May 12, 2019

Ben Greenfield and Kyle Kingsbury on Smart Drugs, Nootropics, Microdosing With Psychedelics, Enhancing Deep Sleep & Much More – Ben Greenfield Fitness

Check out the Ben Greenfield Fitness Episode Page & Show Notes

Key Takeaways & Cool Products Mentioned

• Prior to bed, Ben will take ~100 mg of CBD oil with a microdose of melatonin
  • Here’s a great brand of CBD we recommend at Podcast Notes – use the code “PODCASTVIBES” for 15% off at checkout
  • Ben is a fan of Doc Parsley’s Sleep Remedy (which has the microdose of melatonin) – use the code “podcastnotes” for 10% off at checkout
• Ben sleeps on a Chilipad set to 55 degrees. (Use code PodcastNotes25 for 25% off a ChiliPad or PodcastNotes15 for 15% off an Ooler)
• When he travels, Ben uses a Mindfold Blackout Mask (he says it’s better than a Sleep Mask)
  • At Podcast Notes we like the Manta sleep mask. You can even get cooling rings for your eyes. USE PODCASTNOTES15 for 15% Off
• If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, try taking passionflower extract or valerian (they all increase the release of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called GABA)
  • Ben uses a passionflower tincture
  • You could also take New Mood, an Onnit supplement (which has GABA precursors like valerian and 5-HTP)
  • Chamomile also works as well (you could have a cup of chamomile tea)
• If Ben needs a stimulant later in the day, he’ll use nicotine (“you can use nicotine up to an hour before bedtime and still be fine”)
  • Either nicotine gum or bluebrainboost nicotine droplets
• Ben’s cognitive enhancement cocktail, which he takes 1-2 times a week, he mixes:
  • 2 packets of Four Sigmatic Lion’s Mane
  • 0.2-0.5 grams of psilocybin-containing magic mushrooms
  • Anything that increases blood flow (like beet-root extract or Onnit Shroom TECH)
• Biohacking stack:
  • Huperzine mixed with acetylcholine
• Ben and his family have been using Restore to help prevent/heal leaky gut

Intro

• Kyle Kingsbury is the host of the Human Optimization Podcast
• Ben Greenfield is a health and fitness blogger

Ben’s Sleep Routine (at home)

• He’ll take ~100 mg of CBD oil with a microdose of melatonin before bed
  • Here’s a great brand of CBD we recommend at Podcast Notes – use the code “PODCASTVIBES” for 15% off at checkout
  • Ben is a fan of Doc Parsley’s Sleep Remedy (which has the microdose of melatonin) – use the code “podcastnotes” for 10% off at checkout
  • (Most of the research surrounding CBD and it enhancing deep sleep push closer to a dose of 300 mg – a normal serving is ~10 mg)
• Prior to bed, he sets his iPhone to a total red screen (removing all the blue light)
  • Here’s how to do it – you can even add a shortcut
• He sleeps on a Chilipad set to 55 degrees (Use code PodcastNotes25 for 25% off a ChiliPad or PodcastNotes15 for 15% off an Ooler) (set to 55 degrees)
  • It’s a mattress pad that goes underneath your sheets which circulates water at your desired temperature
  • If your body is cooler while you sleep (by using a Chilipad or just setting your thermostat quite low), you tend to get more deep sleep
• Underneath the Chilipad is a PEMF mat
• His room is set to 64 degrees
• Ben uses an Intellibed mattress
• He uses a weighted blanket which helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system (this stimulates relaxation) 15% off with PODCASTNOTES15
• Ben uses an Intellibed mattress
• He always has an app playing some sort of sound
  • Either Sleep Stream
    • It plays a variety of noise at different frequencies
    • Ben uses the “pink noise” feature which has been shown to enhance deep sleep
  • Or the Pzizz Sleep App

Ben’s Sleep Routine (on the road)

• He takes a cold shower before bed
• To mimic the weighted blanket he uses at home, Ben sleeps with multiple pillows on his body (15% off wit PODCASTNOTES15)
• Ben uses a Mindfold Blackout Mask (he says it’s better than a Sleep Mask)
  • At Podcast Notes we like the Manta sleep mask. You can even get cooling rings for your eyes. USE PODCASTNOTES15 for 15% Off
• He’ll often wear SleepPhones (a noise-cancelling headband designed for people who prefer to sleep in their side)

“A good night of sleep begins when you wake up”

• Your main cues for your circadian rhythm are light, movement, and food
  • Use this as a jet lag hack
    • If you’re trying to adjust yourself to a new time zone, wait to eat breakfast until it’s actually breakfast time in the new time zone
    • Or, for example, if you’re just waking up for your first day on the west coast having come from the east coast, and it’s super early because you’re still on east coast time –  minimize your light exposure in the early hours of the day
      • You might even consider wearing blue light blocking glasses (use the code “PodcastNotes10” for 10% off at checkout) before 7 AM
      • Keep your phone in the red light mode mentioned above
      • Keep using fl.ux on your computer

