■How to get out of bed
The problem: Bed feels really nice and, if you don’t have an imminent reason to get up, it’s easy to sleep in.
The solution: Set two alarms in the morning: one for the time you want to get up, and one an hour earlier. When you wake up, you suffer from sleep inertia. Luckily there’s a pill for that. Leave an iced coffee, energy drink, or caffeine pill next to your bed. When your first alarm goes off, consume the drink or pill, and go back to sleep. When the second alarm goes off, you’ll find it easy to get out of bed.
Why it works: When you wake up, you suffer from sleep inertia, caused by the build up of adenosine in the brain. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, making you more alert.
Warning: You might find that the caffeine takes more or less than an hour to kick in, in which case you should alter the timing of your first alarm.
■How to eat more healthy foods
The problem: Vegetables, while good for you, don’t taste as good as other, less healthy foods. It’s Kid’s Meals 101.
The solution: Buy powdered monosodium glutamate (“MSG”; available from most Asian supermarkets), and sprinkle it onto vegetables after you cook them. It’ll make them taste delicious.
Why it works: Glutamate is the molecule that gives foods the “umami” taste―a meaty, full flavor. It’s in part what makes parmesan cheese, soy sauce, and tomatoes taste delicious, and it’ll make vegetables taste much better.
Sprinkle MSG onto vegetables after you cook them. It’ll make them taste delicious. It’s also completely safe. Sadly, there’s a prevalent myth that it causes headaches or stomach problems. This idea came from an anecdote mentioned in a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine in 1968; however, multiple studies have shown that there is no such effect. The only potential downside of MSG is that it’s a source of sodium, too much of which may be linked to high blood pressure. However, MSG only contains one third of the sodium content of table salt; insofar as you could use MSG as a substitute for table salt, it may even be better for you in terms of sodium consumption.
■How to get smarter
The problem: Your brain doesn’t work as fast as you’d like it to.
The solution: Take 5mg (one teaspoon) of creatine monohydrate―the stuff bodybuilders take to build muscle mass, available at almost every supplements store―every morning.
Why it works: Creatine helps you to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which your body uses to transport energy between cells. Your brain is a heavy energy user, accounting for 20% of resting metabolism; increasing your levels of creatine potentially enables your brain to harness the energy it needs when faced with intellectually demanding tasks.
Some studies have demonstrated that people who take small amounts of creatine show significant improvement (pdf) on IQ and other cognitive tests, with the most promising effects occurring for vegetarians, who, unlike meat-eaters, don’t get creatine naturally in their diet. But, as the researchers suggest: “We would… expect to see a beneficial effect of creatine supplementation on brain performance in most omnivores apart from those who consume very high amounts of meat.”
Warning: The number of studies on this is still small, but the potential benefits are very great―IQ is a better predictor of educational, economic and social outcomes than any other known psychological variable―so it’s worth trying. There’s also some evidence that creatine has positive effects on mood for those taking antidepressants.
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