When you're not sure what to do with you time, pick some activities you like from the list.
- Help your fellow man
- Confront liars
- Stare at women (pretty)
- Do or get someone to do something you've been afraid of
- Talk to your grandma
- Make new friends
Therapeutic[edit]
- Sit under chicken/brooder incadescent infrared lamp
- Bag Breathing
- Buteyko breathing
- Put bioenergetic.live in the background
- Bath with supps
- Donate blood
- Do a good deed, increase lifespan, lower the chance of degenrative diseases[1]
- Lowers metals and PSFAs in your bloodstream
- Sauna
- Sweet dynorphin release, will save you from stroke/heart attacks.
- Sit in 100 gallon bag filled with CO2
- Chew Mastic gum
- Aspirin soap
- Skincare
Outdoors[edit]
"Walking is a better form of exercise." - Ray Peat[2]
"A walk through interesting and pleasant surroundings consumes more energy than does harder but more boring exercise." Ray Peat[3]
“Never trust a thought that occurs to you indoors.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
- Walk in the woods
- Great for mental health[4]
- Walking for 90 minutes in a natural area decreases neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, a brain region linked to rumination and depression.
- Participants who walked in nature exhibited reduced activity in this brain region compared to those in a high-traffic urban environment.
- Time in nature positively affects mood and cognitive functions, such as working memory, while reducing anxiety
- Exposure to nature may provide a buffer against depression, aligning with lower risks of mental disorders in less urbanized areas.
- Average increase in creative output was around 60%.[5]
- Walking itself reduces all cause mortality risk by 60% (8,700 daily steps)[6]
- Sunlight
- It's free
- Vitamin D
- Nice tan
- "Light, play, environmental variety and exploratory conversations stimulate the whole organism in an integral way, stimulating repair processes and developmental processes." - Ray Peat[7]
- "Sunlight can ...cure depression & increase intelligence" - Ray Peat[8]
- Link to Suntaning & exposure
- Grounding
- Walk barefoot on grass
- Get to high altitude
- Hike or ruck
- Camp
- Start a fire and stare at it[9]
- Gardening
- Tend to plants or grow herbs to connect with nature and promote relaxation.
Creative[edit]
- Anything creative to externalize mind
- Art is integral to our identity and a low-stress outlet for intellectual energy
- Creative expression fosters "resolution and transformation," countering degenerative processes.
- Crafting
- Knit, sew or crochet,
- 89.5% of participants felt calmer after crocheting.
- 82% felt happier.
- 74.7% felt more useful/accomplished.[10]
- Create small DIY projects like scrapbooking to foster calm focus.
- Photography
- Capture natural scenes or everyday moments to encourage mindfulness and creativity.
- Painting or Drawing
- Sketch landscapes or abstract art with pencils, watercolors, or acrylics to express creativity and relax.
- Writing
- Journal thoughts, write poetry, or craft short stories to engage the mind without stress.
- Playing Music
- Improvize, make your own songs,strum a guitar, play piano, or experiment with simple instruments like a ukulele for joyful self-expression.
- Hum & harmonize
- Lowers stress, improves sleep[11]
- "Every time you make sounds on a musical instrument, you are stimulating organized processes in your body - it's a kind of nourishment" - Ray Peat
- Woodwork
- Chop wood
- Build something
"Push a bike up a hill and ride it down"
"Concentric resistance training has an anabolic effect... Some muscle-building resistance exercise might help increase the anabolic ratio" - Ray Peat
- Try concentric
- Friendly spar with a friend (for technique)
- "I don’t think martial arts are necessarily too stressful.” - Ray Peat[12]
- Sprinting (Short Bursts)
- "Sprinting is probably o.k." - Ray Peat[13]
- Go for a swim
- Pet a Cat
- Walk your dog
- 40% lower risk of dementia[14]
- More time outside
- 3,800 extra daily steps
- Improves mental state and gut motility[15]
- If you don't have one pick one from the shelter, he'll appreciate it.
Get mentally challenged[edit]
- Play Chess
- Read a Book
- Learn a new skill
- "Cytochrome oxidase in the brain can also be increased by mental stimulation, learning, and moderate exercise" - Ray Peat
Relaxation[edit]
"A quiet, warm environment supports relaxation and efficient respiration, while noise and cold push the system toward stress and inefficiency." - Ray Peat
- Enjoy silence
- Listen to music
- Yoga
- Just 1 session of yoga/mobility increases GABA levels 27% for up to 4 days[16]
- Negative feelings, anxiety and depression lowered in women[17]
- Positive effect on PMS Symptoms, Body Composition, and Hip Mobility[18]
- Tai Chi
- "Some of those who claimed extreme longevity practiced controlled breathing and tai chi (involving imagery, movement, and breathing), typically in the early morning hours, when stress reduction is most important. As far as I know, there are no studies of carbon dioxide levels in practitioners of tai chi, but the sensation of warmth they typically report suggests that it involves hypoventilation." - Ray Peat[19]
- A good night's sleep
References[edit]
