Caffeine

Caffeine is one of the most widely used psychoactive drugs in the world and most likely the most familiar nootropic on this list. It is well known to boost reaction time, alertness, memory, and mood. Caffeine influences acetylcholine, epinephrine (adrenaline), serotonin, and boost dopamine output causing a cascade of benefits for athletic performance as well as cognitive performance. This molecule provides a protective effect by boosting gene expression of BDNF otherwise known as “Miracle Grow” for your brain cells. There is significant evidence that chronic caffeine consumption may protect against developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Another huge benefit of caffeine is how it interacts with increasing the density of our GABA receptors, potentiates dopamine, and causes serotonin receptors to be more responsive. When matched with all of the other nootropics on this list we are effectively increasing all of the positive attributes that coincide with caffeine consumption while severely mitigating the risk of the negative reactions to this drug like anxiety and excess cortisol secretion.