Nootropics? Anyone familiar with them?

[randomnumber314]

Lots of broscience in the nootropics niche. Plenty of supplement companies willing to fill the void of information with their marketing insights. I treat every pill as a skeptic--what does the Dr. recommend, and what are they basing their recommendation on.

Be very careful with internet scientists testing and suggesting things, chances are there isn't a well controlled test environment. Additionally, the internet scientist might not--gasp--be as well versed in chemical/biological recourse as you think.

I'd venture a guess that a chat with your typical endocrinologist will yield much better results than an in depth debate with an internet nootropics expert.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Guest14692]

I tried Alpha Brain and was disappointed. Wouldn't recommend it.

If I could afford it, to DanielTArgueta's point, I'd check out truBrain. If Joe Rogan didn't have sponsors to worry about, thats what he would be recommending over the Onnit supplement.

I may try buying the products separately in the near future.

 

[voltron]

have you guys ever considered meditation? or just looking for a quick fix ?

 

[Austin_S28]

I use a supplement called synadrex.

I work weird hours and often don't sleep a lot...

It can be found on amazon for 23-24 bucks for 45 caps.

I'll feel like I got 9 hours of sleep in 30 minutes and will be sharp all day.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

have you guys ever considered meditation?

Many here do meditation, some discussions on it probably in the Health/Fitness subforum.

 

[JaxAttacks]

I have got to get my diet in order. I've cut soda out and quit smoking in the last 6 months but I've gotta cut the other crap out and replace it with healthy foods. Then, I might mess around with things like Alpha Brain if I feel like I still want to.

 

[JustKris]

I've tried a few. I don't use them regularly. They're generally inexpensive---try something like Powder City or Bulk Supplements.

Noopept---Good focus, relaxation, and a general feeling of creativity.

Piracetam---The same, but not as intense.

With piracetam, etc---make sure to also take choline.

And to echo the other posters---a good diet makes a HUGE difference. Cutting out wheat, dairy, and sugar cleared up my brain fog in a huge way.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[handshaker]

Lots of broscience in the nootropics niche. Plenty of supplement companies willing to fill the void of information with their marketing insights. I treat every pill as a skeptic--what does the Dr. recommend, and what are they basing their recommendation on.

Be very careful with internet scientists testing and suggesting things, chances are there isn't a well controlled test environment. Additionally, the internet scientist might not--gasp--be as well versed in chemical/biological recourse as you think.

I'd venture a guess that a chat with your typical endocrinologist will yield much better results than an in depth debate with an internet nootropics expert.

I completely agree. Nootropic sites went from factual information like wiki, to bullsh!t US type hype propaganda. It's such a shame!

There are a few sites which do it well, these will always include studies, and references where ever they can, four great examples are xxxxxxxxx and many others now follow suit.

They won't TELL you their opinion, but rather explain those of others and give you the science. Much better imo

EDITED BY VIGILANTE. NO EXTERNAL LINKS FOR NEWBIES UNTIL WE KNOW YOU AREN'T A SPAMMER. Welcome to the forum. Don't post any more links.

 

[Malcolm_X]

Been taking noopept + choline bitartate + ALCAR for a few weeks now. Sometimes I feel a good clear focus and thought flow, sometimes not. I've noticed a better, more fluent speech - most people won't notice this, but I have mild problems (was worse in the past) with speech, so could clearly see the difference.

Also started taking theanine with coffee and melatonin before bed. So I cannot judge the effects of individual supps exactly.

I have the feeling that melatonin helps the most, as I have a damn good sleep and wake up without an alarm fully refreshed. Also need less sleep (this could be because of noopept as well I guess).

 

[TonyStark]

Snake oil.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[lucasmello]

My current stack: 1g of Oxiracetam + 900 mg of Choline + 300 mg of DMAE + 1.5 g of L-Tyrosine + 1.5g of L-Taurine...and Vitamin C, Caffeine, Omega 3, all that shit.

