Alpha brain is an “Earth Grown” nootropic that’s been around for quite some time now. Years in fact. From a mechanistic perspective, it is boosting Acetylcholine levels, improving catecholamine quantities, and calming the brain at the same time. It seems to deliver its results sustainably throughout a 2-5 hour window, and sometimes more.
Right off the bat, I’d definitely say it’s worth purchasing. It offers a unique nootropic experience very few other nootropics can compete with. I mean, frankly, I’d rather take Alpha brain than Piracetam. Though the Racetams give me some bit of good result, for my brain and my body, they don’t work all that well. No idea why.
But I want to quick delve into my experience with Onnit’s Alpha Brain, to offer some insight into whether or not it’s right for you. And obviously, I do not care about promoting another product that’s in direct competition with mine. If people want the effect they get from the Cortex Nootropic (Gen 1), they’ll buy Cortex. If they’re looking for the Alpha Brain effect, they’ll buy that. For me, they work differently in my brain, and one is useful for certain things, while the other is useful for others.
My Experience With Alpha Brain
The first thing I notice, as many other people have noticed in taking Alpha brain is an improvement in verbal fluency. It’s not striking (where Cortex is reported to be strikingly awesome in this arena), it certainly is noticeable. I remember the early days of building one of my businesses, (iMobileRescue Services), I would take Alpha Brain in the morning, and within about an hour, I’d be on my mental game, ready to tackle the day’s business building work.
While my brain is open to noticing the effects of nootropics, others’ may not be. I had an old business partner that use to take Adderal, that was, let’s just say, less than impressed with Alpha Brain. To him, it did nothing. He felt nothing, and had no performance improvement. He was obviously use to the stimulatory nature of Adderal, and was looking for that same type of “high” with Alpha Brain.
So I noticed it. I noticed my speech become clearer. My brain became better at sectioning my thoughts in their own silos so to speak, and my overall performance was subtly, but noticeably better. I remember thinking it was a good idea to cycle on and off of it, so that’s how I approached using it.
How Long Did It Take To Work?
This differs for different people, but for me, it was exactly the same every time. I’d take it 30 minutes after breakfast, in attempts to clear any malabsorption or digestive detours due to food proximity, and within 1 hour, it’d start to kick in. It’s subtle, for those of you who are really wondering. It doesn’t hit you like a ton of bricks like other nootropics might (Cortex’s onset is far less subtle in my experience), but it definitely shows its teeth to some extent. For you, it might take 30 minutes. Perhaps 2 hours. It really all depends on how you’re digesting it, what the supplement’s proximity to food intake is, and whether or not you got a good night’s sleep the night prior. That seems to matter when taking any nootropics. Don’t expect a nootropic to turn you into a genius when you’re sleeping like shit.
Of Course, Rogan Turned Me Onto It
I started watching the Joe Rogan Podcast somewhere around 2012/13 timeframe. I remember Tim Ferris being on one of the podcasts early on, and from there I was hooked. Rogan was a bit off the wall and looney for me, but that’s what’s so cool about the podcast. Rogan is just crazy.
In this particular episode, they were talking a bit about nootropics, and Joe brought up Alpha Brain. I’m pretty sure Ferriss started reading some of the ingredients at some point, and Redban was impressed at how he KNEW what those ingredients would do to him.
A few days later, I had my first batch in route to my business address, ready to try it out.
Would I Use It Today?
Frankly, I have nothing bad to say about it. I’ve only had good experiences with it. While, I think it can be done better, and a Nootropic CAN be more powerful, with still little to no side effects, I think Onnit did a great job with AB. While making the Cortex Nootropic Stack, I had the raw ingredients in my living room, around a big desk where I sat there for a year and concocted a bunch of different combinations of nutrients. And to this day, I still have a good amount of those ingredients in bulk powder. But if I ever run out, don’t have any Cortex Gen 1 (or other Gens) laying around, sure, I’d grab me some Alpha Brain! The stuff does work, and being an entrepreneur, nootropics are an important part of performing at your max. Bottom line is, I’d use it again, and I may soon, just to get some differentiation in effects.
All Nootropics Are Useful
Lastly, all nootropics CAN BE useful. Ciltep can be useful at certain times. Alpha Brain the same. Aniracetam the same. Noopept the same, and on and on and on. They all work in different ways, and can be beneficial for certain tasks. Cortex Gen 1 for example, I think is extremely useful for an extremely sharp, fluid brain. Like, if you need to just be on your ultimate A GAME for a business meeting, public speech, or something else requiring a lot of verbal functionality and creative output, Cortex Gen 1 is the stack for that. If you want to be able to hold a bit more in your short term memory, I think Cortex works for that too but Aniracetam is pretty effective for working memory storage (for me at least). I’ve not tried Ciltep yet, but people really regard it as being powerful for focus. Take that for focus. It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve, and all nootropics have their place.
