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Are Nootropics aka “Smart Drugs” Legit?
Brain enhancement substances have exploded in popularity. But are they a scam? What does the science say?
It seems everyone is hawking some cognitive improvement product these days. Amazon is rife with products from companies like ONNIT, Gorilla Mind, The Genius Mind, among many others. Joe Rogan regularly promotes ONNIT’s Alpha BRAIN. Alex Jones pushes his Brain Force supplements. Stanford professor Andrew Huberman swears by Alpha GPC. Just a quick Google search reveals a seemingly never-ending list of companies, products, and advertisements touting the benefits of nootropics.
The purported benefits of these supplements are extensive. Just to name a few, nootropics allegedly boost concentration, improve sleep quality, increase memory retention, reduce stress, and enhance creativity. Andrew Huberman, who is a neuroscience professor, claims they are essential when he wants “to push a workout hard, or a work session, a writing session, or data analysis session.”
Because of the hype in the last few years, nootropics have become a billion dollar industry, with some estimates putting it at nearly $30 billion by 2028. But is this justified? Do they really work, or is it just more pseudoscience?
