If you're in search of the best nootropics in the UK, it's likely you'll already be a fan of them. I certainly am, and have been supplementing with them for years to help massage my brain to function on max power.
And they really do work to increase energy and improve mental clarity. With the use of ingredients that have been praised for centuries, and stacks of evidence backing their efficacy, it's no wonder nootropic supplements are becoming the new must-have in desk drawers, lockers and suit pockets.
But with increased demand comes increased supply, and believe me when I say not all nootropic stacks are as good as they should be. I've trialed many nootropics over the years and seen some shockingly poor ingredient labels hoping to be disguised with fancy marketing.
Don't be fooled. Know your ingredients, and swot up on the best nootropics on the market. Look for adaptogens and natural nootropics that are clinically backed - or choose to buy nootropics based on our round up below.
I've had to suffer many a poorly manufactured capsule labeled as a smart drug to get to this point (all for the sake of trials, though you can usually tell by the formula if it's going to be a negative experience). To save you from doing the same, I've compiled this list of the best nootropics on the market today, and why they're so good at what they do.
Quick Verdict:
Best Overall Nootropic - NooCube - Check Best Deals Here
Most Potent Nootropic - Hunter Focus - Check Bundle Deals Here
Best Value For Money - Mind Lab Pro - Check Best Deals Here
Best Nootropic Supplements
NooCube - Our No.1 Natural Nootropic
The good news is that there are quite a few incredibly helpful nootropics out there, which makes pipping the number one spot quite the accomplishment – and boy, does NooCube deserve it.
NooCube is a phenomenal supplement. It's designed by a solid company called Wolfson Brands, who create some of the best supplementation products in the industry.
They've crafted such an elite nootropic here that makes me feel like I have heightened brain power, with plenty of scientific backing for its ability to boost brain performance, enhance memory, and even support long-term brain health.
NooCube's formula really is smart. It doesn't go OTT with unnecessary 'filler' ingredients – it simply includes 12 major ingredients at generous doses to ensure potency and direct effects on our cognitive functioning.
Better still, it doesn't contain caffeine. All the benefits, without the jitters and crashes that many of us experience with stimulants.
Bacopa Monnieri is a herb that improves our reaction speed and enhances our long-term and working memory, by increasing the reception of our nerve signals.
We also have VitaCholine here (choline), which plays a crucial role in learning and memory by increasing the body's ability to produce acetylcholine – the neurotransmitter you'll hear a lot of in anything cognition-related.
VitaCholine actually replaced Alpha-GPC, a previous ingredient that NooCube wanted to change due to its soy content. This change means Noocube is now vegetarian-friendly.
Then we come to L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine, both of which help our concentration and focus. L-Theanine helps release dopamine and serotonin in the brain, which will lift our mood and improve our attention and reaction speed, while L-Tyrosine works on reducing mental fatigue and stress levels. The perfect combo.
Next, we have globally recognised Lutemax 2020, which is scientifically proven to help with mood, stress, cognitive health, and even the health of our skin.
NooCube also includes some wonderful antioxidants, Pterostilbene and Resveratrol. These polyphenols are commonly found in berries, and help protect us from oxidative stress and damage. This slows the aging process, most usefully age-related cognitive decline.
Cat's Claw brings its potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, supporting DNA repair and immune function. Cat's Claw is also believed to help with cerebral circulation and possibly Alzheimer's, and also boosts the all-important acetylcholine.
You also get two of the best vitamins with NooCube – B1 for brain energy, mood and function; and B12, which is known to help prevent low mood, cognitive decline, dementia, and even brain shrinkage.
B7 is another one, listed here as D-Biotin, which the brain loves for memory and learning. This replaced the old Biotin (which is animal-based) to ensure NooCube is plant-based.
Now that is what a solid nootropic formula looks like. NooCube ticks all the boxes. It's the nootropic I choose to supplement with for myself. Whenever I use it, the difference in my cognitive functioning is noticeable – like a calm focus and drive, with zero brain fog or hesitation.
