. I have cut alcohol out completely for a number of reasons. From a health perspective, I have noticed I am far sharper, remember things far better, and most importantly, my willpower is stronger. Alcohol had a nasty effect of reducing my willpower to a much lower level while I was drunk and the day afterwards. If you cant cut out alcohol altogether, try to limit yourself to one or two drinks. Stop giving a fuck about what other people think and recognize when something isnt good for your brain or general wellbeing.

Alcohol
One of the most common stimulants is alcohol, which is used to relax, calm the nerves, and remove inhibitions. While many studies show that a single drink or red wine might be healthy for cardiovascular health, many people can take alcohol too far. Binge drinking is an incredibly popular pastime for college students and youth across the world.

Caffeine
Actionable Tip: You can get the same benefits of red wine from eating red grapes. The red pigment in the skin of the fruit is where the health advantage lies. Considered relatively harmless by most, caffeine is the go-to stimulant for productivity and focus. World sales of coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks are in the high billions and most people have no qualms guzzling gallons of these things. Still, studies indicate that long-term use of this stimulant will not only dull the

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response, but will also make you dependent and ineffectual without it. One of the reasons caffeine is so effective is because it blocks adenosine from binding to receptors in your brain, which cause you to lose motivation and get tired. The stimulation of caffeine prompts the brain to increase production of dopamine and adrenaline. While this can help you be more effective in the workplace, exercise more effectively, or make you feel great in general, but these hormonal changes are not sustainable in the long term. Your brain will need more caffeine in order to provide the same level of stimulation until it becomes impossible to maintain. Countless studies have shown that your body will work far more efficiently with caffeine, but abusing this stimulant will result in disruption of your brains hormone receptors. Small amounts of caffeine, such as the kind found in a small cup of green tea or dark chocolate, can have a great stimulating effect and they are both far less in caffeine than either coffee or espresso. The more you use caffeine as a crutch, the less effective it is going to be for you. Try to avoid using caffeine to achieve goals and instead consume small amounts when incorporated into something that you enjoy (such as dark chocolate or tea). Excessive caffeine will cause addiction, dulling of receptors to future caffeine, and will result in an imbalance of your brains neurotransmitters and hormones.

Actionable Tip: If you are dedicated to quitting caffeine, take the cold turkey approach. Your body will thank you for it after a couple weeks of pain. Slower routes to wean yourself off of caffeine can be less painful, but are often hard to gauge your success.

I have never been one to enjoy much caffeine. Coffee tastes terrible to me, tea isnt anything special without heaps of sugar, and energy drinks / soda have always been a no-go. However, I do eat 85-88% dark chocolate, which has a significant amount of caffeine (as far as chocolate is concerned) due to the high level of cocoa. An entire bar is less than a medium sized cup of coffee, so it is nothing I must really worry about. I have noticed that caffeine provides all the great effects that you may see with coffee, but the relatively small amount that I use is far more sustainable. I do not crave the caffeine and my body can function perfectly fine without it. This is, no doubt, also due to the amount of sleep that I receive as indicated earlier.

Porn
Surprise! How did porn get on a list of stimulants? Well, the truth is that pornography (and internet porn in particular) is one of the most unnatural forms of stimulation for your brain that exists. In many cases, pornography can be more powerful than hard drugs. Page 29

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This section is not about some type of strange moralizing, but is instead interested in the scientific aspects of porn use and the impact it has on the brains neurotransmitters and hormone regulation. Internet pornography is a super stimulation that our brains have not evolved to handle. Sex has become one of the most gratifying experiences for humans because it was in our advantage from an evolutionary perspective. The more our ancestors enjoyed it the more they did it and the more they passed on the gene to the next generation. With sex, dopamine is the main hormone altered by internet porn usage. Whereas our Paleolithic ancestors may have had sex with a few women throughout their lifetime, men now have access to unlimited numbers of women via internet porn. This is incredibly powerful as a stimulant and every new woman produces a small squirt of dopamine within the brain. The abundance of females through pornography creates excessive dopamine in the brain, which results in the decline of dopamine receptors. The brain has so much that dopamine receptors drop off, it takes more novelty to enjoy yourself, and suddenly your hormonal balance in the brain is completely unbalanced. In many cases, it takes months for the dopamine levels to return to normal. It will take months for your dopamine levels to return to normal after using porn. By contrast, a cocaine users levels normalize after only a few weeks. The binge mechanism will entice you to continue to spread your DNA even if it is impossible through a computer screen. www.thehackedmind.com

Actionable Tip: Quit cold turkey. You need to reset your brain completely or you are going to regret it.

Since I learned about the plague that is porn, I have quit. With a few relapses in the first two months, I now have it under control with dopamine normalized. One of the greatest side effects is the fact that women have become exceedingly attractive in the real world! Who would have thought?

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Hacking Your Brain The Process

With this book, I have taken a completely scientific and evidenced-based approach to mind hacking. Even the most skeptical of readers understand why and how to make changes. With this book, you can solve all of the things that cause irregularities with your neurotransmitters and hormones. Additionally, for those who lack an interest in the scientific aspect of it all, just take action with the quick 12-point plan! It may be a process for you to implement all of these strategies successfully, but there is nothing to stop you from doing them right this second. In fact, if you want to successfully hack your brain to have a better, more productive, and happier life, you need to take action. That is what this book is about. Now you have the information. No matter how small, go take action.

Thanks a lot for reading this book. I hope this information helped you as much as it did for me. If you want to learn more, ask questions, or comment, please feel free. My email address is mans@thehackedmind.com. Also, please join the conversation: Facebook Twitter www.thehackedmind.com Page 31