As an Irish person, it is almost a cultural more to consume a lot of alcohol in my country. When young Irish people drink on the weekend, we generally don’t do it with the sole aim of enjoying our drinks. Without wanting to speak for the few who are able to moderate, young Irish people tend to drink booze to get shitfaced. The enjoyment of what we’re drinking is a happy byproduct of that aim. Older people may or may not be just as bad at moderating their alcohol consumption.

Drinking booze heavily isn’t a problem limited to the people of Ireland. But in a country famed for its nightlife and the “craic” we have, it’s fair to say we are perhaps more known for heavy drinking than most other countries. The stereotype of an Irishman is a guy with a funny accent and a pint of Guinness in his hand at all times.

Personally, I’ve teetered on the edge of excess alcohol consumption for much of my 20s. I don’t drink every day but when I imbibe, I indulge heavily. I don’t stop at 2 or 3 beers; it’s more like 6 or 7…go hard or go home and all that jazz. In my early to mid-20s, it was often 9 or 10 drinks.

A big problem of drinking heavily is that drinking in excess leads to really bad hangover anxiety for some people the next day. I’m particularly prone to bouts of “hangxiety” that leave me unproductive and wanting to indulge in escapist behaviors like mindlessly surfing the Internet.

What is Hangxiety and Why Does Alcohol Cause It?

According to an article in The Guardian, hangover anxiety occurs because alcohol messes with the delicate balance of neurotransmitters in the brain. The relaxed feeling when we drink comes from alcohol’s dual impact of increased GABA and decreased glutamine. The more we drink, the more profound the impact on brain chemistry.

Wanting to get us back to homeostasis, the body tries to overcompensate for these altered levels of chemical messengers in the brain. GABA reduces and we get a spike in glutamate. The result is a quite debilitating physical and psychological anxiety that can last an entire day.

Most people, myself included, are fully aware that alcohol is ultimately a poison and isn’t very good for the human body in large amounts. I still continued to indulge throughout my 20s in full knowledge of this fact, and I think part of that was because of a subconscious feeling of invincibility that many twentysomethings feel. We think we can do all sorts of damage to our young bodies and we will withstand it.

There is also the perspective that living is ultimately bad for the human body because we all die regardless of whether a drop of wine ever crosses our lips. This leads to the somewhat hedonistic viewpoint that we might as well enjoy ourselves while we are alive.

Questioning the Value of Drinking Alcohol

It is only when a behavior begins to cause more problems than it’s worth that people start to question it. For much of my 20s, I considered the trade-off of losing an entire day worth it so I could have fun for a few hours the night before. When I truly considered how much of my life I was losing to hangover anxiety, I started to rethink why I drink. Borrowing happiness from the next day is not really a behavior that provides value to my life.

I also had a flash of insight one day while hungover. I told myself I had enjoyed my night out, but then when I tried to think back to the night before and what conversations I had, much of it was either mundane stuff or just a blank space of not being able to remember. The actual fun part was before the drinking when I played pool with a friend.

This is not to say that drinking alcohol is not fun; it most certainly is. It quells my overactive mind, it reduces inhibitions, it makes me feel way more talkative, and I become much more present. Oh, and Guinness tastes great! But if the net effect of those benefits is to make me miss out on 52 days (and the rest) each year, I started to wonder if it was worth it.

Living in congruence with your values is a pillar of building a content or happy life. If you say you value your health and then you go out and get shitfaced once or twice each week, a gap emerges between your values and your behavior that ultimately makes you feel unhappy.

Philosophers on Alcohol

When searching for wisdom and advice on a topic, I often find it is helpful to consider the perspectives and opinions of philosophers, whether past or present. I find philosophical insight useful because, well, philosophers are/were smarter people than me.

The first philosopher that springs to mind is Nietzche, who was very anti-booze. In a famous quote about the complacency and escapism alcohol encourages, Nietzche said,

But this [German] people has deliberately made itself stupid, for nearly a millennium: nowhere have the two great European narcotics, alcohol and Christianity, been abused more dissolutely.

It’s clear that to Nietzche, alcohol dulls us into a passive state of mind in which we are avoiding confronting life’s struggles. For Nietzche, confronting life’s struggles is the path to pursuing greatness; it’s where great works of art and great ideas come from.

The Roman Stoic Seneca had a different view on alcohol that is more in line with modern government recommendations on alcohol intake.

