Boost Brain Power by 25% WITHOUT a Pill (Brain Optimization Secrets)

Dave Asprey

Jul 24, 2025

Episode description

You’re leaving brainpower on the table, and this episode shows you how to reclaim it. Learn how to boost cognitive performance by 25% without relying on pills, stimulants, or gimmicks. Host Dave Asprey sits down with global finance expert and cross-cultural thinker Richard Conrad to explore how your cultural programming shapes your biology, metabolism, neuroplasticity, and even your ability to reach peak human performance.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Richard is the author of Culture Hacks and has spent over 30 years living and working across Japan, China, and the U.S. He’s a master of decoding hidden mental frameworks that influence perception, longevity, and decision-making. This is a must-listen if you care about brain optimization, functional medicine, and living smarter, not harder.

Together, they break down why different cultures process truth, time, and identity so differently and how these filters influence your beliefs about supplements, fasting, cold therapy, sleep optimization, and more. You’ll also learn why Americans are biologically wired for linear logic, how agrarian versus warrior cultures shaped meditation and nervous system regulation, and how to train your mitochondria to perform like a samurai’s.

You’ll Learn:

• Why your culture shapes how your brain processes reality

• How to shift from linear to systems thinking for better neuroplasticity

• The connection between meditation styles, nervous system wiring, and mitochondria

• How to apply ancient frameworks to modern biohacking and human performance

• Why longevity without financial planning is a broken strategy

• How to avoid cognitive bias by decoding relative versus absolute truth

This channel is packed with biohacking wisdom, from nootropics and ketosis to Danger Coffee, financial resilience, and how your beliefs about aging could be accelerating it. Whether you’re focused on hacking your brain, upgrading your metabolism, or extending your longevity, this is one of the most unique mind-expanding channels around. It is essential listening for anyone passionate about biohacking longevity, functional aging, mitochondrial testing, and next-gen human optimization.

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intell

Episode description

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

You’ll Learn:

• Why your culture shapes how your brain processes reality

• How to shift from linear to systems thinking for better neuroplasticity

• The connection between meditation styles, nervous system wiring, and mitochondria

• How to apply ancient frameworks to modern biohacking and human performance

• Why longevity without financial planning is a broken strategy

• How to avoid cognitive bias by decoding relative versus absolute truth

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Revise 100-minus-age rule for extended lifespans

If people are going to live to 150 or 180, the traditional financial rule of holding a percentage of equities equal to '100 minus your age' must be adapted.

#longevity

Balance linear thinking with Japanese systems approach

The Western mind may have gone too far in linear, logical thinking, and can learn from the Japanese right-brained, systems-thinking approach to find better balance.

#balance

#mind

Master intuitive knowledge transfer for superior manufacturing precision

Japan's superior manufacturing precision comes from knowledge being transferred intuitively and experientially from master to disciple over generations, as an art rather than just a science.

#education

Address population decline in Confucian societies through family support

While all societies have fewer children as they become wealthy, Confucian societies like China, Japan, and Korea have even fewer, leading to a more severe population decline.

#family

Utilize quantum energy streaming to counter 5G effects and boost ATP production

Quantum Upgrade is a service that streams quantum energy which has been shown in studies to neutralize the negative effects of 5G and increase ATP production by up to 29%.

#ATP

#quantum

Explore warrior and farmer meditation techniques for mental clarity

Japanese warrior culture led to short meditations like Zazen, while Chinese agrarian culture developed longer meditations for the calm mind needed for farming.

#meditation

#mindfulness

Shift perspective from absolute to relative truth for better understanding

Westerners tend to see the world with an absolute truth framework (I'm right, you're wrong), whereas East Asians see it in a relative truth framework (we can both be right).

#philosophy

Test your organ system age with home blood analysis

A home blood test from Generation Lab can show you how fast your individual internal systems, like your brain, hormones, and mitochondria, are aging.

#biological-age

#blood-test

Target senescent cells with OS-1 peptide serum for hair restoration

The OS-1 Hair serum from One Skin uses a peptide to target senescent (zombie) cells, a primary cause of age-related hair loss and thinning.

#hair-loss

#peptides

Invest in health early for significant long-term savings

The highest return on investment comes from spending on your health as a young adult, as a dollar spent on better food then can save you tens of thousands of dollars later.