Optimization of brain and life performance: Striving for playing at the top for the long run

TL;DR

This paper presents seven simple, evidence-based principles for optimizing brain and life performance, emphasizing sustainable habits like sleep, nutrition, exercise, and positive psychology for long-term well-being.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated set of practical, scientifically supported guidelines for enhancing personal performance and well-being over the long term.

Findings

Positive impacts observed in students' lives

Guidelines based on evolutionary thinking and scientific evidence

Practical and easy-to-implement lifestyle recipes

Abstract

In this essay written with my students and collaborators in mind, I share simple recipes that are easy and often fun to put in practice and that make a big difference in one's life. The seven guiding principles are: (1) sleep, (2) love and sex, (3) deep breathing and daily exercises, (4) water and chewing, (5) fruits, unrefined products, food combination, vitamin D and no meat, (6) power foods, (7) play, intrinsic motivation, positive psychology and will. These simple laws are based on an integration of evolutionary thinking, personal experimentation, and evidence from experiments reported in the scientific literature. I develop their rationality, expected consequences and describe briefly how to put them in practice. I hope that professionals and the broader public may also find some use for it, as I have seen already the positive impacts on some of my students.