Are you looking for recommendations on a new nootropic stack regimen?
A nootropic stack is simply any combination of two or more such drugs with the intention of increasing their potency and achieving more specifics results.
There is such a massive selection of nootropic supplements, brain vitamins, cognitive enhancers, memory boosters and smart drugs out there that it can take a while deciding on which combination is right for you.
In this article, we have provided a countdown of five of the most effective nootropic stacks in use today that can safely increase the performance of your brain. We hope you use these combinations as a starting point in designing your own personal stack.
A nootropic stack cycle can contain as many as 10-15 different drugs and supplements spread over the course of a week. Almost all nootropics will improve a person’s learning ability and memory, give a boost to their intelligence, and increase ability to focus on a basic level.
But once you get beyond these common areas, you will find there are a number of different nootropics that work on specific areas of cognition beyond just learning and memory.
Your decision on which supplements to include in your stack depends on your goals that you want to achieve as well as potential synergies that you may want. Here are five top effective nootropic stacks to help you get started:



- Promotes brain health & communication
- Supports memory, reasoning & cognition
- oosts focus, mental clarity & attention
L-Theanine and Caffeine
Related Topics
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- Nootropics List
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- Effects & Benefits
- How Do Nootropics Work?
- Natural Nootropics
- Enhace Intelligence
- Boost Memory
- Improve Concentration
- Reduce Anxiety
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- Nootropic Side Effects & Dangers
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For anyone who has only recently become interested in nootropics, a combination of L-theanine and caffeine is going to be a great first step.
This is a classic beginner nootropic stack because it offers great general cognitive enhancement effects that you can feel right away.
And because this stack uses natural ingredients, it is a good introduction to brain boosting while still being incredibly safe.
Caffeine and L-Theanine work together to promote increased alertness, better energy levels and operate as a concentration aid. This nootropic stack is also relatively cheap and easy to acquire.
Interestingly, L-theanine serves the purpose of blocking some of the negative effects of caffeine, such as anxiety, higher blood pressure and sleep cycle distrubtion while simultaneously improving upon its greatest strengths.
When you use these two nootropics together you will get even more energy, focus and awareness than you will with caffeine on its own. This stack can also be combined with pretty much any other nootropic of your choosing such as a Racetam like Aniracetam or Piracetam.
While the Caffeine L-Theanine stack gives you a solid introduction to the optimizations possible with nootropics, it is limited in its effectiveness in the areas of cognition and synaptic plasticity. If you’re looking for something more advanced, you might be interested in finding out about the other four top nootropic stacks listed below.
Piracetam, Aniracetam, and Oxiracetam Stack
The Piracetam, Aniracetam, and Oxiracetam stack, also known as the PAO nootropic stack, provides a great diversity of benefits by combining the three most popular Racetams.
While they can enhance mental performance, each of these supplements has one area where they out-perform the others. All of these nootropics works in a distinct way to enhance cognition, but their results are even more potent when combined in a stack.
Piracetam is a general learning and memory booster while Aniracetam improves your mood and Oxiracetam increases processing power.
Many times, nootropic users will only take one of these supplements and miss out on the potential positive effects of the others. Using a PAO stack is the best way to ensure that you are seeing a full range of improvements to your brainpower.

- Focus longer, clear brain fog & feel more motivated
- Boost energy, alertnes & memory
- Contains 12 safe and natural nootropic ingredients
Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC
Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC are another popular nootropic stack because they provide significant nootropic effects at a rather affordable cost. Pramiracetam is the most well-rounded of the Racetam nootropics, giving you a comprehensive intelligence boost.
If you are finding it expensive to use Piracetam, Aniracetam and Oxiracetam together in a stack then all three of these can be replaced with Pramiracetam to achieve similar results.
Nicknamed the “study stack”, using Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC has helped many students get through college courses and exams at the most critical time. On its own, Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC are already rather effective at heightening mental performance but their benefits are amplified with concurrent use.
Pramiracetam is known for giving you massive amounts of concentration and focus and increasing “purpose-directed productivity”. It is a great nootropic supplement for when you have to get things done in a short period of time.
Pramiracetam powder works by increasing demands on the acetylcholine neurotransmitter in the brain. As a result, taking Alpha GPC together with this Racetam in a stack ensures that your acetylcholine demands are met. This is because Alpha GPC is an acetylcholine precursor, working to increase the amount of this neurotransmitter that is available in the brain.
Noopept and Citicoline
Noopept and Citicoline earn their place in the list of top nootropic stacks for their excellent value to cost ratio.
Noopept might seem more expensive than the less concentrated racetams listed above, but when you break down the cost of a single dosage of Noopept powder, it is actually about half the price of Piracetam.
This is because Noopept is approximately 1000x more concentrated compared to the original Racetams.
Noopept offers similar effects to Pramiracetam on a greater scale. Combining Noopept with a choline supplement such as Citicoline is important to ensure that there is enough acetylcholine produced in the brain to keep up with demand.
If you do not use a choline source with your Noopept, you might experience a headache that comes from acetylcholine deficiency.
