You may be tired, hardly coping with everyday stresses, anxieties, and seemingly unending struggles. In our highly-stressful society, due to competition and the need to survive—well, chances are.
Because of this, people became inclined to a “perhaps” more productive resort other than focusing on our good habits contributing to our overall fitness.
This resort was the use of ‘smart’ drugs or cognitive enhancers.
These smart drugs were known to help make you smart and more productive, which people sought and gave them hope for a more productive self.
But if productivity and being smart are important, so do our safety because these cognitive enhancers are more of what some people do know.
Let’s understand more about these ‘smart drugs’ or cognitive enhancers called Nootropics.
Nootropics: Worth it?
WHAT ARE NOOTROPICS
The term nootropic was coined and first used by Cornelius Guirgea in 1972. These substances should enhance memory, learning, and focus, especially for people with cognitive deficits.
They should possess very few side effects and extremely low toxicity.4+
Nootropics are broad classes describing a drug, supplement, or any substance that improves cognitive health.
They can be synthetic or lab-produced drugs or non-synthetic or natural nootropics.
They vary from your favorite cup of coffee in the morning, which contains caffeine that induces a nootropic effect, to the most serious stuff used to treat people with cognitive deficits like ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, sub-acute dementia, and other cognitive deficit conditions.
They are proven with biological effects, both good and bad.
However, its effect on enhancing our cognitive ability is still in need of more thorough research to be indeed proven, especially for healthy individuals.
The rise of people experiencing anxiety, stress, and depression caused people to be more inclined to use these “smart drugs” or cognitive enhancers to overcome it.
You can even find discussions, forums, and podcasts devoted to Nootropics topics. Researchers also found that a drastic increase in people with mental disorders was linked to when the COVID-19 outbreak hit.
Moreover, stress, anxiety, and depression cost the global economy around $1 trillion in lost productivity.
That made people even want to consume and benefit from the advantages of Nootropics.
Whether they are sold as prescribed by Doctors, over the counter, or somewhere on the internet, these substances should boost your cognitive function.
Moreover, these substances are linked to abuse, and addiction and adverse side effects are extensively considered.
Nootropics are not a single-pill solution for a problem; rather, it requires long-term use, which varies from pill to pill and person to person.
Though Nootropics can be anywhere, some are considered serious stuff given exclusively and need supervision from a medical professional for administering; these are called PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.
PRESCRIPTION NOOTROPIC DRUGS
These drugs are regulated by FDA and classified as safe for public use along with medical supervision and as prescribed by Doctors. Prescriptions given and signed by a Doctor are needed to purchase these drugs.
They are used as medications, usually with stimulant effects, given by medical professionals to patients with ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, sub-acute dementia, and other cognitive deficit conditions.
Long-term use of these substances is necessary to achieve efficacy and counteract symptoms from a certain condition.
Because of its proven help to brain function of cognitively impaired individuals, with the thought that it may be helpful for them, it became an interest to normal or healthy people and allegedly called these ‘smart drugs.’
An example of this was the reported illegal use of Adderall, a medication used to treat people with ADHD.
Based on the American Addiction Center in 2022, many students use Adderall non-medically to make them stay awake and study, while others use it to lose weight, while some purposely use it to feel euphoria.
While symptoms of Adderall addiction have been seen, long-term effects can include:
- Kidney damage.
- Insomnia.
- Intranasal damage from snorting it.
- Marital, financial, and personal problems.
However, while some studies found positive improvements in normal people after taking prescription drugs, others described it more likely as the placebo effect.
Placebo refers to a treatment designed to have no therapeutic benefit.
When improvement after taking these is felt, it is called a placebo effect, which associates with a person’s expectation that a certain medication could improve him.
Prescription drugs are known to help treat some cognitive deficiencies, yet their effectiveness for normal people has become controversial.
Because of NO PROVEN study supporting this, therefore it is not recommended.
The use of these prescription drugs without a prescription is considered off-label. Off-label use is the unapproved use of approved drugs.
This activity became dominant among businessmen, students, and athletes and has been linked to their dependence on these drugs, eventually making them addicted.
NON-SYNTHETIC NOOTROPICS
While prescription drugs aren’t recommended to healthy individuals because of the lack of research supporting their benefits, varieties of natural or non-synthetic Nootropics are available over-the-counter, in local pharmaceutical or health stores, or on the internet.
Each herbal extract was standardized in its own technical steps needed to meet the actual supplement that benefits our mental health.
Some of these are; Ginseng, ginkgo biloba, caffeine, and more. Though they do not specifically make us smarter, at some point, they help us function better.
Though natural or non-synthetic nootropics have lower toxicity, reducing the harm of overdosing, it is subject to different side effects when excessively used and when used with contraindications.
As the nootropic market grows, pharmaceutical companies continue to invest in studying and discovering substances that can help people with mental disorders.
However, benefits obtained from natural substances are being explored. Each nootropic substance has different benefits and precautions each one should be mindful of.