Nootropics make me more productive, but they also F*ck a bit of your sleep. Although this stack doesn't interfere with my ability to sleep (like Modafinil did), it does lower the quality of the sleep I am getting.

 

[Malcolm_X]

it does lower the quality of the sleep I am getting

That's exactly why I started with melatonin. Super cheap, effective and completely harmless (if taken in appropriate dosage).

 

[RunWithIt]

Do they work? What are your experiences with them? Any suggestions on nootripics to try?

One I recently came across is called Alpha Brain. Heard good things, wonder if anyone has tried it.

I'm looking for a cognitive enhancer. I need more focus, clarity etc.

Modafinil seems to be more person specific, I picked up 2 months worth from a affiliate site mentioned on this thread, While it definitely did help me focus for the first few hours, in general I felt more lethargic.
Dosing about 50mg seemed to be just the right amount of clarity for me, although with that being said getting a good sleep and drinking 3+ litres of water made me feel the same way. Waste of money IMO still have 55 left and I doubt they will get used.

Shipping into Canada is tough you will have to use a mail forwarder such as skypax.
Also there were a ton of hidden fees what was supposed to be 160$ ended up costing closer to 300$

L-Theanine remains one of my favourites I take it once in a while if I am having a bad day or trouble sleeping.

Best part about that is you can buy it from your local health foods store.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChrisJTurner]

The best thing for me was to get better quality sleep, it works wonders.

My brain is on full throttle most of the day, thinking of various different things, so the 2 things that worked for me are:

5-FTP - Very, very cheap... though it makes me feel a little on edge.
&
L-Tryptophan - Helps me feel more relaxed and wake up in the morning feeling 'switched on'

I guess id choose latter. Though, I have nothing else to compare to, since these are the only two ive tried.

 

[NetBorn]

My two cents for my experience up to day. I'm conservative and very healthy, so I take nootropics that qualify more as food supplements and aim on deficiency caused by stress, aging ... laziness or lack of motivation : ) But you'll still appreciate my points:

Currently I only take Pregnenolone, L-tyrosine, vegetable oils (flax seed and other), raw nuts and very little choline from cinnamon tea (only late in the afternoon - I'll elaborate below ). Pregnenolone makes miracles for stressed or elder people, but I take it only sub-lingual in very little amounts - like 5 mg ( tested for toxicity with 10 000 mg , so very safe ) ... won't go in details, but maybe I needed just that to compensate for some deficiency caused from stress - I was starting to loose energy for everything and this just makes me feel I'm 20 again (I also can stay hungry for longer with focus and not feel so tired after fitness). It also helped my girlfriend with menstrual pains and other ... stuff.

Stopped coffee - it literally makes your brain slower and shuts down the energy flow to it, although you feel more calm, hence "focused", it has a negative effect on your mental energy (it also has 2 weeks cycle).

Ah, and talking about coffee, almost forgot - green tea makes miracles in the morning : It has L-Theanine , which has great effect on being calm, but sharp - I heard managers claim it helps them with stress and procrastination on taking decisions ... it has caffeine though, but I can't find in pure form - I live in small EU country where it is hard to find almost any supplements - it took me 2 months to find Pregnenolone from another city.

Also instead of coffee I sometimes take citruline - it gives you very nice physical boost, like you ate lemon (what it actually is). If you feel "toxic", tired, low energy ... you'd feel fresh without side effects. Very common for sportsmen and they put in amino acids and drinks, but not popular for regular people ( maybe lemonade is a market competitor ).

I wanted to make one I think important point : Be careful with choline. A lot of people have it naturally high in the brain - I work with my brain but I hardly deplete the natural choline during the day, so I take minimal those around 5 p.m. to give mi final boost for non work related stuff. If you take too much, without feeling sleepy or already tired or being on real stress ... you get a headache for a few hours (at least me). I think it is from person to person, my natural intelligence (not wisdom) seems to be high even from IQ tests when I was little. I was fan of Alpha GPC (purest form of choline) , but this was when I was really studying heavily and going to work - I could take 500 mg before noon like that, but today if I only lick it ... it knock is me on the bed for 2-3 hours. So be careful with the different forms of it and the amount, otherwise it is something I'd recommend anyone.

