A nootropic is a brain booster. They are supplements that improve your brain’s general wellness and your cognitive performance. Not only do they promote healthy brain function over time but they also enhance your memory, focus, mood, attention, motivation, alertness and stress resistance.
Basically, any type of supplement that helps your brain function would be considered a nootropic. They do this by increasing the amount of oxygen flow to your brain and increasing your blood circulation, which boosts brain function because your brain constantly needs these two things to function optimally.
Stress levels, exercise, quality / quantity of sleep and diet play a huge role in your cognitive performance. Nootropics come to the rescue if any of these areas start causing your brain functioning to dip.
Where did nootropics come from? A Romanian psychologist and Chemist, Dr Corneliu E. Giurgea, is the founding father and discoverer of nootropics. He created six criteria that are absolutely key in a substance being considered a nootropic:
The benefits of nootropics can be broken down into two main categories – cognitive benefits (brain functioning), and brain health.
Cognitive benefits are things like your memory, attention span, general mood, mental energy, and health and your ability to learn and take in information. They do this by creating a physical barrier against stress also called stress resistance.
Your brain health, on the other hand, are aspects like how your brain is ageing, any structural changes in your brain, if you have any cognitive impairments or declines in cognitive abilities.
With the above in mind, a nootropics job is to increase brain energy, support your brain’s chemicals and chemical balance, boost blood flow to the brain, tune brain waves, protect brain, and to promote brain regeneration and renewal.
There are many types of nootropics, over 80 types! A list of the most common is below:
Essential nutrients – these are mainly the vitamins and minerals that may need to be supplemented to achieve healthy levels. Your brain’s function relies heavily on nootropic b-vitamins, mostly B6, B9, B12. Vitamin D3, K2 and mineral magnesium also contribute to brain function.
Herbs and mushrooms – the most popular types of herbs and mushrooms are botanical and can either be chewed, brewed, or steeped into teas. It is commonly the roots or leaves that are steeped.
Adaptogens – This is a sub-category of herbal cognitive enhancers. They naturally help improve your brain function and help the body fight against the negative effects of stress.
Brain-healthy fats – the most common types of brain health fats are phospholipids and Omega-3 fatty acids (heard this one before, haven’t you?). Phospholipids are found in fish, sunflower seeds, soy products and egg yolks and are a type of fat that plays an important role in your brain’s growth and repair. Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to cognitive performance measures such as your processing speed and attention span.
Choline sources – These are used by your body to make and use different types of fats. Choline sources support your brain structure and are very important in the repair and regeneration of your brain cells and tissue.
Antioxidant nootropics – mostly, these nootropics assist in protecting your brain against free radicals. Not all nootropics are able to cross your brain barrier, but antioxidant nootropics are one of the types that can.
Amino acid nootropics – These are definitely the most functional resource of nootropics and include a set of organic compounds that benefit cognitive ability by combating brain burnout. Nootropics support the working relationship between our neural-synapses and help to better communicate messages for an increased mental strength in your day. We aim to bring the highest quality natural and safe product into your lifestyle.
Often, many people struggle with creating and maintaining healthy habits because their eyes are set on the end-goal only. It is important to focus on the journey just as much as the destination.
Just like everything in an ecosystem is connected, the 8 dimensions in the well-being ‘ecosystem’ are connected as well. They cannot function alone. Our feelings of vitality and health are shaped by our daily practices, the quality of our relationships, and our connection with the environment we live in.
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement – it’s the good and bad things that we do each and every day that compound over time to create real change.” – Atomic Habits by James Clear
