Whether you are a student, a young adult just beginning your career, an aspiring creative, or an aging person – you’re likely to agree that adding a little extra something to your diet, which may enhance your brain power, sounds quite appealing!
Nootropics is the name given to such pills that have been called ‘smart drugs’ and which may enhance cognitive function. The cognitive effects of these nootropic supplements have been well studied in order to decipher both their positive and negative effects.
In this article we’ll take a look at nootropics (or smart drugs) and their impact on cognitive ability. Let’s start by asking the question…
In general, cognitive enhancement is classified as the use of stimulants or enhancers to improve cognitive function or brain function. There are many ways to improve cognitive ability, such as meditation, but enhancing cognitive function is ordinarily associated with the use of dietary supplements or stimulants of some kind.
These substances may have cognitive benefits and possibly improve natural cognitive functions. The cognitive abilities that may be improved in healthy adults, with the use of a nootropic, may include memory function, creativity and brain connectivity.
There are many ways that humans can help to improve their cognitive function, and as we mentioned above not all of these methods rely on pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement. To add to this, not all methods require a person to consume medication or a pill of any kind, and they may still have many of the beneficial effects needed to potentially improve memory, improve cognition or enhance cognitive performance overall.
As living beings our bodies undergo a natural aging process and brain aging is part of this. In order to ensure optimal mental performance and healthy brain function, it is important that we look after our brain and give it all it needs to work at its best.
Some basic ways you could boost brain function and maintain mental performance include:
The above are all recommended additions to your daily living, if you don’t already incorporate them. However, from time to time nootropic supplements may provid added benefit.
Typically, Nootropic drugs are referred to as either medicine or ingredients of natural origin that are used to improve cognitive performance or brain health.
Nootropics could be natural or synthetically made and typically may have cognitive enhancing effects, such as improved alertness, attention span (or concentration) or memory.
When a smart drug contains chemicals that are not real, or artificial chemicals, it means that they are synthetic. Synthetic nootropics often imitate the body’s natural neurotransmitters.
Caffeine is a natural nootropic. These ‘smart drugs’, found in coffee beans, are said to be of benefit to typically healthy individuals with no known ailments. Many energy drinks may say they have caffeine, this is a form of synthetic nootropic, that may have a faster absorption rate than the natural alternative.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and you are likely to find arguments for the use of both natural cognitive enhancers (smart drugs) as well as synthetic ones, if you look hard enough.
There has been a large focus, the world over, on natural ingredients and their use. Whether the product be for topical use or ingested, the more natural it is, the more highly regarded it may be to some.
In certain cases, it may be understandable, when you consider that many natural smart drugs may have the same benefits to cognitive functions, without the potential side effects of a drop in energy, or ‘crash’ as some may refer to it.
However, there is also the case for prescription nootropics, which are not naturally made but may assist with learning and memory and various other conditions found in many individuals.
There are a variety of natural nootropics, derived from nature, which may have a positive effect on brain function. The active ingredients that these natural nootropics contain may have been used in alternative medicine around the world. The added benefit, as we mentioned above, is the ability of these natural alternatives to possibly improve cognitive performance, potentially without the negative side effects.
Some natural nootropics and their possible benefit to cognitive function are listed below:
These are just 3 of the many various natural nootropics one could source.
There are certain times when a smart drug may be a requirement to manage another ailment of some kind. A cognitive enhancer may assist to manage the condition that ordinarily would make life quite difficult.
A performance enhancing drug is typically anything that improves a human being’s natural ability to do an activity – be it sport, concentration, memory, creativity and so on.
Nootropics may also be called performance enhancing drugs, due to their ability to improve mental performance or perhaps to improve cognitive deficits.
When it comes to brain function, nootropics are said to promote better brain function and possibly brain health. In taking either a natural nootropic or a synthetic nootropic, blood circulation is increased toward the brain which in turn may increase oxygen and nutrients that enter the brain, and inadvertently may possibly improve overall brain health as well as enhance one’s cognitive performance.
There are many possible benefits to adding nootropics or smart drugs to your diet. As we’ve seen from the above, a nootropic may be a cognitive enhancer and taking these, may have the potential to improve our cognitive performance.
As with all supplements, it is important to consult with your doctor to be aware of any health risks that may exist in taking medication of any kind, whether they are naturally or synthetically created.
*Sources:
https://www.naturalstacks.com/blogs/news/natural-vs-synthetic-nootropics-which-is-best-for-you
These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. This product is not intended diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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