If you've ever felt mental fatigue, overwhelmed, and emotionally drained when performing mentally engaging activities and wondered if there was any magic drug that could elevate your brain's potential to the ceiling, you are not alone.
A clear focus is not only useful at the workplace, but it's also a great bonus while exercising; how many times have you find yourself standing in the gym in front of weights, looking for some motivation to prompt you to start your workout?
What are "Nootropics"?
Nootropics is an umbrella term for smart drugs and brain booster supplements that have the most similar effects to CPH4 in Lucy, which may enhance cognitive function, mainly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy adults.
You may have taken them regularly without knowing they were called nootropics at the time; caffeine and L-Theanine are the most widely consumed natural nootropics in the world that you can get from coffee and tea.
Creatine, a popular bodybuilding supplement, is another nootropic that not only promotes muscle growth but also improves short-term memory and reasoning skills.
You can see a list of conventional natural and synthetic nootropics in the following.
Natural nootropics: Caffeine, L-Theanine, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Bacopa Monnieri, Ginkgo Biloba, Panax Ginseng, Nicotine, Creatine
Synthetic nootropics: Noopept, Piracetam, Phenotropil, Modafinil, Amphetamines, Methylphenidate
How do they work?
Nootropics can improve brain function because they help increase the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a naturally-occurring protein in the brain that protects neurons, promotes the growth of brain cells, and also controls the life and death of them. It can enhance synaptic adaptability, which can speed up information processing in your brain.
Also, smart drugs can positively change the function of the brain by affecting neurotransmission, bioenergetics, or indirectly altering the levels of hormones that affect the brain functions such as memory, alertness, attention, and various faculties that determine intelligence.
However, existing evidence seems to support only the short-term advantages, not covering long-term side effects, and we want to shed some light on the subject, whether nootropics worth the risk and should you take it to improve your brain functionality.
Should you take nootropics to speed up achieving your career and fitness goals?
If nootropics works, they can make you more productive, happier, more alert, and will help you form better habit patterns, otherwise they can keep you up all night, make you tired, give you a headache, or even cause a possibly harmful overdose.
Natural nootropic ingredients seem safe and effective for everyone, even college-age students, so long as taken as directed.
Although Nootropics will not make you dependent on a chemical, unlike illegal drugs, they have habit-forming properties which can make you emotionally reliant. One way to prevent this dependency is cycling, which means that you shouldn't take them like vitamin daily but occasionally with no precise pattern.
It also stops tolerance, a person's diminished response to a medication, which happens when it's used repeatedly so that the human body adjusts to it, like Alcohol, that larger and larger doses have to be taken over time to generate the first-day effect.
Side effects mostly appear when people begin stacking nootropics indiscriminately, taking megadoses, or obtaining them from unknown providers, which might have poor quality.
If you would like to be sure whatever you are taking is safe, look for nootropics which were backed by clinical trials and have existed long enough to get any potential warning signals or proven benefit. Not to mention, you should always consult with a healthcare professional before taking any supplement as each body is unique, and no one will have the same reaction to one or a combination of substances.
Although the notion of nootropics is appealing, there are many things a person can do to increase cognitive function like sound sleep, meditation, exercise, hydration, and following a healthy diet.
Galin D
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References:
1. Advokat CD, Guidry D, Martino L. Licit and illicit use of medications for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in undergraduate college students. Journal of American college health : J of ACH. 2008;56(6):601-606. doi:10.3200/JACH.56.6.601-606
2.Frati P, Kyriakou C, Rio A, et al. Smart Drugs and Synthetic Androgens for Cognitive and Physical Enhancement: Revolving Doors of Cosmetic Neurology. Current Neuropharmacology. 2015;13(1):5-11. doi:10.2174/1570159x13666141210221750
3. Avgerinos KI, Spyrou N, Bougioukas KI, Kapogiannis D. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Experimental gerontology. 2018;108:166-173. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2018.04.013