The Joe Rogan Experience

#2450 - Tommy Wood

February 6, 2026

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  • A significant portion of dementia cases, particularly Alzheimer's and vascular dementia, are directly tied to lifestyle and environment, suggesting that 45-70% may be preventable through modifiable risk factors. 
  • The core thesis of Dr. Wood's book, *The Stimulated Mind*, is that brain function, like muscle function, depends on applied stimulus, and modern life often leads to being 'overstimulated and understimulated' simultaneously (lots of input, little calculation/problem-solving). 
  • Learning new, challenging skills, especially those that involve failure and mistakes, is crucial for driving neuroplasticity and building cognitive capacity, which acts as 'headroom' against future decline. 
  • Jet lag mitigation relies on shifting circadian rhythm cues through light exposure, exercise timing, caffeine timing, and strategic meal avoidance during travel. 
  • Elite performance, such as in Formula 1 racing, is optimized by achieving the sweet spot on the Yerkes-Dodson curve—a balance of sympathetic activation (arousal) without becoming over-anxious. 
  • Sustained high-level athletic success is strongly correlated with psychological self-compassion, mindfulness, and focusing on the process rather than solely on guaranteed outcomes. 
  • Cognitive function and decline are influenced by factors beyond amyloid plaques, heavily involving white matter structure, vascular health, and inflammation, many of which are within an individual's control. 
  • Dr. Tommy Wood's '3S model' for brain health involves Stimulus (cognitive engagement), Supply (cardiovascular and metabolic health to fuel stimulated areas), and Support (sleep, hormonal status, and avoiding inhibitors like chronic stress). 
  • It is a self-fulfilling prophecy that cognitive decline is inevitable with age; longitudinal studies show that maintaining function is normal if individuals continue to engage in stimulating processes like learning and exercise. 