And it's all with the use of safe ingredients, at a very fair price point. NooCube even offer a 60-day money back guarantee – not that many of its users will ever need it. Give it a try and see for yourself just how wonderful this nootropic is, and why it always claims the top spot.
Hunter Focus
Hunter Focus is a hunter by name and nature, edging towards being just as good as NooCube. It's another nootropic that has a very strong reputation in its field, with a reputable backing.
Roar Ambition are the company behind its design. Again, these guys have some awesome products in their range, such as Hunter Test for testosterone, and Hunter Burn for fat burning.
I've tried both these products in other comparisons, and they're brilliant. They also produce another testosterone booster called Prime Male, which is often leader of the pack in reviews (though often beaten by TestoPrime by a whisker).
Hunter Focus goes big on everything – 20 ingredients with big dosages, and you need a whopping 6 capsules a day. They've designed their formula to focus on three different aspects of cognitive health: Concentration Activation, Memory Matrix, and Mood Amplification.
Together, you get some decent results.
We start with a big 800mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine, which confronts mental and physical fatigue head on. Citicoline, known for its potential to enhance cognitive performance, puts up a solid fight against memory loss, while amino acid L-Tyrosine amplifies memory, mood, and focus.
Like NooCube, this is complemented with L-Theanine, which as we've seen, nourishes the brain's alpha waves to encourage calmness and alertness.
Spanish Sage brings its relaxing properties, which will help reduce our blood pressure and cortisol levels, and improve our memory. Ginkgo Biloba is an ingredient we often see in a nootropic, for its ability to uplift mood and memory power.
And I just have to mention the inclusion of Lion’s Mane Mushroom – I love to see this ingredient in a nootropic. It offers tremendous support to our focus, concentration, and overall cognitive functioning and health.
These are just a few of the big ingredients in Hunter Focus. Their extensive formula attacking all the key areas of cognitive function delivers some incredible results safely. The perfect blend for a nootropic.
Mind Vitality Focus
Moving to third place though not far behind at all is Mind Vitality Focus. This is another supplement I really enjoyed using for mental clarity and overall brain function. It delivered noticeable improvements, and its extensive testing and comprehensive approach to cognitive enhancement showed.
It's relatively new to the nootropics shelf, from UK-based firm Health Nutrition Ltd. Despite its newer industry presence, Mind Vitality Focus has stomped ahead of many other supplements. It is also another nootropic that doesn't use stimulants to achieve effects.
Instead, it is packed with well-established, potent cognitive enhancers. We've got Lion's Mane at a very helpful dose of 500mg, which we've touched on already. In fact, you'll often see repetitions when comparing nootropic formulas – that's because they don't try to reinvent the wheel. They stick to what they know works.
Bacopa Monnieri appears here, as does Choline.
N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine is a potent ingredient used for memory enhancement and stress reduction, which can be particularly beneficial if we're in a profession that demands concentration and mental endurance in high-pressure situations or tasks.
Ashwagandha is another one, though we will see this a lot – and that's because it's incredibly helpful for alleviating stress and anxiety, while improving energy and concentration.
Mind Vitality Focus is a tablet form rather than capsules, and you need three of them a day – a perfectly manageable amount for some game-changing cognitive benefits.
Mind Lab Pro
Now we move onto another smart, intelligently crafted nootropic called Mind Lab Pro, brought to us by Performance Lab. Performance Lab create a number of really good health supplements – I've reviewed their multivitamins before and they performed brilliantly.
It's a brand that doesn't try too hard on the marketing, and instead focuses all its attention on the ingredients label.
I love this in a supplement. There are too many supplements out there that think they can pull the wool over our eyes with fancy marketing tactics that mask the facts.
With Mind Lab Pro though, it's quite the opposite. It's neat, tidy, and to the point when it comes to including all the right nootropic ingredients. It's their flagship product with hoards of users agreeing on its efficacy.