And the best nootropic is FREEDOM - I'm not an office worker - I arrange my time, sleep how and when I want, I don't breathe shitty air, my light is just how I like it, no noises, no stress - I have an allergy to offices already and I'll open a new thread later, but this should maybe be my fastlane answer to "Why?" (really mind blown on this topic when MJ discussed in the book - I don't have this currently I think : ( , I'm in a too comfort zone ... )

 

[Roli]

My two cents for my experience up to day. I'm conservative and very healthy, so I take nootropics that qualify more as food supplements and aim on deficiency caused by stress, aging ... laziness or lack of motivation : ) But you'll still appreciate my points:

Currently I only take Pregnenolone, L-tyrosine, vegetable oils (flax seed and other), raw nuts and very little choline from cinnamon tea (only late in the afternoon - I'll elaborate below ). Pregnenolone makes miracles for stressed or elder people, but I take it only sub-lingual in very little amounts - like 5 mg ( tested for toxicity with 10 000 mg , so very safe ) ... won't go in details, but maybe I needed just that to compensate for some deficiency caused from stress - I was starting to loose energy for everything and this just makes me feel I'm 20 again (I also can stay hungry for longer with focus and not feel so tired after fitness). It also helped my girlfriend with menstrual pains and other ... stuff.

Stopped coffee - it literally makes your brain slower and shuts down the energy flow to it, although you feel more calm, hence "focused", it has a negative effect on your mental energy (it also has 2 weeks cycle).

Ah, and talking about coffee, almost forgot - green tea makes miracles in the morning : It has L-Theanine , which has great effect on being calm, but sharp - I heard managers claim it helps them with stress and procrastination on taking decisions ... it has caffeine though, but I can't find in pure form - I live in small EU country where it is hard to find almost any supplements - it took me 2 months to find Pregnenolone from another city.

Also instead of coffee I sometimes take citruline - it gives you very nice physical boost, like you ate lemon (what it actually is). If you feel "toxic", tired, low energy ... you'd feel fresh without side effects. Very common for sportsmen and they put in amino acids and drinks, but not popular for regular people ( maybe lemonade is a market competitor ).

I wanted to make one I think important point : Be careful with choline. A lot of people have it naturally high in the brain - I work with my brain but I hardly deplete the natural choline during the day, so I take minimal those around 5 p.m. to give mi final boost for non work related stuff. If you take too much, without feeling sleepy or already tired or being on real stress ... you get a headache for a few hours (at least me). I think it is from person to person, my natural intelligence (not wisdom) seems to be high even from IQ tests when I was little. I was fan of Alpha GPC (purest form of choline) , but this was when I was really studying heavily and going to work - I could take 500 mg before noon like that, but today if I only lick it ... it knock is me on the bed for 2-3 hours. So be careful with the different forms of it and the amount, otherwise it is something I'd recommend anyone.

And the best nootropic is FREEDOM - I'm not an office worker - I arrange my time, sleep how and when I want, I don't breathe shitty air, my light is just how I like it, no noises, no stress - I have an allergy to offices already and I'll open a new thread later, but this should maybe be my fastlane answer to "Why?" (really mind blown on this topic when MJ discussed in the book - I don't have this currently I think : ( , I'm in a too comfort zone ... )

Very interesting what you say about green tea, is that any kind of green tea or is there a specific type or brand I should be going for?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Roli]

Tried Aniracetam and it helped me focus, increased confidence, better speech, etc.

Tried Noopept and it just made me have super tunnel vision, overly focused, etc.

Aniracetam is far better in my experience.

Nonetheless: Solid diet + exercise + sleep + meditation = Natural NZT-48 pill. (Limitless movie reference!)

Hi, where do you get Aniracetam?

