A 3-Step Process to Find the Right Nootropic for You

Define cognitive function to improve, identify corresponding neural substrates/processes, and engineer them for the experience you want

Step 1: Define cognitive function to improve

Step 2: Identify corresponding neural substrates/processes

Step 3: Engineer your brain for the experience you want

Nootropics are substances that, if used right, can improve cognitive performance and happiness.

At Nootralize, we are working to neutralize the risks of nootropic use, but recognize that there are currently safer and more potent biohacks: sleep, exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness.

Define cognitive function to improve

Are you fatigued, lethargic, and unmotivated?

Are you stressed?

Do you suffer from social anxiety?

Do you not progress in your mindfulness practice?

The most prominent cognitive problems you have are often obvious when you ask yourself the question: What am I trying again and again to do, without my brain letting me?

Identifying problems in your cognitive functions is the first step in getting your brain to start working with, instead of against, you.

Have a problem now but not interested in continuing to biohack when you’ve solved it?

You could skip step 2 and go straight to step 3.

Then search for ”Nootropics for <Insert Cognitive Function>”. The problem with this is that you don’t learn anything about why the interventions work, which limits your ability to iteratively experiment and update your biohacking.

Think before you decide not to evolve your biohacking-skills though. It is very useful to be able to continuously prevent and solve cognitive problems in your life.

Identify corresponding neural substrates/processes

This is where the research starts.

Start googling and searching on the net: ”Neuroscience of <Insert Cognitive Function>”.

Examples of terms to search for are fatigue, stress, attention, memory, and motivation.

After a while, you’ll have a grasp on the neurotransmitters, hormones, brain areas, and other constituents of your body that have been found to influence the cognitive function you want to improve.

Try to find the most probable biochemical root causes of your problems.

This is where you find the biochemical underpinnings, the root causes, of your cognitive problems.

This is not an imperative step but will help you understand what you’re doing when using nootropics, and thereby give you more power to adapt your self-optimization interventions to circumstances and upon observing the results you get.

Engineer your brain for the experience you want

When you’ve identified the most relevant neural substrates and processes, as well as your focus areas of cognitive optimization: search for ways to alter those substrates and processes.

Let’s say you have a problem with fatigue.

From your research in step 2, you found that the most common root causes of fatigue are:

1. Insulin resistance
2. Inflammation
3. Oxidative stress
4. Dopaminergic dysfunction
5. Gut microbiome
6. Thyroid Hormones

You started looking on the web to improve these substrates and processes in your body. You found that indeed, sleep, exercise, and nutrition are very important. So you got them right.

Your symptoms of fatigue are a lot better, but you still don’t feel energized!

You decide to start with dopaminergic dysfunction and/or thyroid imbalance as the two biochemical processes you want to focus on altering with nootropics directly.

There’s no reason for this choice, except that you have to start somewhere and don’t want to confuse yourself with tracking the nootropic effects.

You decide to try L-Tyrosine, which has been shown to improve thyroid function and is also a dopamine precursor (building block, in this case).

Because you cannot know for sure how L-Tyrosine will alter your individual biochemistry you start with a mini-dose to gauge risks of extreme unexpected side-effects. You don’t expect any side-effects because you researched its safety.

After the mini-dose, where you felt nothing, you try different doses, and if it doesn’t solve your cognitive problems, patiently go back to step 2, and 3, to re-diagnose and find solutions for yourself. In this story, you settle at 200mg L-Tyrosine every morning.

You’re full of energy!

Your brain has started working with you instead of against you. You’ve started working with your brain instead of against it.

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This blog post is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

This blog post was originally published at nootralize.com.