Segments

Dementia Causes and Types
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(00:00:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Dementia is a clinical diagnosis of severe cognitive function loss, with Alzheimer’s (60-80%) and vascular dementia (10-20%) being the most common types, both strongly linked to lifestyle.
  • Summary: Dementia is defined by losing enough cognitive function to be unable to self-care, and the most common forms, Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, are highly tied to lifestyle and environment. It is estimated that 45% to 70% of dementias are preventable by addressing these lifestyle risk factors. Early-onset Alzheimer’s, caused by single gene mutations, accounts for only about 1% of cases.
ApoE4 Genetic Risk Multiplier
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(00:03:16)
  • Key Takeaway: The ApoE4 gene variant acts as a risk multiplier for dementia, amplifying the negative effects of environmental factors like poor diet and inactivity.
  • Summary: ApoE4 increases Alzheimer’s risk two to six times with one copy, and six to twenty times with two copies, but it is not deterministic. Lifestyle risk factors like excessive alcohol and physical inactivity amplify the risk associated with ApoE4, meaning addressing these factors provides greater benefit to carriers. Most people with Alzheimer’s do not carry the ApoE4 gene.
Brain Atrophy and Stimulation
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(00:05:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Brain atrophy occurs from a lack of necessary cognitive stimulus, similar to how muscles weaken without load, necessitating active engagement to maintain function.
  • Summary: The brain’s tissues require stimulus to maintain function, and the modern world often provides overstimulation from nonsense while understimulating the necessary calculation and problem-solving networks. The brain will remove connections it is not using, leading to decline if cognitively challenging activities are stopped.
AI Use and Cognitive Function
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(00:09:29)
  • Key Takeaway: Relying on AI tools like ChatGPT to solve problems without thinking decreases cognitive function and memory retention, though using them as ‘orthotics’ can enhance output.
  • Summary: Studies show that increased reliance on external support like Google or LLMs during tasks like essay writing reduces activity in relevant brain networks and impairs memory. Using AI as an orthotic—drafting work first and then using AI for refinement—can improve the final output while still engaging the user’s mind. Unchecked use risks atrophy of cognitive skills.
Future-Proofing Through Skill Building
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(00:14:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Future-proofing the brain requires building broad cognitive capacity through challenging, often creative, skills to maintain processing speed, decision-making, and working memory.
  • Summary: To maintain essential cognitive skills needed for an unknown future, individuals must challenge and stimulate networks related to attention and social connection, often through creative arts or music. Building ‘headroom’—the capacity beyond daily needs—ensures the brain has resources available when stressed, sick, or sleep-deprived.
Learning Through Struggle
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(00:18:14)
  • Key Takeaway: The process of learning, especially when initially ‘sucking at something,’ drives neuroplasticity by closing the gap between expectation and reality, which forces brain resource allocation.
  • Summary: Neuroplasticity is fundamentally driven by making mistakes and experiencing the gap between prediction and outcome, which signals the brain to allocate resources for improvement. Dedicating oneself to a difficult skill, even if frustrating initially, is exactly what the brain needs to enhance and maintain its functional networks.
Cognitive Decline and Lifestyle
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(00:26:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The average decline in cognitive function seen after the mid-20s is partly due to stopping the intensive cognitive challenges experienced during education, reinforcing a ‘use it or lose it’ principle.
  • Summary: Cognitive function generally peaks in the mid-20s to early 30s, often correlating with the end of formal education. When adults stop engaging in complex, cognitively challenging tasks, the brain begins pruning unused connections, leading to a decline in processing speed. Stimulating jobs, reading, dancing, and other hobbies slow this age-related decline.
ADHD, Physical Activity, and Medication
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(00:29:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Physical activity is a fundamental biological requirement, and its absence may exacerbate conditions like ADHD symptoms, suggesting exercise should precede prescribing stimulants.
  • Summary: The ability to hyper-focus, sometimes labeled as ADHD, may have evolutionary roots beneficial in specific contexts, but modern environments layer on issues like poor sleep and stimulants. The lack of sufficient physical activity is a disease-causing, pro-aging situation, and movement should be considered a primary intervention before resorting to medication for attention issues.
Societal Support for Behavior Change
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(00:42:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Effective societal change requires building foundational skills early (education) and creating accessible community structures that support autonomy, competence, and relatedness in health behaviors.
  • Summary: To overcome the behavior change hurdle, society must integrate skills like cooking and physical activity into early education curricula. Successful behavior change relies on self-determination theory: providing autonomy (choice), competence (knowing what to do), and relatedness (community support). Accessibility barriers, like the cost of gyms, must be addressed through subsidized or free public resources.
Immediate Benefits of Movement
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(00:53:07)
  • Key Takeaway: While long-term cognitive benefits require sustained effort, acute improvements in cognitive function and sleep quality can be observed immediately after short bursts of intense physical activity.
  • Summary: Any movement above current levels benefits cardiovascular and cognitive health, countering the perception that only extreme fitness levels matter. Short, intense efforts like six-second sprints can acutely improve cognitive function immediately due to increased blood flow and arousal. Furthermore, activities like walking can lead to better sleep that very night, providing quick positive feedback to encourage consistency.
Optimizing Elite Athlete Performance
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(00:55:25)
  • Key Takeaway: For elite performers like Formula One drivers, optimization often shifts from adding stimulus to rigorously managing recovery, sleep, and nutrition to adapt to constant travel and high demands.
