What Are The Best Nootropics for Energy?
The word “Nootropics” is a term used as an umbrella over a class of nutritional substances that are a mix of manmade chemicals and nutritional supplements that enhance the cognitive benefits to the brain. To be classified as a nootropic, the substance must first meet 5 specific criteria as set forth by Dr. Corneliu E. Giugea who is the man who named the class of supplements.
Here are the 5 criteria as set forth by Dr. Corneliu E. Giugea:
- Enhance the memory and the ability to learn.
- Help the human brain in function even under disruptive conditions like low oxygen (hypoxia) or electroconvulsive shock.
- Protect the brain from chemicals such as anticholinergic drugs and the use of barbiturates.
- Improve and increase the ability of the neuronal firing control in both the cortical and the sub-cortical areas of the brain.
- Have no known side effects and be non-toxic.
Typically, nootropics are used as a cognitive enhancer. They are believed to improve energy, focus and memory function in the brain. Nootropics may range from everyday substances such as caffeine (morning coffee anyone?) to Omega 3s.
Nootropics For Energy
Energy is a vital component to everyday life. We exert energy just getting out of bed in the morning and will require some form of sustained energy to get through our day. Everyone is energized differently.
Energy is the foundation for motivation, focus, memory, moods (both good and bad), creativity, your cognitive capacity and anything else that you will need or want to do in a day. As we age, this energy will begin to lag as well. It’s part of life, or is it?
For decades people have relied on that morning cup of coffee to get them going. Caffeine is a nootropic. It helps to wake you up in the morning when used in this fashion. It stimulates the release of some chemicals in the brain that will energize you and wake you up. It may rev the brain up to the point that you can get moving in the morning.
Typically, as that caffeine from that first cup of coffee wears off, people either reach for another cup or they seek to find another way to improve their energy.
If you’re tired of that late morning or afternoon lag, you’ll want to try some nootropics to see if you can naturally boost your energy levels and maintain focus on your daily tasks. These nootropics may help energize your day in a more natural way.
| Nootropic | Formula | Typical Dose | Half Life | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrafinil | C15H15NO3S | 150-300 mg | 1 hour (then 12-15 hours as Modafinil) | |
| L-Theanine | C7H14N2O3 | 100-200 mg | 2.5 – 4.5 hours | |
| L-Tyrosine | C9H11NO3 | 500-1000 mg | N/A | |
| Rhodiola Rosea | N/A | 100-500 mg | N/A | |
| Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) | C9H17NO4 | 500 mg | 1 – 4 hours | |
| Modafinil | C15H15NO2S | 50-200 mg | 15 hours | |
| Noopept | C17H22N2O4 | 10-30 mg | 30-60 minutes | |
| Oxiracetam | C6H10N2O3 | 800-1500 mg | 8 hours | |
| Phenylpiracetam | C13H24NO10P | 100-200 mg | 3-5 hours |
Adrafinil
This is a wake-up supplement that has great nootropic properties. When used as a supplement it can help to improve the length of focus and energy so that you can get that demanding “To-do” list taken care of.
L-Theanine
If you drink green tea, you’re already getting this nootropic in your diet. It’s the main ingredient in the leaves of your green tea. It will improve your energy, motivation, and stress levels.
L-Tyrosine
This amino acid may help to improve your cognitive abilities, increase your focus, energize you and improve your mood. It will lower the effects of stress and it will improve your brain chemistry and add to your peak performance levels (energy).
Rhodiola Rosea
Long touted as “Mother Nature’s Prozac”, Rhodiola Rosea is a great mental and physical mood and energizer. It will help ease you through the most stressful of days and improve your ability to maintain your energy levels throughout the day. It will also protect your brain from the unhealthy and negative effects of too much stress.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR)
As an antioxidant and a neuroprotectant, this is a great nootropic for increasing your energy levels. It will reduce the signs of aging and work well with other supplements in the nootropic family to help them work better.
Modafinil
This wakefulness promoting supplement is frequently used off-label to enhance mental performance and keep people awake. It’s used in some “energy” drinks and has had decades of studies and research done showing that it works very well for such purposes.
Noopept
As one of the strongest nootropics on the market today, this offers the improvement of cognition and it has a slight psychostimulatory effect which means that it will help to boost energy. It begins to work within minutes of taking it and many use it just before beginning a task that will require stamina and energy.
Oxiracetam
This popular supplement works to boost the brain power and enhance the spectrum of the cognitive abilities. It restores mental and physical energy as well.
Phenylpiracetam
Phenylpiracetam is the lesser-known cousin of the racetam family. It is rapidly gaining popularity and will help to increase energy and cognitive abilities. It is sometimes used by athletes to improve their performance.
Why Should I Use Nootropics For Energy?
Regardless of how you feel, everyone needs a little boost. Refer back to the morning coffee routine. If you’re feeling burned out, if you’re depressed due to personal or workload reasons, if you’re trying to overcome procrastination, or have other reasons, you may require a boost now and again.
How Do I Take Nootropics?
You can buy nootropics as supplements that are already in capsule form. These are readily available online and in brick and mortar nutritional supplement stores or large stores that have a pharmaceutical area that sells vitamins.
You can also find nootropics in powder form and add them to your foods or drinks. However, it must be stressed that when using the powder forms it’s vital to measure your dosages accurately and you may wish to invest in a scale so that you can properly dose the nootropic powders into your food and beverages.
You can also take the powders and make your own capsules. There are kits that will allow you to fill your own capsules and all you have to do is buy the empty capsules, the nootropic powders and use the kit to place the powder into the capsules.
Now that you know what the best nootropics are for energy, you can choose what best suits your needs and energize your day. Remember, that first cup of coffee in the morning counts as a nootropic.
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