In his book, On The Shortness of Life, Seneca says, “There is a healthy moderation in wine…occasionally we should even come to the point of intoxication for it does wash away cares. But we must not do this often in case the mind acquires a bad habit.”

So, Seneca’s overall view is that we should have a few drinks now and then to turn off the relentless stream of thoughts and give the mind time to relax. He also thinks getting drunk occasionally isn’t too harmful but that we shouldn’t get drunk often. This is a slightly more relaxed view than most government recommendations on alcohol consumption, which advise moderation and refraining from binge drinking.

Let’s now consider the Buddha’s thoughts on alcohol. Gautama Buddha was a philosopher of the mind so I feel his opinions are worth considering. On his noble Eightfold Path to the cessation of suffering, the Buddha advises not trading in intoxicants in the fifth precept. But this is not an instruction to avoid alcohol.

Actually, different schools of Buddhism interpret this precept in different ways, probably reflecting that similar to the game of Chinese whispers, messages get distorted as they are heard and interpreted by different people with different schools of thought. Theravada, Tibetan, and Mahayana Buddhists all have different ideas on the fifth precept and what it means.

Coming back to the overall idea in Buddhism of The Middle Way, it’s probably fair to say that drinking alcohol to the point of intoxication isn’t advocated, but neither is complete abstention. The entire ethos of The Middle Way is to find that middle ground between the extremes of overindulgence in pleasurable things and completely denying yourself of any pleasure. In other words, everything in moderation.

Scientific Consensus on Booze

In a landmark epidemiological study published in The Lancet in 2018, researchers rather disappointingly found that there is no level of alcohol consumption that improves health.

A 2015 study on mental health and alcohol use in Finland found that frequent binge drinking leads to poor mental health and psychological distress. “Frequent” in this study was defined as binge drinking more regularly than once per month.

So, Should You Go Teetotal? 

Ultimately, choosing whether to drink is a personal decision that involves weighing up what alcohol adds to your life versus what it takes away from it. I certainly am not against people having vices in life. Because I find it challenging to moderate my intake, I think my body needs a break so I can properly evaluate what I am missing out on.

I think if there is too much of a difference between the way someone feels while drinking compared to how they feel when sober, this is a warning sign that alcohol is being used as a coping mechanism for conditions that would be better treated with therapy or prescribed medication. And for obvious reasons that should go without saying, alcoholics need to get appropriate help and abstain for life.

I think if you can moderate your intake there is nothing too wrong with a glass of wine with dinner or a pint of beer while watching a football match. Getting tipsy, by which I mean that really enjoyable relaxed and buzzed feeling that happens after 2-4 drinks, is probably fine once in a while too. But drinking to get wasted and doing so every week? Probably not a good idea.

Try a 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge

I would advocate giving up alcohol for a decent stretch of time and carefully noting how your life changes. 30 days should be sufficient. Get a notepad or a journal and at the end of each day, jot down some observations about how your life is different. Ask yourself some of the following questions.

Do you waste less time? Do you become more productive? Do you feel more mental clarity? Does your physical health feel better? Is your social life more varied than just going out for pints? Do you feel more or less anxious?

If nothing much changes, you can always go back to booze. If you find 30 days without alcohol to be an enormously difficult task, that might be indicative of excess consumption.

Either way, as with fire, always remember that alcohol is a good servant but a bad master. Sláinte!

The post Should You Drink Alcohol? Here’s What Philosophers and Science Say appeared first on Cerebrotonic.

Originally launched on Christmas Eve 2009, the Joe Rogan Experience is one of the world’s most successful podcasts. Rogan himself wears many hats; aside from running his JRE podcast, he is also a UFC commentator, a standup comedian, and a martial arts fanatic.

His work ethic is tremendous. This is a man who embraces putting himself under mental and physical stress. As Rogan himself once said, “One of the most fascinating lessons I’ve absorbed about life is that the struggle is good.”

Joe gets a lot of unnecessary flak from certain quarters. He is often accused of being a gateway to the alt-right even though he has several times said he leans to the left on the political spectrum. He has also offered opinions that back that up. I think he also doesn’t get enough credit for being able to hold intelligent discussions with some of the smartest people on the planet.

Even though it is marketed as a primarily comedic podcast, in my opinion, by far the best guests have been non-comedians. Rogan often recruits people at the top of their game in fields other than comedy, some of whom have veered between being really fascinating to downright educational. Rogan really shines as an interviewer because he asks intelligent questions and lets the other person do most of the talking.

