[darreld]

I'm 65 and started a new job as a programmer a few weeks ago. I can relate to your brain elasticity issues for sure. I am really enjoying the new team and the work is fun but it does take its toll on my brain. By the end of a full day of coding or troubleshooting my brain feels... depleted. By friday I find it more difficult than in the past to quickly remember things.

I am doing well in the job and, due to a long career, have experience in a lot of the things they need. I am also still excited about learning new skills and toolsets and I'm in the right place for it.

But I do feel that the brain depletion, it feels like I have used something up - glycogen or something, is noticeable.

Any OTC recommendations would be appreciated.

[ilaksh]

Anyone who is working hard all day will feel depleted.

I wish people would stop pandering in this thread. It is reinforcing ageist stereotypes.

[jseban]

It feels this way for everyone, some people just pretend to be geniuses and cover up their mistakes.

Just use a normal structured note-taking process in a text file, and review it periodically (start of day, end of day), and you will have a superhero memory better than anyone on the team.

I review the scrum board before daily, and I review the backlog before planning meetings, and people are super impressed with how I remember every detail about everything.

[jasfi]

I'm 42. I use mental math to stay sharp. Exercise and diet also make a difference.

[OracB7]

Could you elaborate on the mental math part - do you do particular exercises?

[jasfi]

There are a lot of apps available, just search on mental math. I've found that relatively simple arithmetic done repeatedly works well, look for those kinds of apps. About 10-15 mins of these problems per day is enough.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

Stupid question, wouldn't coding (keeping the flow of the code in mind), being the same type if exercise?

[jasfi]

No it doesn't give me the same effect, surprisingly. However it does definitely help with coding.

It gives your working memory and symbol manipulation a workout. Coding uses these facilities, but might not work them directly enough to be as good at training them. That's my theory so far.

[jrumbut]

For me coding is mostly about memory, math is more about processing.

[bitL]

Get B1 HCL 100-2000mg + NAD+ booster (Niagen) + Mg Threonate, that resolves inefficient energy metabolism in your brain/nerves that might cause the feeling of your brain being depleted (pseudohypoxia). Also, at your age L-Carnitine might be needed. Q10/Quercetin/Pterostilben/Bromelain/Betaine/NAC/R ALA/DCA might be worth considering depending on what other issues you face.

[scarface74]

I am 48 and while I still like “programming”, I saw the writing on the wall about four years ago and knew I didn’t want to deal with the leetcode monkey dance shit show that would be required to transition to BigTech from enterprise/corp dev.

I also knew I wanted to make more money. I did a slight pivot. But for all intents and purposes, I’m still a “developer” just with a fancier title.

[Tepix]

Good dark chocolate (>80%) helps me focus. And tastes great!

[sarp]

Could it be because dark chocolate has caffeine in it?