ALCAR and Choline
ALCAR (Acetyl L-Carnitine) and Choline is a common nootropic stack on its own, but it is most effective when used with racetams. ALCAR is known to help in the production of acetylcholine from choline in the brain.
We eat choline in a number of foods like fish and eggs, but the average diet does not get enough of this all-important nutrient.
When you consider the fact that the brain is made up of billions of neurons that require this neurotransmitter in order to communicate with each other, it is easy to see why ensuring sufficient levels of acetylcholine is so important.
You can choose a number of different choline sources to take with ALCAR, but Alpha GPC, Centrophenoxine and Citicoline are the three most effective.
This stack will have a mild nootropic effect on its own, but you are going to see much greater benefit if you use it with another compound like Piracetam, Noopept or Pramiracetam.
Article last updated on: February 4th, 2018 by Nootriment
12 Comments
Dosages would be helpful, am trying the PAO stack now, but with Phenylpiracetam instead of piracetam. Feeling each ingredient out separately first, but would you say that this needs to be a rotated stack to prevent tolerance build-up? Am looking at
Hey Ben,
Phenylpiracetam is the one that is most likely to cause tolerance of those three. Some people will notice tolerance after a week so it might be best to use Phenylpiracetam every other day or cycle it three days on and three days off. You could substitute Piracetam or Pramiracetam on your off-days.
If you were using a PAO stack with Piracetam, Aniracetam and Oxiracetam the right ratio would be 4:1:1. Most people will start with 1,600 mg Piracetam, 400 mg Aniracetam and 400 mg Oxiracetam and adjust from there. If you are going to switch Piracetam with Phenylpiracetam, I would do a 1:4:4 and use 100 mg Phenylpiracetam with 400 mg Aniracetam and 400 mg Oxiracetam. Hope that helps!
Hey,
I have recently been reading a lot of your stuff and it has increased my desire to try out nootropics for the first time. Although i have used Modafinil 100mg tabs before, I did not like the fact that I had to space them out so often thus leading to me rarely using them. My questions are simple:
I would like to buy 3 stacks, 1) PAO Stack 2) Noopept+Citocoline 3)Pramiracetam+Alpha GPC
I will NOT be using these right away together, I will probably begin with one or the other and run it for 3-6 months and then try another.
I would like to know for each individual stack, how much of each nootropic drug should I run (mg/serving/day) and with food/no food/water/no water?
I kind of have done enough research to have the general approximations down, however I would just like to get your expert opinion on this before I continue with the purchase. Hope this is not too much to ask, thank you.
Disclaimer: this is my personal opinion and it does not constitute medical advice. The PAO stack is typically taken in the following ratio: 4:1:1. Many people start with 2 grams of Piracetam, 500 mg of Aniracetam and 500 mg of Oxiracetam. Typical dosages for Noopept and Citicoline would be 10-40 mg with 100 – 400 mg. And Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC are often combined at a 1:1 ratio of 200 to 400 mg. I hope that helps!
So this is what i was thinking, buying capsules and mixing prameracitam,sunifram,aniracetam,adrafinil, and alpha gpc and taking it on and off while i take my add pills one day then one of these pills with everything mixed together the other day haha what do you think?
Hi,
I have recently become more interested in taking nootropics to benefit myself and my small business. I would like some help on obtaining the right product. Basically I’m looking for some pep through the day so I’m not crashing (work on my feet all day), massive memory and focus improvements, as well as a slight mood enhancement.
If you could provide any help it would be awesome!
If you are new to this, a single kind of nootropics may do the work. You can try Adrafinil anyway. Wakefulness, focus, and mood will be improved
I have ordered the following items and am curious what I can take together, how I should stack them, if I might consider adding or subtracting something.
My goals are:
1) Mood enhancement
2) Stress reduction
3) Energy
4) Better sleep
Current products on hand:
Aniracetam
Pramiracetam
Oxiracetam
L-Theanine
5-HTP
Adrafinil
Noopept
Sulbutiamine
Phenbut
Picamilon
Centrophenoxine
Choline Bitartrate
Thank you in advance…
Does the PAO stack contain caffeine? I am looking for something that has all the great benefits but I have an issue with caffeine causing heart palpitations…
Hi Brien,
The PAO stack does not contain caffeine. However, Oxiracetam is said by some users to have a stimulating effect. Therefore, you should check with your doctor before using it to determine whether this supplement could also cause side effects for you.
Hello,
I have ordered noontropics stack, but I would need some help with dosages. I found some info about dosages but I would need more specific information.
My noontropics stack:
ALPHA GPC: Between 200-400mg
Oxiracetam between 1200-2400mg
Phenylpiracetam between 50-400mg
Pramiracetam 400mg- 7g
Also, I have ordered L-theanine+ caffeine
Oh I got one more question when is the best time to use it noontropics . Just in the mornings or take two times per day?
Thanks,
Depois de tomar Piracetam por 2 meses o que sentir foi uma vertigem assustadora – depois de fazer varios exames percebi que não era labirintite e sim problemas cerebro (hipocampo acho). Depois tentei o noopepts – mais este causou a mesma coisa numa velocidade muito maior que o Piracetam.