Opinions - Nootropics for Motivation?

[zera]

Swim barely has any need for an intelligence boost (although more IQ is always nice), swims mainly problem is getting off his ass and getting things done. Once swim is doing his work he usually breezes through it without much difficulty, but he procrastinates like a mofo.

In terms of motivation adderall and methylphenidate seem to work pretty well, at least for the first few hours. Benzedrex is way too fun for swim to want to do any work on. Cocaine produces a concentrated effort for a little while, but then swim gets distracted easily. Caffeine is alright, but like cocaine causes swim to get distracted easily.

Swim isnt necessarily looking for a stimulant, his problem isnt being tired or effortless. He always has effort, its just not necessarily directed at the right place (for example right now he is browsing the Internet when he should be doing some discounted cash flow analysis, its just that the former seems so much more fun than the latter).

Any nootropic gurus in here have recommendations for increasing swims motivation or focus?

[joachimist]

i've quite the same problem..
i sometimes found it usefull to take piracetam.

not that it will act as a stimulant, nor that it will remotive you, but it helps on focusing,
for exemple i often start doing something that i must do, and few minutes later i fing myself browsing the internet, having left the unfinished work.
with piracetam this is more unlikely to happen.

sometimes i take in addition to piractem a small dose of cafeine to add more stimulation/energy.

but i must say that i'm not a 'nootropic guru', and haven't experienced lot of.

[Jacco]

I'm not a nootropic guru, but a friend of mine tells me he's had some positive success with modafinil in that regard. Modafinil punishes you if you're idle or wasting your time.. it drags you into the ground and kicks you until you get off your ass and start doing something useful. For that reason, it's quite scary but if you have a nice long project that needs doing it should work fine.

[sterling77]

Modanifil(modafinil?) is a strong stimulant so don't use it if you didn't want something stimulating.

[Euphoric]

SWIM found that the combination of piracetam and rhodiola made him more positive and productive.

[Paracelsus]

My vampire also has very low motivation, along with mild depression which sometimes gets worse.

He noticed some cognitive improvement with piracetam+lecithin (but no motivation). He is completely nonresponsive to St. John's Wort (no improvement after regular treatment with SJW tea, later various brands of extract; not the slightest effects from megadoses of tea and extract) and selegiline+phenylalanine (5 mg/day + 500 mg/day). Maybe my vampire might look into Rhodiola.

[darkglobe]

I find it strange that your vamp was nonresponsive to Hypericum, as SWIM told me to suggest it.

SWIM tells me that 5-HTP, Ginseng and Gingko Biloba are nootropics of choice. He would stick to SJW, but the photosensitivity issues annoyed him.

PS: Paracelsus... dude your avatar freaks me out. I keep imagining the "power drill brain surgery" scene =/

[Paracelsus]

He would stick to SJW, but the photosensitivity issues annoyed him.

Although the stereotypical vampire has pale skin, mine's is quite dark and he has never had any sunburn issues from SJW. He doesn't usually get sunburned. The last time he did was around St. John's Day this summer while he went through the woods, picking ... St. John's Wort.

PS: Paracelsus... dude your avatar freaks me out. I keep imagining the "power drill brain surgery" scene =/

I love the SAW trilogy. It has a strong message. We are all too weak.

Back on topic: Gingko Biloba extract has also not affected Vlad in any way. His mother says it eliminates fatigue for her, which is logical because its mode of action is mainly cardiovascular.

Why would 5-HTP be considered a nootropic?

[Euphoric]

Originally Posted by Paracelsus

Why would 5-HTP be considered a nootropic?

If a nootropic is something that improves cognitive function, 5-HTP may qualify if the user suffers from depression that impedes the user's learning abilities (provided the 5-HTP fights the depression and low serotonin levels are the cause) or perhaps because of its ability to help some people sleep better, they are able to function better during their waking hours.