I’ve decided to write here about five JRE episodes I found to be incredibly informative. I’ll also provide some key takeaways from each episode for those of you who don’t have the time to go and listen to them.

1. The Science of Aging with David Sinclair – Episode #1234

David Sinclair is an Australian biologist who works at the forefront of anti-aging science. It was insightful to hear Sinclair describe how he approaches aging as a disease to be treated rather than an inextricable part of life.

In this JRE episode, Sinclair presents some of his main research and discoveries on how aging can potentially be slowed down. Here are some key takeaways you might find useful:

• Intermittent fasting, where you stop eating for 14 to 20 hours each day, helps slow down the aging process and improve longevity.
• Resveratrol shows great promise in fighting aging. This plant phenol is perhaps best known as a component of red wine, however, Sinclair recommends supplementing with resveratrol at 500mg per day. Here is a link to a high-quality resveratrol supplement on Amazon.
• Another supplement David Sinclair recommends as being helpful for slowing down the aging process is Nicotinamide Riboside (NR). He takes 500 mg each morning. Here is an NR supplement you can get by an excellent company named Tru Niagen.
• Exercise and putting the body under temperature stress can help to fight aging. Stress doesn’t mean doing something silly like climbing a dangerous mountain in freezing temperatures. Sinclair recommends going to the sauna once or twice per week in addition to exercising daily. You could also try cryotherapy if it’s affordable/available to you.

2. Nutritional  Science with Dr. Rhonda Patrick – #1178

Rhonda Patrick has appeared several times on JRE at this stage and each time she has been really interesting to listen to. The latest appearance came in episode 1178, during which the nutritional health expert revealed the details of hordes of interesting studies and the latest research in the field of nutritional science.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Rhonda Patrick on JRE episode 1178:

• The gut microbiome plays a hugely important role in human health and disease. Fasting has positive benefits for the gut microbiome. Most likely, a prolonged 48-hour fast three to four times per year will be of best help but intermittent fasting also brings positive changes.
• Sulforaphane, a compound found in high concentrations in broccoli sprouts, has incredibly potent benefits for many aspects of health. Dr.Patrick revealed research showing sulforaphane lowered biomarkers for prostate cancer, it promotes excretion of harmful contaminants from air pollution, and it decreases oxidative DNA damage.
• Fish oil can lower cardiovascular disease risk by up to 30 percent.
• Using the sauna before working out reduces muscle soreness. Furthermore, saunas can provide anti-inflammatory benefits to the body.

3. Mushrooms and Mycology with Paul Stamets – #1035

I challenge anyone to listen to this podcast and not feel like you could listen to Paul Stamets speak about fungi for eternity. This is a man who has spent his life studying the mysterious and frequently mind-blowing world of fungi.

Here are some of the main interesting things learned from listening to Paul Stamets on JRE:

• Lion’s mane mushrooms promote neurogenesis, which means they help produce neural stem cells and reduce cognitive decline.
• Humans are remarkably similar to fungi, in fact, we descended from them and we share more traits in common with them than any other kingdom.
• The largest living organism in the world is a type of honey mushroom which is an incredible 2,200 acres in size.
• Enoki mushrooms have potentially potent anti-cancer effects. One epidemiological study conducted in Japan uncovered a marked decline in cancer rates among people who consumed enoki mushrooms regularly.

4. Physics and Cosmology with Brian Cox – #1233

Brian Cox is a physicist hailing from Oldham, England. Not only is he incredibly intelligent, but Cox is fascinating to listen to and he seems like a genuinely nice person to speak with. Cox drew inspiration for learning about physics from Carl Sagan’s critically-acclaimed television series and book, Cosmos.

Here are some of the more interesting cosmological takeaways that Brian Cox gave us as food for thought in JRE number 1233:

• There are an estimated 20 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone. The Milky Way is one of an estimated one hundred billion galaxies in the universe! So, where the hell is everybody and why haven’t they contacted us? At this point, I’ll take the opportunity to link you to one of the best articles on the Internet – The Fermi Paradox.
• The universe is composed of 5 times as much of a mysterious type of matter known as dark matter as there is normal matter. Dark matter interacts extremely weakly with normal matter, which is why we can’t notice it.
• The universe is made up of 70 percent dark energy, which is responsible for the universe expanding at an accelerating rate, completely contrary to what scientists thought. The presence of this dark energy aligns with Einstein’s original equations which featured a so-called cosmological constant.

