Are you trying to find out more about Nootropics? Ever since Tim wrote that piece about Onnit, the topic has definitely grabbed my attention. So, I decided to do a little more digging about this, especially since with the type of work I do, I need some type of edge to help my focus and concentration.
By the way, if you already know what’s going on with this stuff and just want to get right to the specific products and brief reviews of some of our favorite companies producing what we think are the highest quality Nootropics supplements, that’s totally cool – just click here to head down the page to the section about our personal recommendations.
Alright… let’s go.
All Hype Aside: Do Your Research
So, when the health food and supplement industries hype a product, we all should still conduct our own research. I rarely take the brand CEO’s word for the significance of a product, no matter how tempting it is to believe what he or she says. That goes for miracle cures, weight loss products, and nootropics as for anything else. Nootropics are hot right now, but should we be as enamored with them as we seem to be? I have to say that I personally use some of these supplements – but I’ll do my best to be an objective reporter here.
Things We Pretty Much Already Know
Health agencies warn that our sedentary, high-sugar lives are hurting our brains. Rates of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease are on the rise. We all know what that looks like: not just forgetting what we ate for breakfast but forgetting people we know, forgetting to turn off the stove, forgetting to eat. Westerners see these symptoms in loved ones and fear the same is in store for them. It doesn’t help that a lot of press is devoted to the topic, and rightly so. We need to know the facts.
There are also many studies which show an increase in cases of autism and learning disorders. Whether this is simply because of heightened awareness, sometimes being too eager to classify in cases where kids might just be acting out, or a true rise in these figures is difficult to say. Whatever the case is, mothers and fathers with children who are genuinely struggling don’t care if they are one in a hundred or one in a thousand; they just want help and would prefer not to give their kids powerful drugs. Health food and supplements have to do something, don’t they?
Now On To Nootropics: What ARE They?
These are natural and synthetic supplements said to improve brain health and function. They are essentially what the movie Limitless is based off of. They include natural plant remedies, vitamins and minerals, and also some fancy drinks which are said to stimulate the brain without making a person jittery. Some are drugs designed to help a person stay awake during late night shifts and to help people with narcolepsy (falling asleep suddenly) lead full lives.
The best known and most readily accessible nootropic is caffeine, available in coffee and in supplement form