 

[NetBorn]

Very interesting what you say about green tea, is that any kind of green tea or is there a specific type or brand I should be going for?

Thanks for the question,
You're right, it seems to depend - currently the most quality , but more expensive one, I can find is TWININGS Green tea. Cheaper ones have effect, but I have to use two tea bags and they make me a little nervous - maybe more caffeine or toxins in them ...
I'm not a tea expert - I just go for teas (green, cinnamon , pu-erh ... ) because I can't find a pure form here.
I had a boss from London, and when he was here, he was very picky on his tea ... we went from supermarket to supermarket to find something he can bare himself on drinking : ))) (he is a start-up guru with a lot of money from investments, so respect him, although very bad manager for internal organisation stuff)

I also missed to mention L-taurine ... I don't have it currently and rarely buy it but gives great mood, I would just have small sip of pure amino-acids like 8:1:1 in water , gives similar effect, but also rarely use it.

And another think very important I think : )))) : Think about your hormones, at least common sense things :

• Insulin kills your testosterone and growth hormone levels - this means sometimes better wait before eating after training - wait 30 minutes or better 60 before that protein shake; also wait in the morning before 1st meal or late when you have a lot of work, don't eat too late - again you release insulin and sleep is not best.
• Also in the morning between 8-9 your hormones become very high - goal of the body is to wake you up. My understanding is to NOT take anything besides water at that period or you kill your body's best natural nootropic effect - you make it release insulin, you mess up with coffee and kill your natural energy ... just wait a bit to see how you'd feel
• I find intermittent fasting life-changing, but you can't go into it like that - I'm just mentioning it, just because it is the thing that touches natural hormone levels a lot.

 

[T-K]

Look for Piracetam. Least side effect, least withdrawal(almost none).

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[bizman007]

The best thing for me was to get better quality sleep, it works wonders.

My brain is on full throttle most of the day, thinking of various different things, so the 2 things that worked for me are:

5-FTP - Very, very cheap... though it makes me feel a little on edge.
&
L-Tryptophan - Helps me feel more relaxed and wake up in the morning feeling 'switched on'

I guess id choose latter. Though, I have nothing else to compare to, since these are the only two ive tried.

I use this same combination to cure my anxiety and depression. This increases serotonin and dopamine naturally. However I am interested in something to give me more energy and focus.

 

[Roli]

Thanks for the question,
You're right, it seems to depend - currently the most quality , but more expensive one, I can find is TWININGS Green tea. Cheaper ones have effect, but I have to use two tea bags and they make me a little nervous - maybe more caffeine or toxins in them ...
I'm not a tea expert - I just go for teas (green, cinnamon , pu-erh ... ) because I can't find a pure form here.
I had a boss from London, and when he was here, he was very picky on his tea ... we went from supermarket to supermarket to find something he can bare himself on drinking : ))) (he is a start-up guru with a lot of money from investments, so respect him, although very bad manager for internal organisation stuff)

I also missed to mention L-taurine ... I don't have it currently and rarely buy it but gives great mood, I would just have small sip of pure amino-acids like 8:1:1 in water , gives similar effect, but also rarely use it.

And another think very important I think : )))) : Think about your hormones, at least common sense things :

• Insulin kills your testosterone and growth hormone levels - this means sometimes better wait before eating after training - wait 30 minutes or better 60 before that protein shake; also wait in the morning before 1st meal or late when you have a lot of work, don't eat too late - again you release insulin and sleep is not best.
• Also in the morning between 8-9 your hormones become very high - goal of the body is to wake you up. My understanding is to NOT take anything besides water at that period or you kill your body's best natural nootropic effect - you make it release insulin, you mess up with coffee and kill your natural energy ... just wait a bit to see how you'd feel
• I find intermittent fasting life-changing, but you can't go into it like that - I'm just mentioning it, just because it is the thing that touches natural hormone levels a lot.

Nice advice, I have been trying green tea and I like the effects.

I tried green, jasmine tea the other day with 200mg of Modafinil and boy, was that good!