A Sleep Tip

• If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, try taking passionflower extract or valerian (they all increase the release of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called GABA)
  • Ben uses a passionflower tincture
  • You could also take New Mood, an Onnit supplement which has GABA precursors like valerian and 5-HTP
  • Chamomile also works as well (you could have a cup of chamomile tea)

More Biohacking

• Ben has a Joovv photobiomodulation panel near his standing desk which he’ll frequently turn on for 20 minutes at a time
  • If you expose yourself for too long, excess free radicals start to develop
• Ben will often use a VieLight (it’s intranasal light useful for amplifying mitochondrial production in neural tissue)
• Ben’s a fan of the NanoVi

Supplements

• Ben is very careful with caffeine
  • He’s a fast caffeine oxidizer (tested with 23andMe) – his last cup of coffee is never past 4 PM
  • If you’re a slow caffeine oxidizer, you really shouldn’t have coffee past 12 PM
• If Ben needs a stimulant later in the day, he’ll use nicotine (“you can use nicotine up to an hour before bedtime and still be fine”)
  • Either nicotine gum or bluebrainboost nicotine droplets
• “A wonderful stack for early in the day is methylene blue, microdosed with CBD and nicotine”
  • There are some companies that sell a mix of the 3

Ketamine

• You can now get ketamine nasal spray from some doctors
  • Something interesting…
    • Ben likes to take a few sprays in each nostril at night and lay down (he does it 1-2x a week)
      • He finds that by thinking of his childhood, he’s able to almost relive whatever experience he’s imagining much more vividly
      • This activity has brought him much closer to his sons, as he’s better able to understand their emotions
• Ben’s also done ketamine infusions before (overseen by an anesthesiologist)
  • There are legal ketamine clinics all over the country
  • These are typically done to release and help deal with childhood traumas

Microdosing For Cognitive Enhancement

• Ben’s cognitive enhancement cocktail, which he takes 1-2 times a week, he mixes:
  • 2 packets of Four Sigmatic Lion’s Mane
  • 0.2-0.5 grams of psilocybin-containing magic mushrooms
  • Anything that increases blood flow (like beet-root extract or Onnit Shroom TECH)
  • (He’ll often take the above as a “nature pick me up” while hunting/hiking, as it enhances your sensory perception)
• “I went through periods where I did a lot of Ayahuasca, DMT, and LSD and journeyed and found myself and dissolved my ego…I’m over all that, I don’t like to lose control over my cognitive function”
• 1P-LSD
  • You can buy 1P-LSD from Lysergi
  • Ben will sometimes order blotter tabs of it, and will dissolve it with alcohol in a dropper bottle so he can microdose precisely at 10-20 ug on days he’s doing a lot of writing (usually only 1x per week)
    • You can read more about how to dissolve it here
  • Is there a difference from true LSD? – It’s essentially the same thing
    • “I don’t notice that much of a difference”
    • The time to symptom and peak onset can sometimes differ

Other Useful Biohacking Stacks

• Ben has found that Racetam, Anitracetam, or Oxiracetam combined with methylene blue is a great cognitive pick me up
  • Kyle has noticed aniracetam is good for mitigating anxiety while oxiracetam can be anxiety provoking
    • “I used to stack methylene blue with oxiracetam and Alpha GPC…that’s a hell of a stack”
  • A good point – it’s good to stack the above with an acetylcholine precursor (or just eat something likes eggs beforehand – which are filled with choline) to prevent a crash and reduce the likelihood of long-term choline depletion
• The old school caffeine/nicotine
• Huperzine mixed with acetylcholine is good if you tend to be more sympathetically driven or have a low HRV/vagus nerve issues
  • If you’re highly sympathetically driven (always in fight/flight mode) your acetylcholine levels tend to be depleted
  • Alpha Brain has Huperzine in it

Ben’s Thoughts on Using Restore For Healing Leaky Gut

• It helps seal the leaky gut through an interaction with the zonulin protein
  • It was designed by Dr. Zach Bush to mitigate the issues associated with leaky gut brought on by glyphosate exposure (which essentially pokes little holes in the gut lining)
    • How does this happen? – Check out these Podcast Notes
• Ben and his family have used it
  • They’ll very often take a shot of it before breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Genetics

• Ben’s two kids have the gene responsible for slightly lower amounts of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production
  • Because of this, he has them supplement with lion’s mane extract before school
• They (like Ben), also lack the gene which allows for sufficient production of endogenous vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure
  • So they all regularly supplement with vitamin d mixed with vitamin k
• Ben’s kids don’t possess the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which allows for the increased expression of glutathione
  • For this reason, they supplement with glutathione

These notes were edited by RoRoPa Editing Services