1. Caffeine

We all like our nice and warm cup of coffee each morning right? Caffeine is a stimulatory anti-sleep compound shown to reduce tiredness, thereby waking you up and giving you quite a buzz!

It’s one of the first true nootropics and the second most traded commodity worldwide.

In short, caffeine hides the build up of adenosine from your receptors. Adenosine is a chemical messenger telling your brain to become less excited so as to slow down the build up of cellular junk. This mechanism is put in place to help you get more sleep, so it can consolidate memories, and refill it’s energy stores. That is until it wears off and a tsunami of tiredness is unleashed upon you. Aka the “coffee crash”.

Here’s a great ASAP Science video on the topic.

Learn more about caffeine here.

2. L-Theanine

If you have ever consumed green tea or Matcha then you have used L-Theanine! This compound is an extract from Camellia sinensis teas and green tea, and promotes relaxation without sedation.

There are many benefits associated with L-theanine including reduced anxiety, cognitive enhancement, sleep quality improvement, and increased subjective well-being.

L-theanine increases levels of various neurotransmitters in your brain, including: GABA, Dopamine, Serotonin, and Glycine — in addition to levels of BDNF and NGF.

It pairs extremely well with other stimulatory compounds such as caffeine, as it cancels out the jitters and anxiety, keeping you calm and happy.

Learn more about L-Theanine here.

3. TeaCrine

Theacrine is an awesome nootropic that is structurally similar to caffeine. It is naturally present in Kucha tea, and shown to decrease tiredness, mental fatigue and increase energy!

The amazing thing about TeaCrine is that it acts differently than coffee. Instead of giving you a massive coffee-high followed by a coffee-crash, TeaCrine is released much slower in your body, giving you a more sustained release of energy throughout the day.

This eliminates the over-stimulatory effects coffee can exhibit, and also significantly reduces the crash you get when the energy boost wears off.

Finally, in the clinical trials conducted on TeaCrine it was not shown to build a tolerance like caffeine, meaning that you can regularly consume the same dose and it will be just as effective, unlike caffeine which typically requires you to increase the dosage over time, leading to many unwanted side effects such as jitters, anxiety and an inability to sleep at night.

Learn more about TeaCrine here.

4. Citicoline

Choline is a precursor to Acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter for increasing learning, memory and concentration. It’s found in a range of foods such as eggs, liver and peanuts, as well as spinach and beets.

Choline is such an essential nutrient, yet something almost 60% of people are deficient in, according to the USDA. As it’s so difficult to derive from ones diet, it’s much more effective to take supplements such as Citicoline, which are synthetic versions of the natural-compound.

Citicoline works by raising levels of several important neurotransmitters including Acetylcholine and Dopamine. It also works as a neuro-protective agent, preventing damage from free-radicals and oxidative stress. It also promotes the synthesis of several other membranes, leading to repair and regeneration of axons and synapses, and prevents the accumulation of free fatty acids and the generation of free radicals.

Overall it’s something you want to make sure you’re not deficient in, otherwise your cognitive performance and overall health can suffer!

Learn more about Citicoline here.

5. Bacopa

Bacopa Monierri (aka Brahmi) has been used traditionally in Ayurvedic medicine to improve intellect, memory and anxiety for thousands of years! It has similarities to L-Theanine, in that it reduces anxiety and keeps you calm, but also provides additional benefits such as enhancing your memory.

Bacopa promotes memory and concentration whilst enhancing visual processing and reduce stress, which are all key characteristics of getting into a state of flow, as described by the Yerkes-Dodson law.

Bacopa Monnieri works by blocking stress signals in your brain. This is a proactive measure, stopping stress from triggering a response in the body before it happens, rather than calming you down after the fact.

Bacopa also increases levels of Kinase, which improves communication between our nerves.

And finally Bacopa increases the enzyme TPH2. This increases the production of new connections between neurons, via increasing the conversion of L-Tryptophan to Serotonin. This helps improve long-term memory.

It’s a nootropic with such a wide range of benefits that you want to be taking on a regular basis.

Learn more about Bacopa here.

6. Rhodiola

Rhodiola Rosea is used extensively in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is a Scandinavian herb that helps improve physical and cognitive vitality.

One of the most awesome properties of Rhodiola is the anti mental fatigue effects, which help you to think clearly throughout the entire day.

Rhodiola has been shown to improve mood and depression, alleviate stress and fatigue, and boosts concentration. It is believed to stimulate various AMPK enzymes, which results in more metabolic activity, better cell functioning, and increased cognitive energy.

Moreover Rhodiola increases Serotonin and Dopamine levels in the brain while also preventing their breakdown.

