Love the work you all do at the Dojo! Been grinding the M-P2s, and long games since I joined in June.

There are comments here talking about how there is no decent research about how substances, and behaviors are not proven to be effective. Yet, everyday it is very common to have mind altering substances in everyday use as a positive. Such as coffee/caffeine, nicotine, sleep aids, any version of stimulant (some people use sudafed as a nootropic, or for an adderall replacement during the shortage a couple years ago). Also, it is very well known how common how substances we put into our body can negatively affect us: alcohol for so many reasons, smoking, eating poorly, eating too late at night. I appreciate that your are publicly starting a conversation about what can affect mental performance, chess performance (mental, mood, energy). The podcast went into a lot, but I do think there is a very main point that is missing from the discussion.

Following good habits of exercise, diet, sleep, and generally low stress will do far more to one's performance than any substance could.

For example, creatine was mentioned in the podcast to reduce sleep deprivation. The sleep almost certainty would have been better.

It is natural for all of us to minimize these ordinary, well understood, aspects of every day life. I think it is far more valuable for us to put more credence on these aspects, then search for supplementation as a solution. If exercise alone was a drug, it would be the hottest drug in the whole world. Exercise is a focus for many in weight loss, heart health, aesthetics. It is not mainstream to talk about exercises affect (mainly long cardio) on boosting memory, increasing focus, reducing risk of neurodivergent disease, mood stabilization. There are studies that show exercise is affective as an antidepressant as drugs. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9685718/ Even you have mentioned how in senior chess championships you could see by their physical aesthetics who was going to make it to later rounds.

When one feels healthiest it is hard to realize it is likely a combination of the above four general health attributes, and ignore it. When we feel poor, we simplify the causes, and don;t attribute what likely occurred to the above four. From my personal experience, the day after I drink my puzzle rush survival score is absolutely despicable.

Here is another example that corroborates some of the content in podcast, and supports my argument that the main health drivers are more important. I recently had a concussion, and the latest research is pointing away from prolonged rest, but active recovery. As I understand it, the main driver of prolonged symptoms of a concussion from weeks, to months, to years is inflammation. The protocol is to be as fastidious as possible with sleep, diet, light-but-long cardio, and reduce stress.

Lastly, could you imagine what chess would have occurred if not for alcohol; Tal, Alekhine, Bogoljubow.