Mind Lab Pro offers a holistic, research-backed and potent blend of 11 ingredients. It's a clean, stimulant-free formulation, making it another great option for those of us avoiding stimulants.
The powerhouse components here include Citicoline – that brain-building compound known for its ability to improve memory and focus – and Phosphatidylserine, which is a vital nutrient for brain cell health.
They've also made full use of Lion's Mane Mushroom and N-acetyl L-tyrosine, for those neuroprotective benefits and refined cognitive performance under stressful conditions.
Rhodiola Rosea is a wonderful inclusion here. It's a plant that grows at high altitudes and cold regions of the world, and has been shown to be very effective at decreasing depression and stress-related mood swings. It reduces fatigue, and replaces it with stimulated energy and alertness, boosting our cognitive abilities.
It also increases compounds that, when triggered in our brain cells, can prevent the likes of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Mind Lab Pro does a very good job of tackling all aspects of our cognition, including decline prevention.
Alpha Brain
Now we head over to Alpha Brain, another nootropic that is free of caffeine and gluten.
Onnit is the brand behind Alpha Brain, though you may be more familiar with it thanks to American podcaster Joe Rogan. Joe has long promoted Alpha Brain as his nootropic of choice, and may have something to do with its overall success – he also has some financial commitments with it.
However, I'm pushing the celebrity status to one side. A nootropic is nothing without a decent formula, celebrity backing or not.
Thankfully, this nootropic is worth your consideration.
That being said, I'm going to start with a moan – Alpha Brain is a proprietary blend. This means they don't tell us exactly how much of each ingredient is included. This is frustrating when you're trying to understand the potency of each ingredient, plus there is no good reason why Onnit sould hide this from us.
I shall move on from this, as the blends they have designed do include some decent ingredients. We have three blends to briefly cover – Flow, Focus, and Fuel.
The Onnit Flow Blend comprises L-theanine, Oat Straw Extract, and Phosphatidylserine, which are renowned for their association with promoting relaxation and boosting brain function.
Following this, the Onnit Focus Blend uses herbal ingredients to increase energy including Bacopa Extract, Cat's Claw Extract, and Huperzia Serrata Extract to target our memory and learning.
We know that mental energy can make all the difference to our cognitive functioning, and Alpha Brain tackles this with their Onnit Fuel Blend – a cocktail of L-Tyrosine, L-Leucine, and Pterostilbene.
To sum up, Alpha Brain does miss a few tricks with some of its ingredients, masks their dosages, and doesn't do much at all towards cognitive health.
However, when I tested it I did experience a very positive result. So the dosages must be at least fair. You also only need two capsules a day with this one, so it's a really good option if you don't love taking too many capsules at once. Alpha Brain does work, and you'll notice an improvement in mental clarity.
Vyvamind
Next up as Vyvamind – a standalone nootropic that is the only product crafted by the manufacturer. I like this in a supplement. Sometimes it's nice to see a supplement stood amongst a whole collection of top-performing products – it vouches for the brand's experience and expertise.
However, it's also nice to see a company take pride in their one nootropic, pouring all their expertise and focus into that one bottle. Much like NooCube.
Vyvamind has only six ingredients here, which they say has been stripped back for a leaner yet punchier formula that gets straight to work, and has been refined after years and years of extensive research and development. It's often cited as being ideal to tackle the symptoms of ADHD and although I can't attest to that, their are many people who have used ritalin and adderall for years and replaced them with Vyvamind. That being said, if you are considering this then always consult a medical professional.
One of the ingredients is caffeine. Now this may seem a little outdated when so many top nootropics are working hard to eliminate it; but some people want that caffeine hit. I personally am not sensitive to caffeine at all, and when I use a supplement that includes it, it works well for me.
The caffeine is only a small dose, and won't send us rocketing; but if you suffer from cranky energy and crashes with caffeine, then perhaps opt for something else in this list.
