10 products
10 products
Matthew Walker, PhD
Why We Sleep
Regular price $54.90The New Science of Sleep and Dreams
“Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book…Walker taught me a lot about this basic activity that every person on Earth needs. I suspect his book will do the same for you.” —Bill Gates
A New York Times bestseller and international sensation, this “stimulating and important book” (Financial Times) is a fascinating dive into the purpose and power of slumber.
Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when we don't sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remained elusive.
An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity.
In Why We Sleep, Walker answers important questions about:
- How do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep?
- What really happens during REM sleep?
- Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime?
- How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage?
Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book.
About Matthew Walker, PhD
Dr. Walker earned his degree in neuroscience from Nottingham University, UK, and his PhD in neurophysiology from the Medical Research Council, London, UK. He subsequently became a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, USA.
Currently, he is Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science.
Dr. Walker’s research examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease. He has received numerous funding awards from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.
His research examines the impact of sleep on human brain function in healthy and disease populations. To date, he has published over 100 scientific research studies.
A Quick KeaLad Commentary on Lifespan
I'm currently in the middle of reading Why We Sleep so chat will be coming soon. However if you've seen or heard some of Matthew Walkers interviews or talks, you'll understand why this read is a good one to prioritise. One good one, his interview on the Joe Rogan podcast is here for you curious folk. For something a bit more short and sweet, check out his Ted Talk above.
Your KeaLad, Thomas - VitaKea Caretaker 🌿
Mansal Denton
A Head Above
Regular price $22.50A Simple Guide to Peak Mental Performance
When 17th and 18th century Europeans replaced alcohol with coffee, it produced the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment thinking. A simple chemical change can have drastic consequences for our lives and the world.
Today, nootropics, smart drugs, and self-experimentation technologies are helping high performers improve their mental performance from Silicon Valley to Wall Street.
But peak mental performance isn't for everyone. There is no magic pill. To achieve a level of optimal performance, be prepared to change lifestyle habits that are holding you back and utilize the latest technologies to craft your best routine.
For those desiring enhanced creativity, concentration, learning ability, and success, this simple guide can help.
Paperback: 142 Pages
About the Author
Mansal Denton is the founder of Nootropedia, an unbiased and accessible online nootropics resource to help you improve your cognitive abilities. Nootropics are substances that enhance mental functions, such as memory.
He previously co-founded and grew Pure Nootropics into one of the 3 largest nootropics commodity ecommerce sites and exited after 15 months with buyout.
A Quick KeaLad Commentary on A Head Above
A Head Above is a light and casual, short and sweet read filled with interesting insights toward the idea of peak mental performance. It covers a wide number of topics, not particularly comprehensively but more dipping its toes in each pool.
From someone of Mansal's background, you might actually expect the entire book to be a run of nootropics stacks and protocols. But not so! In fact, the chapter on Nootropics is half the length compared to his chapter titled "Beyond the Pill". Rather Mansal spends much of his energy directing us toward more lifestyle practices to build our mentality and body up to provide a foundational support toward focus. Talking how we direct our focus, social relations and much more.
All up, its a great book and certainly one that sparks curiosity. Being reasonably short, its the perfect sort of single session on a Sunday afternoon sort of read. Oh it's also got some great illustrations too - see page 3 in the teaser images. :) Personally I've been through this cover to cover at least four times, so I can confirm, it is a good one to keep coming back to. Enjoy!
Your KeaLad, Thomas - VitaKea Caretaker 🌿
Daniel J.Levitin, PhD
Successful Aging
Regular price $64.90A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives
"Debunks the idea that aging inevitably brings infirmity and unhappiness and instead offers a trove of practical, evidence-based guidance for living longer and better."
—Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive
SUCCESSFUL AGING delivers insights on:
• Debunking the myth that memory always declines with age;
• Confirming that "health span"—not "life span"—is what matters;
• Proving that sixty-plus years is a unique and newly recognized developmental stage;
• Recommending that people look forward to joy, as reminiscing doesn't promote health.
Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, using research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age.
Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.
About Dr. Daniel J.Levitin
Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and bestselling author.
He is Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at the Minerva Schools at KGI in San Francisco, and Professor Emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University.
He is the author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies, and Successful Aging. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Image ©: Larry Moran
A Quick KeaLad Commentary on Successful Aging
This read is still on my to-do list, but I will be getting to it shortly and can comment more then. Key reasons this book stood out to get in store was (obviously) the interest in the aging process and how we can augment it. I expect the insight provided will be most interesting to those of us into nootropics and biohacking especially given Daniel (the author) has a neuroscience background... so in theory he should know his stuff to a much more trustworthy degree than the latest journalist trying to jump in on the biohacking trend. More chat coming once I've given it a read!