There may not be a special pill to make us literally smart, but we should be aware of what we should be looking for before buying Nootropics.
5 Things to Look For When Buying a ‘Brain Booster’
PRODUCT SOURCE
Nootropics are everywhere, from pharmaceutical and department stores to your local wellness store and even on the internet.
Because of the growing demand, nootropic brands are continuously growing as well; thus, choosing the right trusted brand might be a challenge.
Generally, you can see the most trusted ones from the pharmaceutical stores where our prescription drugs, over-the-counter nootropics, supplements, herbal products, and other health care ‘stuff’ are mainly available and regulated.
On the hand, the internet might be the least you can consider.
There might be a lot of sources of information, but not all data we are getting there is accurate. Some might be biased or just for promotions because anyone of any age can post on the internet.
Dietary Nootropic supplements are marketed as “herbal” or “natural,” which sound safe. Still, some dietary supplements contain drugs or ingredients not included in the appropriate regulatory standard.
Based on the Consumer Reports in 2022, dangerous or illegal nootropics are regularly promoted or advertised on the largest social media platform– Facebook.
Some of these chemicals and drugs prohibited by the Food and Drug Administration are Phenibut and Kratom.
The Food and Drug Administration ensures public health and safety by regulating food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical products.
BRAND REPUTATION
Nonetheless, the brand you should choose should come from a reputable company to ensure a higher safety assurance. To check a company’s reputation, you can check its official website and find the ‘about us’ section.
Suppose a company has been running for several years. In that case, that’s a score and more like they offer an excellent standard of products, but that doesn’t guarantee their good reputation.
You may also check the legitimacy of their phone number, email address, location, testing procedures, and more.
With a quick Google search, you can also find the company history, whether or not it has ever been associated with an issue with the Food and Drug Administration about their products.
In your search, you can also find reviews fromverified customers only and check what they are saying about the brand and certain products as well.
Because some marketing strategies use fake reviews from dummy customers to attract and gain new customers.
QUALITY ASSURANCE SEAL
Though supplements aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Association, they may undergo quality testing by third-party organizations like NSF International, US Pharmacopeia, Underwriters Laboratory, Consumer Lab, and more to ensure properly manufactured products.
These are the certification seals on some dietary supplement products, indicating that they have passed the quality test.
Though safety and quality aren’t guaranteed, the quality assurance seal suggests that it contains the ingredients the label says it does and that the product doesn’t contain any potentially harmful contaminants.
You can verify them from some third-party organizations on their website, like ConsumerLab and NSF International, and others.
TYPE OF NOOTROPIC
You may be considering the quality of the nootropic you are buying. Still, before that, you should also look at what type of nootropic is for you.
Understand what your body tells you; if you feel something is not good, you should seek an expert’s help.
While prescription nootropics are recommended for those with cognitive deficits, supplements, herbs, and other synthetic compounds aren’t for everyone as well.
While side effects after overuse of nootropics are a concern, contraindications are likewise looked for.
Contraindications are your medical or current conditions that are harmful when a certain nootropic has been taken, just like Ginseng, which isn’t suitable for people with hypertension, and ginkgo biloba, which is not suitable for people who will undergo surgery.
Seek medical help if you are considering taking a nootropic, especially when you are pregnant, lactating, and with a cardiovascular condition to know whether you are safe to use a certain nootropic.
It is best to consult an expert for guidance and relay to them truthfully the following:
- Tell them exactly what you are feeling: are there health conditions you are currently experiencing? Chronic fatigue, stress, body pain, etc. Tell them everything on your best.
- Your medical history: have you been diagnosed with a disease before? Have you undergone surgery?
- Substances you are currentlyusing: because some substances should not interact with each other, tell your medical expert if you are ever taking vitamins or any supplements or substances.
- Other details about your health and lifestyle: tell them about your vices; are you smoking or an alcoholic? Do you sleep deprive yourself
PRICE
You may search for a cheap nootropic to match your budget, but the cheapest one might not be the right choice. As a general rule, a higher price equals higher quality and standard.
The higher the price of a certain nootropic substance, the higher the chance it has undergone quality assurance from a third-party organization.
PROVEN EFFECTIVE BRAIN BOOSTERS
While more people are increasingly using nootropics and claim to help them every day to maintain focus and be productive, though there are not tons of evidence about the claims, we should be aware of its consumption and whether or not we are dealing with a trustworthy nootropic manufacturer.
Researching might be time-consuming, but it’s worth your safety.
Remember that these nootropic supplements, whether or not effective, should not replace your diet. As Medical News Today suggests, in addition to the seven steps to keep the brain healthy by the American Heart Association, which are:
- Get regular exercise
- Eat a healthful diet
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Control cholesterol
- Regulate blood sugar levels
- Manage blood pressure
- Quit smoking
These are other proven effective brain boosters:
- Get physically active
- Eat a brain-boosting Mediterranean diet
- Expand cognitive abilities with training
- Learn a new language
- Study a musical instrument