[sterling77]

Rhodiola is one of the best swim has tried for motivation without added stress. It makes him completely calm to the extent that the people he is interacting with seem to be calmer, and puts him in a great mood. Swim ends up getting more done in a day when he takes rhodiola, but it loses effectiveness if taken everyday. However it is extremely effective from the first dose unlike some adaptogens, which is backed up by this study showing that it operates a bit differently:

Plant adaptogens are compounds that increase the ability of an organism to adapt to environmental factors and to avoid damage from such factors. The beneficial effects of multi-dose administration of adaptogens are mainly associated with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a part of the stress-system that is believed to play a primary role in the reactions of the body to repeated stress and adaptation. In contrast, the single dose application of adaptogens is important in situations that require a rapid response to tension or to a stressful situation. In this case, the effects of the adaptogens are associated with another part of the stress-system, namely, the sympatho-adrenal-system (SAS), that provides a rapid response mechanism mainly to control the acute reaction of the organism to a stressor. This review focuses primarily on the SAS-mediated stimulating effects of single doses of adaptogens derived from Rhodiola rosea, Schizandra chinensis and Eleutherococcus senticosus. The use of these drugs typically generates no side effects, unlike traditional stimulants that possess addiction, tolerance and abuse potential, produce a negative effect on sleep structure, and cause rebound hypersomnolence or 'come down' effects. Furthermore, single administration of these adaptogens effectively increases mental performance and physical working capacity in humans. R. rosea is the most active of the three plant adaptogens producing, within 30 min of administration, a stimulating effect that continues for at least 4-6 h. The active principles of the three plants that exhibit single dose stimulating effects are glycosides of phenylpropane- and phenylethane-based phenolic compounds such as salidroside, rosavin, syringin and triandrin, the latter being the most active. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PMID: 16261511 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Reputation Comments on this post:

A nice informative post. But what are the other 2 adaptogen plants?

[Paracelsus]

sterling100: Can you recommend any specific brands of extract?

[sterling77]

I've only tried the LifeExtension brand, it is high quality and I trust the brand. I have repurchased it also if that says anything. 1 250mg cap is very strong and is enough.

A quote from the brand: "Unlike other Rhodiola supplements on the market today, Rhodiola Extract uses only the authentic Rhodiola Rosea species and is standardized to contain the proven 3:1 ratio of 3% rosavins and 1% salindosides, matching the concentrations of active adaptogens used in clinical trials."

Edit to add: Also as a side note I've seen a couple reports that rhodiola brought back the mdma magic for some people. I remember reading something quite awhile ago that said rhodiola actually mimicks certain neurotransmitters, on a need-only basis to help balance everything.

Reputation Comments on this post:

useful info

[Broshious]

While Selegiline has never done much for SWIM he has heard several reports of it turning people into workaholics so that might be worth a shot.

[spacelord]

hey zera, your question has been around for quite some time now, so i don't know if you're still waiting for answers. anyway i figure it's a problem a lot of people actually share.

piracetam is already mentioned here. a lot of people seem to hava had positive
results. i haven't tried yet, but got aniracetam right away as it is known to have a more pronounced effect and is easy to get and reasonably priced if you buy in bulk.

the motivational effect for me comes from
- making me feel more awake
- gives a sense of clarity
- boosts mood
i do like to combin it with coffee. not sure yet about any synergetic effects as i'm used to drinking coffee a lot.^^


well oxiracetam, a still more potent compund might also be something you may want to check. that's what i will probably do when i run out of aniracetam in a few month. hope i could help.

Reputation Comments on this post:

helpful info, thanks

[psychonautilus]

Originally Posted by spacelord

hey zera, your question has been around for quite some time now, so i don't know if you're still waiting for answers. anyway i figure it's a problem a lot of people actually share.

piracetam is already mentioned here. a lot of people seem to hava had positive
results. i haven't tried yet, but got aniracetam right away as it is known to have a more pronounced effect and is easy to get and reasonably priced if you buy in bulk.

the motivational effect for me comes from
- making me feel more awake
- gives a sense of clarity
- boosts mood
i do like to combin it with coffee. not sure yet about any synergetic effects as i'm used to drinking coffee a lot.^^


well oxiracetam, a still more potent compund might also be something you may want to check. that's what i will probably do when i run out of aniracetam in a few month. hope i could help.

I've heard that oxiracetam is less stimulative and lasts longer than aniracetam. I personally take aniracetam because I want the stimulative effects (however mild). But when I take an attack dose or drink too much coffee, I can become overstimulated and that's not much better than being amotivated.

[Milk man]

Originally Posted by psychonautilus

I've heard that oxiracetam is less stimulative and lasts longer than aniracetam. I personally take aniracetam because I want the stimulative effects (however mild). But when I take an attack dose or drink too much coffee, I can become overstimulated and that's not much better than being amotivated.

