A Brief History
On May 22, 1990, U.S. Patent 4,927,855 was issued to Laboratoire L. Lafon, covering the chemical compound modafinil, a medication to treat sleepiness due to narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, or obstructive sleep apnea. Most people focus a lot on their physical health and forget about the mental health. This approach is one wrong move and that is why you find so many people today, having mental issues due stress and pressure from work. One thing you need to know is that your mental health is as important as your physical health. In fact, it is more crucial because your brain is the center of everything.
One surprising fact is that in your early 20s the brain may start to show cognitive decline. Therefore, you need to practice standard health behaviors such as not smoking, getting physical activity regularly, as well as eating a balanced diet to help curb this issue. There are also products that can help enhance cognitive function and reduce stress. There are various places where you can get insights and detailed information about the products that enhance cognitive function and reduce stress. You need to get information from reliable sources to avoid buying ineffective products.
Here, we discuss some of these products to help you learn more about them.
Digging Deeper
Modvigil
According to https://rupharma.com, Modvigil is one of the products that can help enhance cognitive function and reduce stress. Modvigil is the generic version of Modafinil and doctors prescribe it to shift workers, or people with narcolepsy and ADD/ADHD to help them manage sleep disturbances. Modvigil is also quite popular among students, business owners, and creative professionals as it helps them increase productivity and focus. For this reason, it is referred to as the “study drug”. The difference between Modvigil and other study drugs is that drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall help to treat narcolepsy and ADD/ADHD; however, some of these drugs are much more stimulating compared to Modvigil. Modafinil has also been shown to have fewer side effects which make it quite suitable.
Modvigil works by affecting the brain in different ways, such as cognitive enhancement and promoting wakefulness. It also helps to increase histamine, dopamine, orexin, and norepinephrine levels in your brain. All of these play a huge part in helping to promote wakefulness, concentration, and motivation.
The benefits of Modvigil include:
- It helps to improve concentration and focus
- Helps to eliminate mental fatigue for a few hours
- Helps to force the brain into flow states
- It helps to boost your creative thought process
- It helps to reduce the need to take breaks from study or work
Negative effects include:
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Anxiety
- Headaches
- Stomach discomfort
- Insomnia
- Rashes
Noopept
Noopept is a Nootropic that is economically unique and has a high affinity to Piracetam; however, the effect is more psychostimulatory. A huge difference between Noopept and Piracetam from a consumer perspective is the dosage that is required in order to take effect. The recommended dosage for Noopept is about 10 mgs to 30 mgs per day, while the recommended dosage for Piracetam is about 3 grams – 4 grams daily. The good thing about Noopept is that it is easy to consume since it is water-soluble. It can easily dissolve in a glass of water or green tea.
Noopept helps to improve the quality of sleep as well as stimulating vivid dreams. Reports show that higher dosage of Noopept causes increased awareness of hot or cold, and your sensations may be heightened while touching loved ones or animals. Studies conducted on people with mild cognitive disorders showed that Noopept produced positive therapeutic influences on cognitive deficit.
The side effects include:
- Headaches
- Brain fog when you take mega doses
Research shows that Noopept is a cognitive enhancer and also helps to protect against cell deleterious actions by inhibition of oxidative damage and overload of calcium, as well as the suppression of the pathway of mitochondrial apoptotic.
Fish oils
Fish oils also help to enhance cognitive function and reduce stress. They are a rich source of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These are two types of omega-3 fatty acids. There are plenty of health benefits which are linked to these fatty acids such as improving brain health. DHA helps to maintain the structure and function of your brain. 20 percent of the total fat is accounted for by DHA and omega-3 fat accounts for 90% that is found in your brain cells.
The omega-3 fatty acids found in EPA fish oil contains anti-inflammatory effects which help to protect the brain against aging and damage. Studies show that taking DHA supplements helps to improve your thinking skills, reaction and memory on people that have low intakes of DHA; however, EPA is not always linked with improvement of brain function, but has been associated with improving mood for people that suffer from depression. When you take fish oil that contains these two fats it can help to reduce any brain function decline that results from aging. Although more research still needs to be done in order to identify what EPA and DHA ratios are effective.
Caffeine
Caffeine is commonly found in tea, dark chocolate, and coffee. It is a natural stimulant but can also be taken as a supplement; however, there won’t be any need to take it as a supplement since you can find it naturally from the sources mentioned above. Caffeine helps to stimulate the brain as well as the central nervous system which makes you become more alert and less tired. Studies show that caffeine can help improve your memory and make you feel more energized. The average amount of caffeine found in one cup of coffee is about 50 mg – 400 mg.
Normally, the effective dosage for most people is about 200 mg – 400 mg per day, as this dosage is considered to be quite safe and enough to provide the required health benefits. Note that taking too much caffeine has its own side effects.
The side effects include:
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Trouble sleeping
Enhancing cognitive function and reducing stress is quite beneficial for your overall health. Your brain is the most important part of your body and you need to make sure that you are in good health both mentally and physically. Make sure to check out some of the products we’ve discussed above and conduct more research on other products that might be helpful and affordable.
Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think are the best ways to improve cognitive function and reduce stress? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Brumby, Alice and Steven J. Taylor, eds. Healthy Minds in the Twentieth Century: In and Beyond the Asylum (Mental Health in Historical Perspective). Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
Powers, Ron. No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America. Hachette Books, 2017.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Īriss Sviklis of Modafinil tablets USP – Modalert 200, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.