How to Increase Brain Power and Concentration with Supplements

The best new methods of how to increase brain power involve using very old healing techniques – the ones our own bodies already employ.

The human body and brain already have well-established mechanisms for regulating and boosting cognitive power. We can augment those natural processes with a complex modern understanding of how neurochemicals work.

By choosing the right supplements, it’s possible to increase mental focus, boost learning ability, make memories easier to build and retain, and guarantee the long term health of brain tissue.

Here is an introduction to how these supplements work, and which ones might be the best therapies for you. With a little bit of research and some good choices, you can safely and dramatically improve brain power, starting today.

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Boosting Brainpower with Nootropics

Nootropics are compounds which are taken for the express purpose of facilitating improvements in intelligence and cognitive ability.

They can be derived from common food and plant sources, or be synthesized in lab to mimic natural chemicals.

The chief tool for cognitive enhancers is the neurochemical. Released by hormones or acquired from food, neurochemicals are the brain’s main mode of communication.

Messages in the form of chemicals are carried across synapses from neuron to neuron. These messages ignite reactions in the brain and body that translate to our thoughts, moods and physical responses.

Nootropic supplements can regulate and boost this action by specifically targeting the production of individual neurochemicals. This is the basic idea behind increasing brain power with a supplement.

Brain power is itself a somewhat abstract concept, but we can generally correlate it with intelligence and mental performance. Boosting your brainpower can involve increasing memory capacity, enhancing your focus and attentiveness, improving your speed of processing information as we as your ability to learn and think through complex problems.

Everyone from reasoning to concentration to interpersonal skills can be thought of as falling under the umbrella of “brain power”. Given that this set of skills and abilities is so wide in nature, the best way to address increasing cognitive abilities is by first breaking these different functions down to understand the mental processes that occur at a foundational level.

The brain has several different neurotransmitter systems that work together to produce an environment conducive to learning, intellectual thought and productive behavior. Let’s take a look at these systems now to see what supplements and exercises work for each of these different areas of cognition.

Brain Power and Acetylcholine

To create the type of mental environment which is conducive to intelligence gains and resistant to decay, it is very import to supplement with some form of choline. Choline supplements, such as Alpha GPC or Citicoline, augment levels of this essential nutrient in the body.

Choline provides the raw material needed to form acetylcholine, a very powerful neurotransmitter connected to all forms of cognition. Healthy acetylcholine levels promote the free and easy growth of synapses and neurons in the brain.

The healthier and more abundant these structures are, the more easily chemical messages can be sent across them. The benefits to users include clearer, faster moving thoughts, easier memory formation, better response to stimuli, and very heightened concentration.

We call all of these effects “fluid intelligence.” As acetylcholine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, it cannot effectively be consumed directly. However, choline supplements are the direct pre-cursor to this crucial neurochemical, and can “deliver” it to the brain.

One can also improve brain power in this system using a series of supplements known as Racetams. Of these, Piracetam is the most famous. This nootropic compound works to enhance signals in the brain by modulating receptors for the acetylcholine neurotransmitter.

Users who take Piracetam say that it gives them better mental performance related to memory, focus, and critical thinking. There are a number of other Racetams that are used today like Oxiracetam, Aniracetam, Pramiracetam and Noopept, each of which has its own specific benefits for the mind.

Dopamine’s Role in the Brain

If your goal is to enhance brain power by boosting focus, alertness, mental drive and clarity of thought, then increasing dopamine activity may be the way to go. Perhaps the most well-known neurochemical is dopamine.

This catecholamine hormone binds with dopaminergic nerve cell receptors designed to receive it, firing an energetic response in the brain. Increasing Dopamine levels are associated with euphoria, motivation, mental focus, concentration, and strong mental energy.

Supplements which boost dopamine levels are commonplace methods for increasing brain power. They give the user a perception of interest and excitement for tasks like studying or athletics. Dopamine also heightens physical pleasure from all of the senses. Many nootropic supplements positively impact dopamine. The natural herbal extract Mucuna Pruriens is known to contain L-Dopa, the amino acid pre-cursor to dopamine.

Increasing Intelligence by Reducing Stress

Many people mistakenly separate the issue of stress relief from how to increase brain power. In fact, they are closely tied together.

Not only do stressful, anxious thoughts get in the way of productivity and clear thinking, they also produce harmful physical reactions in the brain.

Excitatory responses to stress triggers can kick off “fight or flight” reactions in the central nervous system. These might include high blood pressure and inflammation.

Neural tissues and the structures within them are delicate and can be damaged by the severe hormonal spikes that accompany these stress reactions. The body’s natural stress inhibitor, GABA, may not be present in sufficient quantities to offset major stress reactions.

You can protect neural tissue and promote a relaxed state of mind with GABAergic supplements. Compounds like L-Theanine and Picamilon bind with GABA receptors to calm and soothe over-firing nerve cells.

The result is the ability handle stress effectively, protect neural tissue, and save precious chemical resources for positive cognitive processes. Not surprisingly, individuals who use these compounds have been found to perform better in memory and mental acuity tests of a wide nature.

Do Smart Drugs Increase Brain Power?

Some synthetic smart drugs have also become very popular methods of how to increase brain power in recent years. Pharmaceuticals like Adderall or Ritalin are often used by students who want to do better on exams and be more productive. But there are questions regarding the side effects of these substances as well as their potential for abuse.

There are, however, a few smart drugs which have been shown in clinical trials to enhance mental performance in a battery of exams. Specifically, Modafinil has hit the news as a dramatic aid to mental focus and productivity. While Modafinil itself requires a hard-to-get prescription, the natural nootropic Adrafinil is the pre-cursor to Modafinil and produces the same effects without a prescription.

These drugs are classified as “eugeroic,” meaning they promote vigilance and wakefulness. However, many people have found that they offer off-label benefits for cognitive power which are too good to be ignored.

Whether you choose to go the natural route, or explore some of the latest synthetic brain boosters is up to you. Either way, significant brain power and intelligence increase is now possible via a variety of safe, effective supplements.

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