5. Psychedelic research with Michael Pollan – #1121

Michael Pollan is an award-winning journalist and author who appeared on JRE back in 2018 to coincide with the release of his new book, How to Change Your Mind, which explores some of the profound positive impacts that psychedelics can have on a variety of mental illnesses. The book itself is an amazing read, and the podcast discussion is based on much of the book’s material. However, Pollan is as interesting to listen to as he is to read.

Here are some of the most interesting tidbits from Pollan’s appearance on JRE:

• It’s highly likely, according to Pollan, that psychedelic use influenced the development of religious ideas. He makes reference to the example of the Greeks who had profound psychedelic experiences after drinking wine, which was most likely fortified with an as yet unknown psychedelic substance.
• Ingesting psilocybin while terminally ill has profound impacts on patients’ fears about death. In fact, the vast majority of people in a particular study showed marked alleviation of death anxiety after their psilocybin experience.
• When researchers imaged the brains of people during psychedelic trips using fMRI technology, they found a huge reduction of activity in a region known as the default mode network. This region can be regarded as the “location” of our egos. The fact that activity is reduced here upon ingestion of psychedelics coincides with what many trip reports describe as the disappearance of boundaries between self and other.

Closing Thoughts

I’m going to wrap up this post now on my favourite and most informative Joe Rogan Experience podcast episodes. I hope you’ve learned something interesting in this article but I’d really recommend listening to the above podcasts in full if you have the time.

Even if you have no interest in the normal eclectic mix of standup comedians or fighters that Rogan invites onto his podcast, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out for scientists, authors, journalists and intellectuals who frequently appear on the show.

The post 5 Most Informative Joe Rogan Experience Episodes appeared first on Cerebrotonic.

“People ask me, ‘What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?’ and my answer must at once be, ‘It is of no use.’ There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever.” – George Mallory

Mount Everest, the highest point on the planet, was in the news again for all the wrong reasons recently after an Irish university professor’s assistant named Shay Lawless was killed while descending from its 29,029-foot summit.

In some even more disturbing news, another Irishman – Kevin Hynes – died on the mountain just a few days after I wrote this post. The cause was severe overcrowding near the summit of Everest.

Being from Ireland myself, this story caught my interest to the point that I went and bought two books about Everest expeditions and watched a ton of Everest documentaries.

The uncomfortable background to this tragic death is that Shay’s wife was pregnant when he summited the mountain that local Nepalese people call “Goddess of The Sky”.

But Shay is not an enigma in this regard; each year, hundreds of people with loving husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, siblings, and children attempt to scale dangerous mountains like Everest and K2. Quite often, these ambitious thrill-seekers have minimal climbing experience.

There seems to be an innate drive in certain people to climb the most treacherous mountains that causes them to recklessly discard reason or logic.  

So, where does the desire to climb to almost the altitude of a cruising commercial jet come from?  

This question gives much food for thought to a naturally quite cautious person like myself. Trying to answer it reveals much about the human condition and the way to live life.

People Climb Dangerous Mountains Because They Can

The opening quote to this article was written by George Mallory, a famous English mountaineer who almost summited Everest back in 1924. Mallory’s corpse was discovered on the mountain almost 75 years later. The quote seems to give no good reason for any person to put their worldly duties on hold and risk their lives to climb a mountain.

However, Mallory did elaborate further on what draws mountaineers, both inexperienced and masters, to places like Mount Everest. When asked during a 1923 New York Times interview why he wanted to climb Everest, Mallory quipped, “Because it’s there”.

I believe that deep down, many climbers would agree with Mallory’s attitude to extreme mountaineering and to life in general. There is no good reason to do it except for the mere enjoyment of the activity. This is quite a Zen-like outlook that we could all apply to our hobbies.

Many people who go to the gym, for example, do so in pursuit of validation or a better body. However, the people who stick with it are those who actually enjoy the pain and challenges of exercise; those other nice things are byproducts of the activity. 

Conquering Internal Challenges

Not everyone has the same outlook and inspiration, of course. In his excellent and thrilling book about the 1996 Everest disaster, Into Thin Air, journalist Jon Krakauer provides valuable insight into the motivations of a person who wants desperately to get the best of one of Earth’s eight-thousanders.