Your KeaLad, Thomas - VitaKea Caretaker 🌿
Dave Asprey
Game Changers
Regular price $59.50Insights from over 450 interviews distilled down from the guests of 'Bulletproof Radio'
The bestselling author of Head Strong and The Bulletproof Diet answers the question, “How can I kick more ass at life?” by culling the wisdom of world-class thought leaders, maverick scientists, and disruptive entrepreneurs to provide proven techniques for becoming happier, healthier, and smarter.
When Dave Asprey started his Bulletproof Radio podcast more than five years ago, he sought out influencers in an array of disciplines, from biochemists toiling in unknown laboratories to business leaders changing the world to mediation masters discovering inner peace. His guests were some of the top performing humans in the world, people who had changed their areas of study or even pioneered entirely new fields. Dave wanted to know: What did they have in common? What mattered most to them? What made them so successful—and what made them tick? At the end of each interview, Dave asked the same question: “What are your top three recommendations for people who want to perform better at being human?”
After performing a statistical analysis of the answers, he found that the wisdom gleaned from these highly successful people could be distilled into three main objectives: finding ways to become smarter, faster, and happier. Game Changers is the culmination of Dave’s years-long immersion in these conversations, offering 46 science-backed, high performance “laws” that are a virtual playbook for how to get better at life.
With anecdotes from game changers like Dr. Daniel Amen, Gabby Bernstein, Dr. David Perlmutter, Arianna Huffington, Esther Perel, and Tim Ferris as well as examples from Dave’s own life, Game Changers offers readers practical advice they can put into action to reap immediate rewards. From taming fear and anxiety to making better decisions, establishing high-performance habits, and practicing gratitude and mindfulness, Dave brings together the wisdom of today’s game-changers to help everyone kick more ass at life.
A Quick KeaLad Commentary on Game Changers
As with practically anything coming from Dave Asprey and Bulletproof, it probably pays to start with a word to acknowledge that this book is another one that is riddled with marketing for biohacking gear and performance products the whole way through. ***If you have the tolerance to read through that and not get sucked into impulse purchasing, then this is certainly a valuable book.***
"Game Changers" covers a wide variety of tricks, tips and insights all working toward the goal of high performance and feeling good... while steering you away from burnout in the long run (as is common with many folk "winning at life").
Personally I always appreciate this sort of read as a starting point for further research into new practices, and as an enjoyable way to expose myself to what's out there and find out what people are doing or have found beneficial. "Game Changers" does keep it pretty light and doesn't go in particularly deep on any specific topic, and as a result it reads very comfortably and casually. It also has plenty of interesting stories as you might expect from 450+ interviews.
If you've been reading around the space of biohacking and optimal performance for a while, you might find it discusses a number of practices you will be already familiar with (micro-dosing psychedelics, breath, nootropics etc.). That said, as someone who is very researched and embedded in the space, I found the unique perspectives very constructive and so have no regrets with re-crossing familiar territory.
TLDR?: An enjoyable and casual and read for exposure to what sort of practices people are doing and have found most beneficial. Does contain a fair amount of product and service promotion. Not overly technical.
Your KeaLad, Thomas - VitaKea Caretaker 🌿
David Sinclair, PhD
Lifespan
Regular price $54.90Everything we think we know about ageing is about to change
Across the globe, scientists are working on treatments and therapies that are designed to extend healthy human lifespans well beyond what we know today. Will you help educate the world about this coming revolution?
What Happens To Our Cells When We Age?
As cells age, they become larger and less capable of reproduction, undergoing changes that eventually result in the loss of cellular identity. For years, scientists have argued about why these changes occur, but popular opinion has coalesced around nine “hallmarks of aging.” But are these hallmarks a cause or a symptom?
About the Author
David Sinclair is a professor in the Department of Genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School, where he and his colleagues study sirtuins—protein-modifying enzymes that respond to changing NAD+ levels and to caloric restriction—as well as chromatin, energy metabolism, mitochondria, learning and memory, neurodegeneration, cancer, and cellular reprogramming.
Sinclair has suggested that aging is a disease—and that we may soon have the tools to put it into remission—and he has called for greater international attention to the social, economic and political risks and benefits of a world in which billions of people can live much longer and much healthier lives.
