Introverts, Dopamine, Great Scientists
Links and recommendations + the best sleep upgrade I've ever had
You can now watch my recent conversation with Auren Hoffman on the World of DaaS podcast:
Links for Spotify and Apple Podcast.
From the archives:
How To Choose A Romantic Partner: What psychology tells us about the pillars of a joyful life
The Best Sleep Upgrade I’ve Ever Had:
I’ve always been skeptical of sleep gadgets, but the Eight Sleep Pod is the real deal. It personalizes the temperature of my bed in real-time, so I get uninterrupted, high-quality sleep.
As far back as I can remember I’ve had difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. I solved the first issue years ago by placing my phone on the other side of the room and reading a book before bed each night until my eyes get tired. Usually I fall asleep within 15 minutes.
But staying asleep remained an issue—until very recently. Many of you are aware that I recently moved to New York. I had to buy a new bed. I went with an Eight Sleep setup. Heard a million ads on podcasts etc. and tuned it all out. Huge mistake on my part. Now I'm mad I didn't get one way sooner. When I used to wake up in the middle of the night, the usual problem was temperature. I’d be too warm, or (less frequently) too cold, and struggle to find a comfortable temperature to fall asleep.
The Eight Sleep Pod fixes that. It adjusts the temperature of the bed automatically. It’s incredible.
I personally bought an Eight Sleep Pod. About two weeks later I learned that one of the Eight Sleep founders follows me on X. I sent a DM mentioning how great the product is and figured I could share my experience here with my readers. I personally use this product literally every night.
The other day I was listening to the All-In Podcast and heard Naval Ravikant say he uses Eight Sleep–it wasn’t an ad, just Naval briefly mentioning his sleep routine. It seems like every third smart person I know has an Eight Sleep setup now. It really is that good.
Why It Works
The Pod is a high-tech mattress cover that you can easily and quickly add to your existing bed. This cover is packed with advanced technology that allows it to automatically cool, heat, and even elevate.
Here's why this matters: the Pod has been clinically proven to increase quality sleep by up to one hour each night. That's a massive boost to your recovery time, which can translate to better physical performance, improved cognitive function, and enhanced overall health. Having a Pod is like having a sleep coach, personal thermostat, and advanced fitness tracker all rolled into one.
The Pod uses precision temperature control to regulate your body's sleep cycles. It can cool down to a chilly 55°F or warm up to 110°F, and it does this separately for each side of the bed. This means you and your partner can each have your ideal sleep temperature.
The really cool part? The Pod learns your sleep patterns over time and automatically adjusts the temperature throughout the night to optimize each phase of your sleep.
I’ve been using the Pod since last December. My sleep has been noticeably deeper and more restorative. I wake up more refreshed and focused, which makes a real difference in my productivity and overall well-being. If you care about performance—whether in work, fitness, or life in general—this is a serious upgrade.
Exclusive Offer for My Readers
If you want to experience the best sleep of your life, use my code ROBHENDERSON for:
$350 off the Pod 4 Ultra
$200 off the Pod 4
Get yours here: www.eightsleep.com/robhenderson/
Your future well-rested self will thank you.
Links and recommendations:
Rotherham’s child sexual assaults remain shocking—but far from unique. by Theodore Dalrymple
The Billionaire, the Influencer and their Baby by
Great scientists follow intuition and beauty, not rationality by
Why Artists Are Punished More Harshly Than Scientists for the Same Misconduct by Emily Ayshford
"Is it nature or is it nurture?" is a damn good question by
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Will Storr is one of my favorite writers. Strongly recommend following his Substack.
Follow me on Instagram here. The platform is less volatile and more chill than Twitter/X, so I post some spicier excerpts from my readings on my IG stories
You can follow me on TikTok here
Three interesting findings:
1. Dopamine is more strongly associated with the anticipation and pursuit of reward, rather than achieving the reward. It's about the chase, more so than the catch. Animals will work hard to obtain doses of dopamine, even harder than they will work to obtain food. Cocaine and other drugs mimic dopamine in the nervous system, which accounts for the pleasure in taking them (source: The Person: A New Introduction to Personality Psychology).
2. Heavy porn use can lead boys to choose the easy option for sexual satisfaction (watching porn) rather than trying to engage in the more uncertain and risky dating world. After watching porn, heterosexual men find real women less attractive. (source: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt).
3. Compared to introverts, extroverts are happier. Social connection is one of the strongest predictors of well-being, and extroverts are more socially connected. Interestingly, when introverts are instructed to behave like extraverts prior to social interactions, they predict this will make them less happy. But after engaging in social interactions, they actually report feeling happier, relative to introverts who are not given instructions to behave like extraverts. (source).
Ask Me Anything:
Post your questions in the comments section below. I’ll usually conclude Rob Henderson’s Office Hours by taking questions from readers. Post your questions in the comments section below and I’ll answer them on my next livestream. You can also ask your question by just responding directly to this email. You can watch my most recent installment of Office Hours here.
Rob, Given where you have come from, why so little attention to the left hand side of the bell curve? Maybe you should start thinking more about the kind of society that, at this stage in our nation's economic and technological development, would suit the human material that actually exists?
I don't mean just more attention to the importance of vocational training as an alternative to college, which is already happening, but rather to what happens after graduation even for those who do go to college: to the need for new working and living arrangements that would not simply encourage stable marriages and childbearing for the average and below average majority, but that would lead to more satisfying lives for them generally over the long term.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U0C9HKW
Interesting finding that "dopamine is more strongly associated with the anticipation and pursuit of rewards, rather than achieving the reward." Didn't Ralph Waldo Emerson say, "Life is a journey, not a destination?" Personally, I've found the journey to be more satisfying than the destination. A final reminder from Ecclesiastes: "There is nothing new under the sun."