“I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium, and suffering, it struck me that most of us were probably seeking, above else, something like a state of grace.”

Above 8,000 metres, climbers enter into the aptly named Death Zone. At this altitude, there isn’t enough oxygen in the air to support human life. The conditions on the Death Zone are so extreme that if you or I were transported from sea level directly to this altitude, we would collapse and lose consciousness within two to three minutes of exposure to the air. Hence the need for oxygen masks on airplanes. 

Even those acclimatized to high altitude find it a struggle to navigate this terrain. Each step is exhausting, your thoughts slow down, your heart thuds rapidly. Expeditions to Everest typically take two months to complete, most of which is spent teaching your body not to die at high altitudes.

There is not a person on Earth to whom the Death Zone doesn’t sound fucking terrifying. It is a place beyond the limits of humans to survive for much longer than a day. It is the pinnacle of mental and physical stress.  

Mountains like Everest act as an external objectification of our greatest internal challenges. When certain personalities confront Everest, they vividly see their fears and limitations in front of them, transformed from the inner secrecy of the complex mind to raw, brutal physical objects they can conquer.

Getting to the top of the mountain is getting to the top of yourself, and it is easy to see why it’s so alluring in this light.

Egoic Delusion  

It’s impossible to answer this question without reference to those who are deluded into thinking it will satisfy their ego to say they’ve climbed Everest or any huge mountain. As Jon Krakauer describes in Into Thin Air, “Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality.”

It’s an undeniable truth that a significant proportion of Everest climbers want to do it because of their egos, particularly those people who know deep down they don’t have the skills or the experience. It is often the default position of the cynic to tar inexperienced mountaineers with the same brush as deluded reckless and selfish people but not everybody is in it for the Instagram likes and the congratulatory messages.

Summiting Everest is no mean feat, but it is also nothing novel. Over 4,000 people have gone to the top of the world since Sir Edmund Hillary first arrived there back in 1953 alongside Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. One has to ask how much can it satisfy your ego to be the 4,131st person to reach the peak of a mountain? The much more technically demanding K2 has been summited by well over 300 people at this point so while it is an excellent feat, it is no longer ground-breaking.

I believe it’s important for more people to show humility when considering climbing any big mountain. People need to take a long, hard look at themselves and be honest with their shortcomings as climbers. People need to look outside themselves; to their families, to others who may experience the ripple effects of something going wrong. It’s not only the climber who suffers.

This is particularly pertinent considering inexperienced climbers endanger not only themselves; they also endanger other climbers and their guides. The Nepalese ethnic Sherpa group have suffered most as a result of the commercialization of climbing Everest; one-third of deaths on the mountain were Sherpa climbers.

Lessons Learned

It’s easy for me or anyone else behind a keyboard to castigate people who seemingly abandon their families and risk their lives just to climb a mountain. The common critic of extreme mountaineering tends to conclude that those who fall victim on their expeditions got what they asked for.

However, delving further into this topic, I have learned valuable life lessons from these risk-taking climbers. There is much more nuance involved than attributing it as mere reckless thrill-seeking. Reading extensively about Everest served as a thumping reminder of how crucial it is that we all try to find activities and hobbies in life that bring us joy merely from the act of doing them.

That doesn’t mean you or I need to go to Nepal and climb to almost 30,000-feet, but it might be a good idea to reconsider how we use our leisure time. For me, that means less social media use or pointless Internet browsing and more guitar, more recreational soccer; two activities I enjoy doing for the sake of doing them.

I was also reminded of how powerful the human ego can be to the point that one person’s desire for recognition or fame can destroy many lives. It’s always good to keep our egos in check. Seeking recognition or validation is the polar opposite motivation to doing something for the joy, for the sake of it.

Lastly, we all have things in life we fear, both mental and physical obstacles, whether they be heights, public speaking, flying, or spiders. Some people fear discomfort—they avoid doing anything outside of their own comfortable bubbles.

I believe we can draw much inspiration from people who climb dangerous mountains in terms of beating our inner demons. I’m not saying it is necessary to go to such extremes, but join a local Toastmasters, learn a martial art, take a short flight. Never forget the importance of actively seeking out discomfort if you want to experience true personal growth.

As Mallory put it after he summited Mont Blanc in 1918, “have we vanquished an enemy? None but ourselves.”

The post Why do People Climb Dangerous Mountains? appeared first on Cerebrotonic.