Full Guide to Using Nootropics

Using nootropics can greatly enhance your cognitive performance and potential. Taking the right ones at the right time can not only improve your ability to focus, concentrate, think, etc. but also has the potential to improve your brain health. While these compounds are very safe to consume and have extremely low toxicity rates, there are things to consider when combining different substances. This article will cover everything you need to know about creating the perfect stack. If you haven't already explored our articles on specific ingredients, please do so after reading this. 

 

Picking the ingredients

Picking the correct ingredients to use together or alone is essential to creating a long lasting effective regiment. While most nootropics work to accomplish the same, or similar goals, each one has its own unique benefits that set it apart from its peers. Here is a list of example situations and ingredients to consider with each. 

Brain Health

Most nootropics fall into the category of brain health, those most notable include the choline precursors and adaptogens.

Examples include: Alpha-GPC, Citicholine, Phosphatidylserine, Lions Mane Mushroom, Ginkgo Biloba, Bacopa Monnieri, Panax Ginseng, DMAE Bitartrate, Cordyceps, and more. 

Focus 

Once again, most nootropics help with focus, but certain ones help more than others. Most choline precursors would be very good options here. 

Examples include: Alpha-GPC, Citicholine, DMAE Bitartrate, L-tyrosine, Caffeine WITH L-theanine.

Motivation/Creativity 

Motivation and creativity are combined into one category here because they are very specific to two kinds of nootropics. L-tyrosine and Lion's mane. L-tyrosine is unique as it is a precursor to dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation. While there are several nootropics that can help spark creativity, lions mane seems to be the most powerful. 

Thinking Speed 

Another very specific category. Thinking speed can be attributed to both choline precursors and especially, ingredients that help create the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath is like insulation for our neurons, and allows them to conduct signals faster. Essentially, the more myelin a neuron has, the faster it send signals to the next neuron. 

Examples include: Phosphatidylserine, Fish Oil, Alpha-GPC, Citicholine, DMAE Bitartrate. 

Stress Reduction

Here adaptogens reign king, as they have the ability to reduce your brains response to stress, and modulate the release of cortisol, allowing you to perform for longer with reduced exhaustion. This helps create a very tunnel like flow state. 

Examples include: Lions Mane Mushroom, Ginkgo Biloba, Bacopa Monnieri, Panax Ginseng, Rhodiola Rosea, Ashwaghanda, Holy Basil, L-theanine, etc. 

Memory

Most nootropics have a component that can help with memory, but there are several that are especially powerful. 

Examples include: Phosphatidylserine, Alpha-GPC, Bacopa Monnieri, Panax Ginseng, Vitamins B6, 9, and 12, L-tyrosine, Huperzine A, Fish Oil, L-theanine

 

How to use them all together 

As you can see, there are multiple different nootropics that have multiple different functions. If you are wondering if you can combine all of these to create the ultimate stack, the answer is yes, with some caveats. 

First, you must consider the end goal of creating the stack. If you are creating a stack to help you calm down during the day, adding things like caffeine and L-tyrosine may not be very beneficial. Likewise, if you want lots of powerful focus fueled energy, taking 10 different adaptogens at max dosage may be a little counter productive. The key is to find the balance between all of them. 

Another specific issue to take into account is combining choline precursors. Having several choline precursors can be very beneficial and effective, provided you don't have too much. Too much choline can create an overproduction of acetylcholine which actually ends up creating the opposite of the desired effect. Lethargy, brain fog, and inability to focus properly can be seen in this. The key is to establish an understanding of your own tolerance, as this amount is different for everyone. A good rule of thumb to adding an additional choline precursor to your stack, is to halve the amount of the first one, and then slowly increase the amount of each while remaining in the efficacious window, which brings us to the next topic:

Never use an ingredient under its effective dose, unless combining with others. This follows the rule of not using too many choline precursors. Say you are wanting the benefits of both Bacopa monneiri and rhodiola rosea without getting too much adaptogenic effect. The solution would be to use a slightly lower amount of both, getting a combined effect. Typically users will dose at the lower ends of the effective range, rather than dosing below, but you may find that dosing below the effective range with multiple similar ingredients gives you the desired effect. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, using nootropics can be extremely beneficial for multiple different situations. There are few people who would complain about a heightened ability to focus or increased brain health. As stated in the introduction this article, please visit our websites pages about specific ingredients to learn more about each one and help determine which ones are best for you.