Sinclair is the co-founder of several biotechnology companies (Life Biosciences, Sirtris, Genocea, Cohbar, MetroBiotech, ArcBio, Liberty Biosecurity) and is on the boards of several others. (A full list of disclosures is available here.)
He is also co-founder and co-chief editor of the journal Aging. He is an inventor on 35 patents and has received more than 35 awards and honors. In 2014, he was on Time Magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and listed as Time's Top 50 in healthcare in 2018.
A Quick KeaLad Commentary on Lifespan
Full disclosure, this is one read that's still on my to-do list (high priority!). That said, the premise is very promising and David Sinclair has certainly been involved with some very interesting new research! So personally I can't wait - and I will update this section after I've given it a good study. :)
Your KeaLad, Thomas - VitaKea Caretaker 🌿
Other Resources
Aubrey Marcus
Own the Day, Own Your Life
Regular price $54.90TOTAL HUMAN OPTIMIZATION STARTS WITH ONE DAY
It all starts with the right plan.
Something backed by science, something battle-tested by peak performers, and something that is accessible and enjoyable for absolutely everyone, no matter who you are. There are over 300 clinical and academic references, and clear actionable steps you can follow to guide you through every part of the day.
This is the instruction manual for the human operating system. This is a process that you can fall back on to lead you to the best version of yourself. Not a single step in this book is out of reach. You don’t need a 30 day plan, or a radical lifestyle change to become who you want to become. You just need one book, and one day. Own the day, Own your Life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aubrey Marcus is the founder of Onnit, a human performance company that he has built into one of the fastest growing companies in America. His philosophy has attracted dozens of elite performers, hundreds of thousands of customers, and millions of fans to Onnit. Marcus lives in Austin, Texas.
A Quick KeaLad Commentary on OTD,OYL
NOTE: Spoilers and chat on detailed content of the book will be kept to a minimum, a book should be your own experience. Oh, and anyone saying you can get all the learning of a book from a bullet point summary is laughable. True learning doesn't come from summaries, it comes from experiencing all the ups, downs and plateaus of the journey.
First of all, before we get in too deep here - for a real good review and walk through on if the book is a good one for you, check out the full article I've whipped up at:
Is “Own The Day, Own Your Life” a Good Read for YOU?
But to continue on in a bit more of a review sense, read on here!
First of all, OTD, OYL (Own The Day, Own Your Life) is a read with many merits, and I do recommend it to most folk. It was good enough that I've read it cover to cover twice myself, as well as listened to the auidobook. I'll likely read it again too.
It delivers really strong value in covering a wide variety of tips and tricks to improve your daily living, and is a fantastic way to get a new perspective on the many levers of the human body. Having built the fairly famous biohacking company "Onnit", Aubrey himself certainly has the experience to back it up and that shows through... mostly. His technical understanding sometimes feels a bit poor, though that may just be the nature of making a nice-to-read book as opposed to a technical guide. Simply, I'd take those aspects with a grain of quality salt and use them as a point to start your own research rather than soley relying on OTD, OYL as an authority. Finally, as far as the reading experience goes, you'll definitely be in for a treat. It's casual, often a bit of fun and laced with humour. Very easy reading that's for sure.
Aspects of the book that are less than desirable mainly lie in the realm of spam marketing. Aubrey is a marketer by background and I'd say it really shows through here. The numerous plugs to Onnit and various other companies (that it feels like he has incentive to promote) does tend to get tiresome. Additionally, in an American marketing sort of sense, many of the benefits of such devices or other life practices are very sensationalised and perhaps exaggerated. At least in reflection to my personal experience and understanding. This is not to say they're valueless, for example Wim Hof breathing combined with Cold showering can really feel life changing... but I do advocate for an especially critical mind when it comes to digesting his recommendations. The video linked above can give you and idea of what I mean, personally it makes me feel like I'm being invited to join a cult.
To summarise in one line, glamourified and sales-y to a Tim Ferris degree. But hey, I appreciate the value he provides too.
All up, obviously I am going to say this is a great book well worth a read. It wouldn't be in the VitaKea store if it wasn't. There's A LOT of value to be gained here, and provides a real pleasurable reading experience as you learn. It's not perfect, and has sensational-like drawbacks that are common to the self help genre... but if you can handle that, you'll be in for a real treat!
Happy reading, I hope you learn a lot - and as always, any feedback or critical thoughts of your own would be warmly welcomed.
Your KeaLad, Thomas - VitaKea Caretaker 🌿