Oxiracetam is expensive, but it gets the job done. Oxiracetam is legal also. Swim takes DMAE + ~800mg of Oxiracetam. Then to still be stimulated, swim will put another 800mg of Oxiracetam in a water bottle + gatorade and sip on it while studing. Swim is going to try it going to the gym.

[TestDummy]

Originally Posted by Milk man

Oxiracetam is expensive, but it gets the job done. Oxiracetam is legal also. Swim takes DMAE + ~800mg of Oxiracetam. Then to still be stimulated, swim will put another 800mg of Oxiracetam in a water bottle + gatorade and sip on it while studing. Swim is going to try it going to the gym.

Charlie said that he had no effect from oxiracetam. Does the milk man think that there is a possibility of placebo?

TestDummy added 2 Minutes and 30 Seconds later...

Charlie also said he is searching for a nootropic motivator. He has experienced many things, and has spent too much cash on garbage. Phenylethylamine may work as phenibut has become too abused and less effective months ago.

[Milk man]

Originally Posted by TestDummy

Charlie said that he had no effect from oxiracetam. Does the milk man think that there is a possibility of placebo?

TestDummy added 2 Minutes and 30 Seconds later...

Charlie also said he is searching for a nootropic motivator. He has experienced many things, and has spent too much cash on garbage. Phenylethylamine may work as phenibut has become too abused and less effective months ago.

I am sure it was not a placebo effect, but I do seem to suffer from a lack of motivation.

[lasciviouslizzy]

Swim is prescribed 20mg of methylephenidate, 3 x daily. Swim is wondering if the Phenylethylamine powder they bought recently could be taken alongside this with any ill effects.

So far Phenylethylamine hasn't really done much for swim and shes wondering if shes taking it the wrong way (if there is one?).

[hh339]

I agree rhodiola is good. I use a strong extract, in large doses. It's stimulating and motivating.

[Bajeda]

DMAE is worth checking out, as swim has trouble with motivation and has found it effective in some cases (mixed with piracetam), however, he wouldn´t recommend it for habitual use, only occasional dosing when needed (for swim it is better for some specific activities over many others).

[Euphoric]

Bajeda, which activities is it good for and are there any that it actually caused problems with, according to SWIY? And is the warning against habitual use due to dependency possibilities or because of the lack of research on this substance?

[Broshious]

Nevamind!

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by Euphoric

Bajeda, which activities is it good for and are there any that it actually caused problems with, according to SWIY? And is the warning against habitual use due to dependency possibilities or because of the lack of research on this substance?

Technical and quantitative work is better on DMAE for swim, and he generally hates doing it so the motivation boost is very helpful. Otherwise, with certain other stimulants a bit of DMAE and piracetam can help get things going - and help prevent swim from wasting excessive amounts of time doing useless crap on adderall - but he uses minimal amounts these days, maybe 100mg at most. Going to lectures and discussions, or doing creative work, swim avoids when he has taken DMAE as he feels it alters his emotions and makes it harder to connect with more interpretive material or visualize patterns/trends.

Habitual use isn´t recommended as the DMAE is less effective when used regularly, and more importantly, it seems to have odd effects on emotions (from both swim´s experience and anecdotally) when used frequently over time.

There isn´t a great deal of research on this substance, though some of it may be concerning (swim thinks it a bit exaggerated both ways, yet is careful anyways), so swim uses piracetam and choline with DMAE each time he takes it and keeps its use to a minimum.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Useful info, thanks.

[NeuroMD]

Originally Posted by zera

Swim barely has any need for an intelligence boost (although more IQ is always nice), swims mainly problem is getting off his ass and getting things done. Once swim is doing his work he usually breezes through it without much difficulty, but he procrastinates like a mofo.

In terms of motivation adderall and methylphenidate seem to work pretty well, at least for the first few hours. Benzedrex is way too fun for swim to want to do any work on. Cocaine produces a concentrated effort for a little while, but then swim gets distracted easily. Caffeine is alright, but like cocaine causes swim to get distracted easily.

Swim isnt necessarily looking for a stimulant, his problem isnt being tired or effortless. He always has effort, its just not necessarily directed at the right place (for example right now he is browsing the Internet when he should be doing some discounted cash flow analysis, its just that the former seems so much more fun than the latter).

Any nootropic gurus in here have recommendations for increasing swims motivation or focus?

The most feedback I get is normally with deprenyl 10-15 mg as needed or Galantamine 8-24 mg as needed.