How to Use Self Experimentation to Improve Your Life

We're seeing an explosion of scientific studies becoming mainstream. Thanks to people like Andrew Huberman.

Making this information publicly available is a good thing. But it also has downsides.

The downside is that people blindly follow some sort of protocol because it's based in science.

If something worked for the majority of the group in the study, it doesn't mean that it will work for you.

Everybody responds differently to different stimuli.

For example, I'm very sensitive to caffeine.

If I drink a cup of tea in the afternoon—I won't be able to fall asleep.

I have a friend who can drink espresso at night and can fall asleep.

Another reason to take these studies with a grain of salt is the hidden motivations behind them.

There are studies that are funded by pharmaceutical and supplement companies.

This is a marketing tactic for these companies to show that their products work.

Isn't it odd that most scientific studies follow this formula: To solve problem X, take pill Y?

It's much harder to find research about free or cheap ways to solve a problem.

It's probably because it's harder to get funding and they can't profit off it.

We're also seeing a bunch of scientific studies claiming different protocols.

Eat a vegan diet.

Eat a carnivore diet.

We have people fighting over which diet is better when neither of them has tried both.

They just spew facts based on a recent podcast episode they listened to.

They're not thinking for themselves.

I fell into the same trap.

I used to believe that if you wanted to build muscle, you had to do heavy compound lifts.

I used to believe that you shouldn't train to failure.

This was all based on science.

I saw results but still had a hard time putting on muscle.

After years of religiously following these beliefs—I decided to go down a different rabbit hole.

Listening to people who are jacked and didn't follow the science.

They just did the bro split and trained to failure on every set.

The complete opposite of what is said in scientific studies.

I was so attached to my current beliefs that it took me a week or two to go against the science.

I'm glad I did.

I'm not jacked by any means, but I'm making much more progress compared to my science-based lifting.

More importantly—I'm having more fun.

Through self-experimentation, you can find what's optimal for you.

Not what works for the majority of the people.

You're no longer blindly following these studies.

You learn to think for yourself.

You also come up with unique solutions to different problems.

The great thing about self-experimentation is that you can use it to improve all areas of your life.

Your health, your energy, your work, relationships, etc.

You just have to be willing to try something new and see what happens.

You've got to be willing to let go of your current ideology and open your mind to new and better ways of doing things.

Or else you're going to stay stuck in your ways.

The Self-Experiment Cycle

Here's what the self-experiment cycle looks like:

1. You create a hypothesis.

2. Choose a timeframe for the experiment.

3. Design and run the experiment.

4. Collect Feedback.

5. Repeat Step 1.

Let's dive deeper into each step.

Create a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a guess that X will lead to Y.

An example could be: If I remove dairy from my diet, I'll have less acne.

You don't want to choose a random hypothesis. Or else you will put in a ton of effort for very few results.

Ideally, your hypothesis is rooted in some sort of evidence.

Here are some ways to come up with a hypothesis:

1. Follow the obvious. For example, we all know we should be drinking more water. Create an experiment to help you drink more water and see what happens.

2. Follow your hunch and notice patterns. Maybe you feel very lethargic every time you have white rice. Cut it out and see what happens.

3. See what works for others. This can be scientific studies, podcasts, and social media. If there's something in there that makes you curious—try it out and see what happens.

When coming up with a hypothesis—ideally you choose something with asymmetric returns.

Meaning the benefit you get is much higher than the effort that you put in.

Another way to get asymmetric returns is by eliminating risk.

Let's say you want to experiment with a new business.

How can you mitigate risk?

Rather than going all in, maybe it can start as a side hustle while keeping your full-time job.

Maybe you can start with a small capital investment. That way if it doesn't work out you're not totally screwed.

When creating a hypothesis—you want to do as much research as possible.

So you feel confident that the effort will be worthwhile. You also want to be aware of any risks that come with trying this out.

Choose a Timeframe

This part is pretty straightforward. Pick a time frame for your experiment.

The time frame will entirely depend on your experiment.

If you're experimenting with a diet for weight loss, one week is not enough.

You probably need to stick with it for 4 to 8 weeks to see if it's working or not.

Whereas if you're experimenting with a new morning routine, you probably only need a week or two.

If at the end of the experiment you still feel like you need more time—then extend the experiment.

Otherwise, move on to the next one.

Design and Run the Experiment

All experiments have some sort of outcome or goal associated with it.

Maybe you want to lose weight.

Maybe you want to improve your energy levels.

Having an outcome in mind makes it easy to do research and come up with a hypothesis.

Let's say your hypothesis is: If I drink 2 liters of water every day, I will have more energy.

You decide that you're going to test this out for four weeks and see what happens.

Now it's time to brainstorm and think of how you will stick to this new experiment every day.

Maybe you need a new water bottle that can hold more water.

Maybe you chug half a liter of water first thing upon waking.

Simple rules like these make it easier to stick to your experiment.

Sticking to your experiment should be easy.

If it feels burdensome or something that you don't enjoy, then stop it.

There's nothing wrong with ending it early.

Self-experimentation is all about following your curiosity and noticing what works for you.

Another thing to consider is to not change too many variables at once.

For example, let's say that on top of drinking 2 litres of water per day, you also make changes to your diet.

How are you going to know whether it's the water or the diet that's giving you more energy?

That's why it's important to just focus on one experiment at a time and go from there.

Collect Feedback

As you go about running your experiment, notice how you feel.

Do you feel like the experiment is working?

If so, great! Find a way to incorporate it as part of your lifestyle.

If no, that's still great! You learned something new.

Drop it and try something else.

Maybe you want to make tweaks to the experiment.

Let's say drinking 2 liters of water did improve your energy.

Do you get the same benefits when you drink 1.5 liters?

Try it out and see what happens.

You can choose to track everything and collect the data.

But I don't.

It's too much effort; I just take time to notice if I feel different.

You want these experiments to easily integrate into your life.

Not feel like a second job.

I hope this framework for self-experimentation helps you figure out what works for you.

This is a great process for learning how to think for yourself vs. blindly following the mainstream.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Ashvin