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What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

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Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#131

Post by phoronixrly »

Analemma_ wrote: post #7

The tl;dr is: 1. Apart from ADHD medications, which are very powerful, most drugs and weird obscure supplements have little effect (there are some intriguing but noisy results about peptides). 2. Exercise— especially weightlifting and HIIT— is also very powerful. There's evidence of a dose-response curve where light exercise is good but intense is better. Arguably this is pretty unsurprising, from an evolutionary per…

You need to add that all of this is self-reported/subjective. I've gone under doctor's supervision through L-Theanine+Caffeine, then Modafinil, and finally Ritalin, and to be brutally honest, while I subjectively feel the best when on Ritalin, I am far from certain I would be able to show it in a blind study with an objective problem-solving task.

Also a blind study with these would be hard, as Modafinil has a noticeable effect on heart rate and blood pressure, and general response to stress (at least in my case), and also causes a distinct chemical smell of one's urine.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#132

Post by DontchaKnowit »

gavinray wrote: post #11

I've tried everything, and the only things that make any noticeable difference in my experience: Modafinil, Racetams, Noopept, Phenibut Noopept seems to be curiously missing from this list?

Phenibut will FUCK you up. Ever take a big dose? Its like being piss drunk.

Very fun substance also nasty as fuck and undoubtably bad for your brain. (I got weird neurological "withdrawal" symptoms after like 3 days of taking it)

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#133

Post by blitzar »

phoronixrly wrote: post #8

The suggestion/allusion that the EU's GDP per capita is lower than the US due to Adderall and Dexedrine not being approved/available is wild. Kind of makes me not want to take seriously the rest of the article...

Adderall is a performance enhancing drug, and widly used as such. Its nigh on impossible to compete at the highest level workplaces with doped employees if you are a natural worker.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#134

Post by stronglikedan »

negativepanda wrote: post #44

There's one very simple "nootropic" that I've discovered many years ago and have been doing most days of the week. Buying a cup of coffee and taking a walk in nature. It makes me feel better than just coffee or just walking in nature. Another benefit is that in the days I can do this, I have something to look forward to since waking up.

> I have something to look forward to since waking up

That's... sad! I look forward to every day! I look forward to breathing when I wake up! I hope that changes for you soon.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#135

Post by jassyr »

diamondage wrote: post #100
jassyr wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in a similar situation but with multiple sclerosis for over 15 years. I love to exercise, however on some days a medium-intensity cardio session will leave my brain functioning at like 50% which is not great for my job. I gotta work hard to make sure my gas tank has enough for all the tasks planned for that day. My neurologist calls it Energy Management.

Tried creatine?

Creatine does help some. Staying hydrated and good sleep, too.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#136

Post by stronglikedan »

channel_t wrote: post #118
negativepanda wrote: post #44

There's one very simple "nootropic" that I've discovered many years ago and have been doing most days of the week. Buying a cup of coffee and taking a walk in nature. It makes me feel better than just coffee or just walking in nature. Another benefit is that in the days I can do this, I have something to look forward to since waking up.

Good simple nootropic, but I like the cup of coffee even better with a 200mg capsule of a high quality L-Theanine to give a zen-like calm to the stimulation of the caffeine. Underrated as heck IMHO.

Any brands that you would consider high quality? I'm currently using Nutricost, but only because it was the cheapest, and I didn't know they were allowed to fiddle with quality on these things.

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#137

Post by phoronixrly »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #122
butlike wrote: post #61

You only like amphetamine for the adrenaline dump and dopamine. Also life changing doesn't necessarily mean for the better.

I found it quite effective in helping me to grind leetcode when I was job hunting while working full-time but YMMV. Perhaps I would've gotten the same gig, but I tried doing a month without it and found my ability to power through was significantly lower than with amphetamines. Maybe it was because the amphetamine gave me an artificially high amount of dopamine which offset the inherently boring nature of the task.

... How are you doing now?

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#138

Post by DaveZale »

I designed and marketed "stacks" combined in a simple, small capsule for several years.

The best was galantamine, noopept, acetyltyrosine, and cdp-choline. It was beloved by many.

However, my magnum opus could have been stacks that changed daily, to prevent any neurochemical adaptation or tolerance.

But, at some point the almighty paycheck hijacked my brain. Why not include money as an anti-nootropic in your study?

Judging by the boundless stupidity we are seeing in the world of oligarchs now, maybe too much money is tge ultimate anti-nootropic /s

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#139

Post by [deleted] »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #122
butlike wrote: post #61

You only like amphetamine for the adrenaline dump and dopamine. Also life changing doesn't necessarily mean for the better.

I found it quite effective in helping me to grind leetcode when I was job hunting while working full-time but YMMV. Perhaps I would've gotten the same gig, but I tried doing a month without it and found my ability to power through was significantly lower than with amphetamines. Maybe it was because the amphetamine gave me an artificially high amount of dopamine which offset the inherently boring nature of the task.

[deleted]

Re: What I learned gathering nootropic ratings (2022)

#140

Post by taeric »

nomel wrote: post #129
taeric wrote: post #14

It is frustratingly hard for me to trust most any nootropic discussion nowadays. Without many large random trials, there are as many questions as answers afterwards. It doesn't help that I'm on Adderall, but if left to my own devices, would absolutely skip it. I'm assuming I benefit in the able to think way from it. Largely the only reason I know I missed a dose is if I find I lose my patience quickly with others.

> Without many large random trials That, historically, does not work well for neurochemistry. Large random trials are good for an average biological response of profitable chemicals, but it seems there are significant differences in neurochemistry, between people, that these don't capture. If you've ever had a prescription for most anything mental related, like ADHD, depression, etc, there's never just one drug, ther…

I hear what you are saying, but I have a hard time thinking it is an argument against RCTs. Notably, Adderall is a strong counter to this idea. It is clearly effective per all of the tests it has been through. Not surprisingly, it is one of the only ones listed in this website that works. Quite well.

There is an argument that people should treat their own lives as an experiment. Where you track the things you do and see if you can find patterns on mood and productivity and such. If you want to know what generally works, though, there is no counter to effectiveness in RCTs, though?

Put differently, when has evidence ever gone counter to RCTs? Not just are there some questions that an RCT hasn't covered, but times it has been counter to the results?

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