  • Summary: Elite athletes are constantly stimulated, so performance gains often come from minimizing individual performance limiters and maximizing recovery, especially given the constant jet lag of international racing schedules. Coaches focus on tracking data to catch subtle slips in performance or recovery metrics early. Recovery strategies are essential for allowing the brain and body to adapt to the intense training stimulus throughout a long season.
Jet Lag Mitigation Strategies
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(01:01:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Circadian rhythm shifting for jet lag involves manipulating light exposure, sleep schedules, exercise timing, and caffeine intake before and upon arrival at the destination.
  • Summary: Strategies to combat jet lag include shifting light exposure and sleep patterns a couple of days before travel to align with the destination time zone. Exercise, caffeine timing, and food timing (as food timing is a strong circadian zeitgeber) are primary tools for shifting the rhythm. Avoiding meals entirely during a flight is sometimes suggested to help eliminate jet lag.
Supplementation and Testing Constraints
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(01:05:10)
  • Key Takeaway: For athletes under strict testing protocols (like Formula 1 drivers), supplements must be third-party tested (NSF for sport or Informed Sport certified) due to banned substance regulations.
  • Summary: Melatonin is a supplement sometimes used for jet lag, but strict testing requirements limit options for professional athletes. Peptides are generally considered a gray area, and their use is avoided due to lack of high-quality human evidence and contamination risks from unregulated markets. The focus remains on basics because their efficacy is known and verifiable.
Arousal and Performance Curve
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(01:10:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Complex skill performance peaks at an optimal level of arousal described by the Yerkes-Dodson curve, where under-arousal leads to lethargy and over-arousal leads to anxiety.
  • Summary: Performance is maximized at the top of the bell-shaped Yerkes-Dodson curve, enabling flow states, which requires the right balance of sympathetic activation (noradrenaline/adrenaline). Light exercise, cold exposure, caffeine, and breath work can be used to modulate arousal toward this sweet spot. Excessive fatigue from exhaustive exercise, however, can decrease cognitive function, necessitating light exercise for stimulation.
Cognitive Enhancers and Routine
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(01:15:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Caffeine intake is highly regulated, sometimes supplemented with compounds like Theacrine or Paraxanthine, while nootropics like Alpha GPC are difficult to source with required third-party testing certifications.
  • Summary: Formula 1 drivers use various caffeine delivery methods, sometimes incorporating L-theanine to balance jitters, and creatine is noted for cognitive benefits under sleep deprivation. Nootropics like Alpha GPC, important for focus via acetylcholine, are rarely used because certified, third-party tested sources are scarce. Over-supplementation, especially with caffeine, risks pushing arousal too high, making it difficult to calm down later.
Psychology and Self-Compassion
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(01:36:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The most resilient and successful long-term athletes exhibit self-compassion, which involves mindfulness and acknowledging common humanity, rather than being solely hard on themselves.
  • Summary: Psychologists work with drivers on issues like failure and difficult relationships, finding that self-compassionate athletes outperform those who are excessively self-critical. Roger Federer’s career success is cited as an example of needing to recover from lost points (46% of points played) through mental resilience. Dwelling on failure pushes arousal away from the optimal performance zone.
Beyond Amyloid and Brain Structure
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(02:02:41)
  • Key Takeaway: White matter structure, dependent on vascular health and resistance training, is critical for fast processing speed and executive function.
  • Summary: Amyloid load does not strongly predict cognitive function; other factors like inflammation and white matter structure are crucial. White matter supports fast processing speed, decision-making, and prefrontal cortex function. Resistance training is highlighted as important for supporting the vascular health underpinning white matter integrity.
The 3S Model of Brain Health
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(02:03:55)
  • Key Takeaway: The 3S model integrates Stimulus, Supply (blood flow/metabolism), and Support (recovery/hormones) as interacting components for daily cognitive performance.
  • Summary: The model begins with Stimulus, which demands more blood flow (Supply) to the active brain area, requiring good cardiovascular and metabolic health. High blood pressure and blood sugar are major dementia risk factors because they impair this supply component. Support involves recovery mechanisms like sleep, hormonal status, and trophic factors like BDNF, while avoiding inhibitors such as chronic stress or pollution.
Interconnectedness of Health Factors
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(02:06:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Improving any single component within the 3S model can initiate positive shifts across the entire network, demonstrating interconnectedness.
  • Summary: Because the factors interact, focusing on one area, such as improving sleep, can lead to decreased inflammation, better blood pressure, and increased sociability the next day. Similarly, engaging in cognitive training or exercise drives a greater need for recovery (sleep). This interconnectedness means individuals can start anywhere on the list of healthy habits and still shift the overall system in their favor.
Book Structure and Content
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(02:07:11)
  • Key Takeaway: The book, ‘The Stimulated Mind,’ is approximately 450 pages and includes an extensive 2,000-paper reference list available online.
  • Summary: The final book is 165,000 words, and while the author initially wrote an overly academic first section, the core middle part focuses on practical frameworks for important brain health areas. The structure includes an introduction explaining why cognitive health matters (especially post-40), the core actionable advice, and a concluding synthesis chapter. The reference list is too large for print but is available online to support every statement made.
Challenging Cognitive Decline Norms
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(02:11:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Longitudinal studies demonstrate that maintaining cognitive function into the 70s and 80s is normal, and perceived decline is often a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  • Summary: The average cognitive function graph showing decline after age 20-30 is based on cross-sectional data comparing different people, not tracking the same person over time. The Seattle Longitudinal Study showed over 50% of people maintained the same cognitive function into their 80s, leading to the US raising the retirement age in the 1980s. When people believe they are ’too old’ to learn or exercise, they stop engaging in necessary processes, causing the decline they expected.