Q&A with Tim — How to Get Unstuck, Resilience in Hard Times, Tools for Brain Health, and More
Tim Ferriss answers listener questions in a live solo Q&A. He covers his Alzheimer's prevention routine, getting unstuck, staying hopeful amid dark news, psychedelics and posture, and argues interview podcasts are dying.
The gist
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For Alzheimer's prevention, Ferriss uses 20-minute saunas at 170 to 180 degrees, Norwegian 4x4 intervals, urolithin A, 5 mg lithium orotate, and xylitol products.
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To get unstuck, Ferriss suggests writing out the cost of inaction at one, three, and ten years, alongside tools like IFS and CBT.
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For hard times, he removed social media apps from his phone five years ago, schedules upside and downside time, and reads Studs Terkel's Hard Times.
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Ferriss says wearable data like his Oura Ring only matters if it leads to behavior change, and he recommends an oral glucose tolerance test.
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For tech neck, he credits 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation twice a day, plus weekly massage, a Theragun, and a raised Roost laptop stand.
Tim Ferriss uses it
"Interval training. Dr. Tommy Wood and I talked about this at length. It remains, I think, one of the most interesting interventions that I've come across, certainly at least as supported for maintaining hippocampal volume in the brain. Doing this Norwegian 4x4 training, which ..."
▶ Play at 2:30
Tim Ferriss uses it
"Urolithin A is a supplement I've decided to take, also for predominantly mitochondrial health. We don't have time to dig into that, but I do find the research there pretty compelling."
▶ Play at 3:444 creators recommend it, including Mamina Turegano, Mark Hyman, MD, and Stephanie Estima.
See all on the Urolithin A page
Tim Ferriss uses it
"However, 5 milligrams of lithium orotate. I do take 5 milligrams of lithium orotate. That is also OTC. You can get it easily. And listen to my podcast with Tommy Wood."
▶ Play at 4:152 creators recommend it, including Peter Attia.
See all on the Lithium page
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"I have become a huge fan of, so in the case of dental health for instance, using gum or mouthwash that includes xylitol."
▶ Play at 4:42
Tim Ferriss uses it
"Some of what I'm doing: sauna a few times a week, 20 minutes, somewhere between 170 and 180 degrees. Hotter is not better. You don't want to overcook your head."
▶ Play at 2:0923 creators recommend it, including Joe Rogan, Mark Hyman, MD, and Rhonda Patrick.
See all on the Sauna page
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"But outside of that, IFS, internal family systems, created by Dick Schwartz, I think is very useful. No drugs required, although it is often implemented in some form in the preparation and integration for, say, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy."
▶ Play at 6:373 creators recommend it, including Gabby Bernstein and Meg Josephson.
See all on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) page
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"CBT, very helpful. It might not be sexy, but it's in large part originating out of Stoic philosophy. If you have not looked into the genesis story, it's actually a good read."
▶ Play at 6:48
Tim Ferriss uses it
"I'm reading a book right now called Hard Times by Studs Terkel. Studs Terkel is amazing. This is an old book, Hard Times, an oral history of the Great Depression. It's deeply humanizing. This book just personalizes the whole thing. That's upside time for me because it highligh..."
▶ Play at 21:44
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"I've not had any social media apps on my phone for probably 5 years now. I think that is a very simple step that you can experiment with, doing a social media cleanse/fast for one or two months. Trust me, it's like doing 20 years of therapy."
▶ Play at 17:57
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"Deciding in your calendar where you're going to have upside time and downside time. You spend an hour or two looking for optimistic cases, asking questions about possibility and opportunities. This is upside time. So the approach that counterbalances that inclination is having..."
▶ Play at 18:47
Tim Ferriss uses it
"It is easy to amass an ocean of ones and zeros related to yourself with your Oura ring, which I use, or your Whoop band or whatever it might be."
▶ Play at 38:4213 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD, David Sinclair, and Andy Galpin..
See all on the Oura Ring page
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"Ultimately, I do think most people, if they can afford it, should get an oral glucose tolerance test, where you're kind of taking blood and measuring things every 30 minutes for 2 hours. Talk to your doctor."
▶ Play at 41:192 creators recommend it, including Peter Attia.
See all on the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test page
Tim Ferriss recommends it
"One is meditate twice a day. After meditating, doing TM in this case, 20 minutes twice a day, sitting in a straight stacked position, not hyperextended, not slouching... after a few months of doing that, I started getting compliments on my posture out of nowhere... Honestly, m..."
▶ Play at 1:02:485 creators recommend it, including Anish Acharya, Ray Dalio, and Rick Rubin.
See all on the Transcendental Meditation page
Tim Ferriss uses it
"You can also use self-massage tools. I've got Theraguns and so on all over the house. Theragun, you name it."
▶ Play at 1:03:592 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD.
See all on the Theragun page
Tim Ferriss uses it
"This laptop right now is elevated. Why is it elevated? Because I want to be looking straight. I don't want to be craning my neck... This is a laptop stand. It says Roost. This is my favorite laptop stand. It's very easy to throw in a backpack or a tote bag or whatever. It's in..."
▶ Play at 1:04:31What they recommend · 30 picks
Health & fitness
17 picks · Tim Ferriss ·Tim's health & fitness →
"Interval training. Dr. Tommy Wood and I talked about this at length. It remains, I think, one of the most interesting interventions that I've come across, certainly at least as ..."
"You might find a great method like Total Immersion swimming, created by a guy named Terry Laughlin, who became a friend... simply dunking your head... then you might start with ..."
"This was recommended by Tommy Wood. It's called Bite Mouthwash Bits. 124 bits. This will last you forever... These are great for travel, but I use them at home as well. You basi..."
Tim, Joe, Andrew and Mark agree on 45 things
See what they all use, in their own words. Paid ads are left out.
See what they all swear by Or pick your own peopleBooks
5 picks · Tim Ferriss ·Tim's books →
"I'm reading a book right now called Hard Times by Studs Terkel. Studs Terkel is amazing. This is an old book, Hard Times, an oral history of the Great Depression. It's deeply hu..."
"The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, also very much related to this topic... many tech startups have all of their managers and employees read these books... it applies to..."
Supplements
3 picks · Tim Ferriss ·Tim's supplements →
"Urolithin A is a supplement I've decided to take, also for predominantly mitochondrial health. We don't have time to dig into that, but I do find the research there pretty compe..."
"I have become a huge fan of, so in the case of dental health for instance, using gum or mouthwash that includes xylitol."
Productivity
2 picks · Tim Ferriss ·Tim's productivity →
"I've not had any social media apps on my phone for probably 5 years now. I think that is a very simple step that you can experiment with, doing a social media cleanse/fast for o..."
"Deciding in your calendar where you're going to have upside time and downside time. You spend an hour or two looking for optimistic cases, asking questions about possibility and..."
Gear & hardware
2 picks · Tim Ferriss ·Tim's gear & hardware →
"This laptop right now is elevated. Why is it elevated? Because I want to be looking straight. I don't want to be craning my neck... This is a laptop stand. It says Roost. This i..."
Other picks
1 pick · Tim Ferriss
"I'm also watching MobLand and stuff. I mean, let's not kid ourselves. I do like the visual storytelling. I think a new episode's coming out today, so I am excited."
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