Rhodiola is definitely something you want to try if you’re looking to decrease mental fatigue throughout the day and generally feel good!

Learn more about Rhodiola here.

7. Curcumin

Curcumin is the active ingredient in Turmeric, that bright orange herb many people put in their food! But Curcumin doesn’t just look pretty, it has some really amazing whole-body benefits.

Curcumin has Anti-Inflammatory properties that help your body fight foreign invaders and repair damage. Low-level chronic inflammation plays a huge role in disease, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, metabolic syndrome, cancer and a range of other degenerative conditions.

Curcumin has been shown to boost BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which helps lower the risk of neurodegenerative brain diseases (we definitely don’t want that right!).

Although Curcumin has many awesome benefits, it needs to be consumed properly! Standard Curcumin extracts in capsule/pill form are not very effective, as their bioavailability is not very high. Whenever you consume Curcumin (or Turmeric) make sure you have it with Piperine (an active ingredient in Black Pepper), as it’s shown to increase the bioavailability by up to 2,000%! Second to that it works best when heated (with food), as it’s a heat-solubilized compound.

As you can see there’s significant benefits in regularly consuming Curcumin / Turmeric. I myself like to have a few grams of Turmeric a day, as well as a Curcumin extract, with food.

Learn more about Curcumin here.

8. Ginseng

Ginseng is a neat root extract shown to improve mood and cognition. It also has benefits that related to testosterone and exercise performance (you can see where I’m going there).

Ginseng has been shown to improve cognition (acutely) by virtue of its anti-fatigue effects, especially in individuals who already experience mental fatigue.

In studies many participants report an improvement in subjective wellbeing and happiness, especially for people who suffer from depressive symptoms or chronic diseases.

Similar to the next nootropic we’re going to explore below, Pycnogenol, Ginseng has been shown to improve blood flow in both individuals who suffer from certain health conditions and healthy individuals.

There’s also evidence to suggest that Ginseng can increase libido in older adults, boost testosterone and help with erectile disfunction. All things any male would want! Note that if you’re female, Ginseng is still totally fine to consume.

Ginseng is yet another nootropic compound that offers a range of amazing whole-body benefits.

Learn more about Ginseng here.

9. Pycnogenol

Pycnogenol, aka “Pine Bark Extract” enhances several cognitive functions, reduces oxidative stress and improves blood sugar control, as well as improves overall blood-flow via Nitric Oxide.

Pine-bark is an extract of the French maritime pine tree. It has been shown in a number of studies to have significant antioxidant properties. Antioxidants prevent oxidative radicals that can damage brain cells, and help increase brain function — helping to delay or prevent the onset of cognitive impairment later in life. In a nootropic context, Pine Bark Extract’s anti-aging benefits (and other beneficial bio-activities) appear to translate to long-lasting cognitive protection.

Research has found that pine extracts can reduce narrowing of arteries while also decreasing the presence of collagen within the arterial wall content, important in preventing elevated blood pressure and damage to the interior surfaces of blood vessels, thus leading to better blood flow to the brain.

If you’re taking other nootropics, it’s definitely good to throw a Pine Bark extract into the mix to amplify the properties of the other compounds.

Learn more about Pycnogenol here.

10. Omega 3's

Last but not least are Omega 3’s (aka fish, krill or algae oil), which are shown to reduce inflammation, improve cognition, mood and cardiovascular heath, as well as help protect your brain. What a line up of benefits!

Omega 3’s contain two important compounds, EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid), which provide all the benefits.

First of all, Fish oil supplementation has been shown to make people feel happier, by virtue of reducing depressive symptoms, and by reducing cortisol, aka the “stress hormone”. I am personally all for feeling happier! 😀

Fish oil is shown to improve cerebral blood flow and cerebral oxygenation (blood flow in your brain), especially in people with Omega 3 deficiencies. This is a common trait of many nootropics mentioned in this post (Ginseng and Pycnogenol).

In older adults likely suffering from neurodegenerative conditions, high doses of DHA / EPA have been shown to reduce cognitive decline. Another good nootropic for repairing damage by acting in a neuroprotective manner.

Finally DHA / EPA has shown in preliminary studies to improve memory (specifically working memory).

Note that the BEST possible form of DHA / EPA is wild fish (like salmon), very lightly cooked, or an algae based supplement. Many Fish and Krill oil products are exposed to oxidisation or become rancid before consumption, which not only makes them ineffective but makes them quite damaging to your body.

Learn more about Omega 3’s here.

And there you have it, 10 awesome nootropics that will help you become a total badass. Okay, that part is on you, but these compounds will surely help improve your brainpower in the long-term.

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Be happy and stay healthy peeps 😀

— John, CEO at Hapi.