Going back to basics and seeking natural solutions for common conditions is what natural nootropics are all about!  Sometimes these natural solutions are in the forms of leaf extracts, root extracts, and mushrooms—or even bark, as is the case with Yohimbe.  Yohimbe (from the Pausinystalia yohimbe tree) has been coveted for its bark in its native African folklore. The bark of the P. yohimbe tree contains the alkaloid we’re all interested in:  Yohimbe.  The bark contains other alkaloids which can total up to 6% of the total content of the bark.  An alkaloid is a compound derived from a plant...

There is an old saying that if you’re good at language, you should be good at math.  After all, isn’t math (especially algebra) a language of its own?  This doesn’t always hold true for those of us who excel in language arts yet struggle with mathematics, but all is not lost:  new research has found that the areas of the brain geared for reading are also engaged during math. Researchers were initially studying dyslexia at the University of Buffalo when they noticed that the brain was using the same functional networks for reading as it was for math. When you’re...

Some of the best ways to protect your immune system are washing your hands often, keeping the surfaces in common areas and high-traffic areas wiped down with disinfectants, and being aware of keeping your hands away from your eyes, mouth, and nose.  As careful as you can be, you can never know if the person next to you is taking similar steps, so it helps to add in a few supplements to keep your level of protection high from the inside out. Vitamin D Vitamin D is an important immune system ally.  Your body can make Vitamin D from sun exposure, but...

Instant gratification:  it’s a rush of endorphins and neural activity that can make even the most driven person make questionable choices—but could you delay your gratification as well as a child or a cuttlefish?  You read that right; a cognitive test designed to measure the ability of a child to delay gratification has now been passed by a cephalopod, perhaps putting us all to shame. The popular marshmallow test was a test designed to see if children could be left alone with a marshmallow by Stanford researchers in the 1970s.  Children were told that if they waited 15 minutes and...

With many of us coming up to the one-year mark of being at home due to the pandemic, it can be easy to get caught up in comparing what we did/are still doing during our time at home.  Some people seemed to whiz through it and experienced an even greater uptick in productivity without having to deal with the office bureaucracy, and others of us went numb and binged tv; while others of us ran out of things to do and were more bored than ever.  If you felt like you couldn’t focus on anything in the same way that...

Researchers announced the first two-way conversation with a person in a deep state of sleep a few weeks ago.  It’s the first successful type of messaging to a person during sleep.  Whether you’re looking at it in terms of the vast possibilities this offers or are looking at it through an Orwellian lens, it’s probably got you wondering how you might be able to take advantage of the time while you’re asleep.  After all, if the people in the study could still do math and fight goblins (as one participant reported), what might you be able to accomplish during your...

If you’re familiar with nootropics, you probably know what a useful tool they can be for working with our neurotransmitters.  It’s just as likely that if you’re interested in nootropics, herbs, and supplements that you are interested in learning to use these tools to help boost your cognition, improve your memory, and help you focus. A powerful neurotransmitter called acetylcholine is produced within our bodies to assist the nervous system.  It’s especially concentrated in areas of the brain related to learning and memory and is one of the fastest ways to help you feel sharper and think more clearly.  In...

As fans of nootropics and innovating ways to make the most out of our lives, we are accustomed to breaking through glass ceilings and pushing past our limits.  There is a space that comes after landing in new territory (cognitive, spiritual, or physical) where we have to regain our footing and acclimate to the novel place in which we find ourselves after we reach new levels.  We find ourselves facing these new horizons all the time, these “new normals,” as part of the growth process, so why should we feel so uncomfortable facing a new normal on a global scale?...

Out of all our organs, the most easily overlooked organ is our liver.  While it’s easy to exercise for our hearts and lungs, stay hydrated for our kidneys, and eat fiber for our intestinal system, what do we do for the liver? The liver works constantly to help process everything that we take into our bodies.  Everything from foods to medicines to caffeine to the vitamins and supplements we take to keep ourselves healthy requires action on the liver’s part in order to metabolize and process. There aren’t many direct ways to take care of your liver other than trying...

If you’re familiar with L-Theanine, you’ll know that L-theanine is an amino acid that is found in tea leaves (green, black, and white), so it might be counterintuitive to think of taking L-theanine as a supplement with Green Tea Extract—isn’t there L-theanine in Green Tea Extract? Green Tea Extract, or EGCG, is a specific catetchin extracted from the leaves of green tea.  As such, it does not contain the other constituents of the green tea leaf, so it does not contain any L-Theanine. Green tea has been consumed for thousands of years for its health benefits:  it has anti-inflammatory properties,...

If you’re trying to boost dopamine levels, you may have heard of all the usual ways, such as getting more exercise, eating more foods specifically concentrated in tyrosine, and getting plenty of rest.  There is also a simple and natural way to boost dopamine that comes from a plant known as “velvet bean” or Mucuna L-Dopa. Why would you want to boost your dopamine?  Dopamine helps the body deal with stress, both physical and psychological.  It is the same neurotransmitter linked to the reward-risk-motivation-pleasure pathways in the brain, but it’s so much more than just a feel-good chemical.  Many  people...

You may have seen Valerian in tea blends and sleep-aid supplements.  Valerian is an herb that has been used since the Middle Ages to treat sleeplessness.    More people are searching for natural alternatives and turning back to an age-old remedy might be the right way for you to go. It has to do with the neurotransmitters in the brain.  Both Lemon Balm and Valerian are believed to work with the GABA neurotransmitter, but each in different ways, and together.  Lemon Balm keeps more GABA around for the brain because it inhibits one of the enzymes which breaks down GABA from...