When most of us think about supplements, our minds tend to wander straight towards the gym, where they may give us an edge in regards to our ability to build muscle and lose weight.
As a result, we tend to forget that there is a whole other world of supplements out there, many which can impact us in a myriad of different ways.
- Amazing supplement
- Single compound
- Improving focus
- Excellent mix
- Attentiveness
- Mental clarity
- Premium supplement
- Quality ingredients
- Extremely potent
- Powder form
- Excellent option
- Study performance
One of the specific types of supplements that have been making quite the splash within the health and fitness industry of late are typically known as brain supplements.
What Are Brain Supplements?
Brain supplements (also known scientifically as ‘Nootropics’, or colloquially as ‘Memory Pills’) refer to a group of specific compounds that improve the brains ability to function on daily basis.
With this in mind, brain supplements have the ability to improve mental clarity and focus, positively impact both short and long term memory, increase creativity, alertness, and general cognitive function, and may even stave off age related declines in brain function.
In conjunction with all this, brain supplements may also have the ability to reduce stress and improve mood, reducing feelings of lethargy, depression, and anxiety.
Now, this can benefit us in a number of different ways.
In a gym sense, the use of brains supplements can increase our training intensity and focus. This gives us the ability to get more out of work out, which can have positively impact both our ability to lose fat and build muscle (which is obviously dependant on our current training goal).
From a more cognitive specific perspective, brain supplements can be used in a number of different ways. They may increase our capacity to learn new pieces of information, while also boosting productivity. This makes them an excellent choice to be used when studying or at work.
Additionally, as they improve the health of the brain and reduce the risk of dementia, they can also be used as a bit of safety net to ensure adequate brain health and the maintenance of cognitive function.
What to Look for in a Brain Supplement?
There has actually been a huge amount of research in the area of nootropics in an attempt to find those compounds that most positively impact brain function. As a result, there is a broad number of ingredients that have shown to cause a measurable increase brain power.
In saying that, there are some specific ingredients that have shown to affect the brain more positively (and to a greater degree) than others:
- Acetyl-L carnitine : is an amino acid that is produced in rather small amounts by the body. It plays an important role in energy production. As such, its supplementation has been shown to make you feel more alert, improve short term memory, and slow age related declines in cognition [1].
- Ginkgo Biloba : is a herbal compound derived from the Ginkgo Biloba tree. The consumption of this specific compound is thought to increase blood flow to the brain, increasing its access to important nutrients. This can slow age related declines in cognitive function [2], while also improving memory and thinking skills [3].
- Bacopa Monnieri : is a herbal compound that has been used in traditional eastern medicinal practices for centuries. Its consumption has been shown to improve thinking skills and memory [4].
- Phosphatidylserine : is an interesting chemical compound that has widespread functions throughout the entire body, many of which relate to the brain specifically. As a result, the supplementation of Phosphatidylserine has been shown to cause large improvements in focus, attentiveness, and general cognitive function [5].
So as previously mentioned, while there are many compounds that have been suggested to improve brain function, these fours specifically have a large body of scientific evidence to support their use.
As such when looking for a quality supplement, ensure that they have at least three of these four ingredients.
Best Brain Supplement Reviews
As with most supplements, some are much better than others. With this in mind we have taken the time to find the best memory pills on the market.
Each of these options include the four key ingredients previously mentioned, as well as a number of other high quality evidence-based compounds.
- Amazing supplement
- Single compound
- Improving focus
- Excellent mix
- Attentiveness
- Mental clarity
- Premium supplement
- Quality ingredients
- Extremely potent
- Powder form
- Excellent option
- Study performance
Cognium is a brand new brain-boosting supplement made by the company Natrol.
Where this amazing supplement differs from the other on this list is in its ingredients. You see, it is built around a single compound known as silk protein hydrolysate, which has been shown to cause lasting changes to the brain.
As a result, Cognium requires 3-4 weeks of use before you see any noticeable effects – but after you do, you wont be disappointed.
You see, Cognium has been shown to protect the brain from age-related changes in cognitive health and function, while also improving focus, attention, and problem solving capabilities.
With this in mind, it is the perfect option that you can take regularly to ensure that you brain remains quick and nimble well into your golden years. In this manner, it may also have the ability to protect you from cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s. See our full review of this supplement here.
This brain supplement by Path 8 nutrition offers an excellent mix of ingredients, in which it is suggested to cause vast improvements in focus, mental clarity, attentiveness, and memory.
It also includes some specific compounds that are known vasodilators, and as such cause huge increases in blood flow throughout the body.
With this in mind, this particular supplement can cause large improvements in mental AND physical performance, making it an excellent option to take before exercise.
Neuro ignite is often considered one of the premium brain supplements on the market due to its high quality ingredients – each of which are provided in quite high dosages. This results in an extremely potent supplement that can cause huge increases in cognitive function, mood, alertness, and creativity.
This makes it the perfect option for those looking to boost work or study performance easily and effectively.
Neuro Recharges is a slightly different option, in that while it still includes all our four key ingredients, it comes in powder form as opposed to capsule. With this in mind, it mixes with water easily and efficiently to create a seriously convenient brains supplement.
Shown to improve focus, mental clarity, memory, and thinking skills, this is an excellent option for those who don’t like taking capsules specifically.
A Note on Fish Oil
It is important to note that to maximise the effects of these brain supplements, we also recommend the consumption of a quality fish oil supplement.
Fish oil supplements are rich in two specific types of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA). These compounds play important roles in maintaining the physical structure of your brains cells and neural tissues, while also exhibiting an anti-inflammatory effect within the brain.
As a result, the supplementation of fish oil has shown strong associations with improved brain health, increased cognitive function (in all aspects), while greatly reducing our risk of developing dementia [6].
We recommend Bioscience triple strength fish oil, as it is both high quality and contains an abundance of EPA and DHA – making it an excellent addition to your more traditional brain supplements.
Summary
Whether you want to call them brain supplements, nootropics, or memory pills, it doesn’t really matter. These specific supplements offer a fantastic way to improve the health of the brain while also increasing memory and cognitive function, all whilst staving off age related declines in memory and cognition.
The three options outlined in this article are what we believe to be the best brain supplements available on the market. It is also important to note that the effects of these are likely to be enhanced with the consumption of fish oil.
As always, if you have had any experience with brain supplements we would love to hear about them, so don’t hesitate to get into contact!