We've got the usual suspects here, all at good doses, including L-Tyrosine, Citicoline, and L-Theanine. We also have some Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, which we know can be very helpful for our cognitive function, performance, and energy levels.
Vyvamind worked well for me. Nootropics in general can take a little while for the benefits to work their way to noticeable levels, and this is the case with Vyvamind – though the caffeine gets to work quickly, and I loved this aspect.
Centrapeak
Finally in this list of best nootropics, we have Centrapeak, which has done well to take the last spot against many competitors. The reason I've added it is because it actually takes a unique approach to nootropics, and that's with a focus on testosterone.
This, of course, filters its use mostly to men. But it's a very smart angle to attack. This is because low testosterone can lead to many of the negative side effects that impact our cognitive functioning.
First off, there's Vitamin D3, which doesn't just act as a precursor to testosterone but also supports cognitive functionality. It's a foundational vitamin that I've found effectively boosts my mood, particularly during those long, sun-deprived winter months.
Korean Panax Ginseng is an ingredient we often see in decent testosterone boosters, and can help with drive and circulation. Tis improvement will uplift mood, which can boost our mental drive and focus.
You'll see a number of ingredients here that follow suit – Zinc, Boron, Magnesium, Pine Bark Extract, etc. – they're all incredibly helpful, quality ingredients that target cognitive function via testosterone, or indeed the negative impact low testosterone has on men.
So while this isn't suitable for all you lovely readers, I just had to include it for its elite formula that can be hugely beneficial for men looking for a decent nootropic with additional health benefits that are well suited to men.
Nootropics FAQs
Here are some quick FAQs I often get asked when talking all things nootropics.
Q: Are the effects of nootropics immediate?
A: My experience with nootropics, along with general industry perception, suggest that immediate effects are rare. The influence is often gradual and requires consistent use. Patience is essential while your body adjusts and absorbs nootropic elements. It's a worthy long game!
Q: Does the 'smart drug' label mean nootropics can make you smarter?
A: While the term 'smart drug' sounds impressive, nootropics don't necessarily make you "smarter". Instead, they improve existing cognitive functions like memory, concentration, and learning capacity. Think of them more like a brain health supplement rather than a quick intelligence boost.
Q: Are there potential side effects to consider when taking nootropics?
A: Like with any supplements (or anything), potential side effects exist. Monitoring your body's reactions is crucial when starting a new nootropic. Always, always seek professional advice before you start taking a new supplement, especially if you have any medical conditions or concerns, or take medication. And if you react negatively, stop immediately.
Verdict
We've looked at some really very good nootropics here. Some with really slimmed down yet decent ingredient profiles, others ramping up every inclusion they could possibly include to give you the very best of nootropic ingredients.
The best nootropic has to be NooCube, with its perfect balance of ingredients to enhance cognitive performance. It doesn't slim down, and it doesn't go overboard. It simply includes all and only the very best ingredients, at sensible yet potent dosages, and without unnecessary fillers, and no caffeine.
NooCube works hard at improving its formula, changing ingredients to make it as widely suitable as possible. You've also got their generous money-back guarantee, proving confidence in their product and giving us every reason to see for ourselves just how effective their formula is.
We've also seen some other really good nootropics here. Whichever one you go for, you should enjoy the benefits of improved cognitive functioning and health – a crucial aspect of our wellbeing that mustn't be neglected.
Remember, the effects from nootropics aren't instant, but with consistent use, you'll likely see improvements in memory, focus, and productivity.
Be mindful of potential side effects and always prioritize products that are transparent about their ingredients. It's not about finding a magic pill, but rather a supplement that complements your lifestyle and enhances your cognitive abilities.
So, explore your options, and don't be afraid to invest in your brain health. After all, it's one of the best investments you can make.
Disclaimer: The above is a contributor post, the views expressed are those of the contributor and do not represent the stand and views of Outlook Editorial.
