Tag Archive for: phenibut

Nootropics and Creativity: How to Safely Boost your Artistic Side

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Nootropics and Creativity

Whether you’re looking to kickstart your novel, paint the next Mona Lisa, or devise a brilliant business plan for your new start-up, creativity is important. It is also no secret that creativity can be a notoriously fickle thing—completely there one day, then gone the next.

It seems like sometimes no matter how devoted you are, no matter how hard you try, there’s just nothing there and everything you try to think up comes out feeling flat. Here’s where nootropics can offer you a quick edge.

Since nootropics are a class of smart drugs designed to benignly tweak your brain performance, there’s a good chance that there’s one out there that will pluck your creativity strings just the right way. Take a look at some of the best compounds for giving you an artistic boost when your muse just refuses to show up.

Aniracetam

Aniracetam is the next step up from Piracetam on the ladder of nootropics. It also produces very distinct effects. It’s cited as the best anti-anxiety nootropic, and as a nootropic that enhances creativity. How exactly does it accomplish this?

First off, Aniracetam is an AMPA modulator. This fact means that in one way or another it enhances the functioning of your AMPA receptors, which are excitatory receptors linked to mood and memory [1]. Secondly, it increases blood flow in the association context—the payoff being that holistic thinking becomes easier [1]. It’s also somewhat anxiolytic; reduced anxiety is something any stumped creative type could use [2].

There are also a few secondary effects that help creativity. Aniracetam can also make vision sharper and more vivid, boost literary fluidity (easier reading!), and make it easier to grasp abstract concepts [2]. Chalk it up to improved communication between brain hemispheres, which is one more way that Aniracetam enhances cognition [3].

The trade off? Naturally creative types may find their thinking taking on a more logical edge thanks to boosted right brain activity, while more literal-minded users will see their logical thought processes become a bit more abstract. It’s a great tool whether you’re looking to enhance your creative project, or just tackle it from a slightly shifted neurological perspective.

Phenibut

Phenibut doesn’t “cause” creativity, but it certainly primes you for it! One of the most important aspects of creativity is flow—the ability to shut everything out and focus entirely on the task at hand. Easier said than done. Your worst enemy? Outside thoughts, stress, worries, doubts…all the small grievances that you’re probably trying to get away from with creativity in the first place.

Phenibut benefits the aspiring artist in two ways. First, it hits your GABA-B receptors, which affect stress and calmness [4]. The overall effect is a soothed, tranquil, present feeling, the sort you might get from exercise or meditation. Studies have also shown that it decreases your inability to act in a negative emotional situation. Like, say, feeling stuck because you can’t generate a new creative idea [5].

Secondly, phenibut has been shown to stimulate dopamine [6]. Tweaked dopamine means a heightened sense of pleasure and meaning from all your sensory input. This is important to creativity in its own right, but dopamine has also been specifically proven to have a strong correlation to creativity. Evidence-based reports even cite phenibut as having mild benefits for memory recall: important if you’re working on an elaborate creative project [7].

Making sure you’re taking a safe amount of phenibut will ensure you aren’t left with a disrupted dopamine system the next day. Dose responsibly and cycle your phenibut often, and you’ll be on your way to having a sure-fire nootropic shortcut to a creative headspace. Dosing irresponsibly can result in many side effects.

Sulbutiamine

Sulbutiamine is a thiamine derived compound created in Japan to combat asthenia, a chronic fatigue that is mentally, not physically, based [8]. Since thiamine is B-vitamin based, that’s exactly what sulbutiamine will reverse! After a safe dose, look for boosted levels of energy that’ll help you complete all your unfinished tasks, creative or otherwise. In other words, it’s been proven to be effective at reducing mental fatigue [9].

It’s important to consider more factors than just “feeling creative” when looking to enhance creativity — focus and energy are crucial even to the most creative mind. Thanks to sulbutiamine, you can make sure you aren’t too worn down to dream.

However, the list of creativity-specific benefits you get from this nootropic don’t stop there. It’s been shown to reduce psycho-behavioral inhibitions — in other words, it eases your conditioned fears [10]. If there’s something you avoid or get stressed by, sulbutiamine makes it easier to approach. So long writer’s block!

Coluracetam

Coluracetam is one of the newest compounds to hit the market, and is the latest iteration in the veritable racetam family. How does it help with creativity? It’s all in the name. Coluracetam is alleged to have ‘’sensory enhancing properties”—colors, for instance look richer.

It’s also alleged to enhance sounds, brighten vision, and thrust the user into an anxiety-dampened, creativity-free headspace. It achieves all this by being the first choline uptake enhancer; it makes the brain turn choline into learning-and-information neurotransmitter acetylcholine faster and more fully [11]. That means you are able to take in more sensory information at once, while simultaneously having more “raw data” to commit to memory.

While the anecdotal feedback on the substance has been very positive so far, it’s worth considering that coluracetam is a very young nootropic, and the clinical research on it is slim at best. While there are no indications that it will deviate from the racetam trend by being anything other than safe and non-toxic, it’s worth using some caution if you’re considering picking some up.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re too tired to focus, out of imaginative ideas, or just not quite as fired up about creativity as you used to be, nootropics offer something to benefit you. Read up on your substance of choice, take the recommended dose, and see for yourself how quickly you can get that brush back in your hand!

Sources

Aniracetam:

[1] – http://examine.com/supplements/Aniracetam/

[2] – http://www.braintropic.com/racetam-comparison/

[3] – http://www.smartdrugsforthought.com/what-is-aniracetam/

Phenibut:

[4] – http://www.raysahelian.com/phenibut.html

[5] – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17944107

[6] – http://www.phenibutforanxiety.com/thescienceofphenibut.php

[7] – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11830761

Sulbutiamine:

[8] – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10996447

[9] – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12973384

[10] – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10996447

Coluracetam:

[11] – http://examine.com/supplements/Coluracetam/

GABA vs. Phenibut—Which Actually Affects the Body’s GABA More?

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GABA is considered to be the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter within the human body. It is responsible for slowing things down and helping to calm our mind and body. GABA is an essential chemical with a number of benefits. Another supplement known as Phenibut is also thought to act as a precursor to GABA. Although both are very effective, ultimately the real goal is to increase the level of GABA circulating in the brain and body. Which one is more effective as a supplement?

What is Phenibut?

Phenibut is a supplement that was developed in Russia during the Cold War. The timing is one of the reasons why it has escaped the attention of western research for so long. In fact, this supplement has been in widespread use throughout Russia and Eastern Europe since the 1970s. It is also part of the required pack for Russian cosmonauts.

In terms of structure, Phenibut is quite similar to GABA. The main difference is that its creators added a Phenyl ring of molecules to the GABA. This addition changed it into a different compound with one incredible benefit—it is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier quite easily, something which natural GABA is not able to do.

Phenibut Powder Benefits:

The essential benefit of Phenibut Powder is that it absorbs into the bloodstream rather quickly and then enters into the central nervous system by crossing over the aforementioned blood-brain barrier. As it is then transformed into GABA, it has the effect of exerting an overall calm to the brain and body. You will feel the stress just melting away.

GABA Benefits:

Of course, GABA that is actually in the brain is capable of helping you to relax. This relaxation includes lower levels of stress, nervousness, and possibly even feelings of sadness. Overall mood will be enhanced. It is easier to fall asleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

Conclusion—GABA vs. Phenibut:

Assuming the main goal is to actually increase the level of GABA circulating within the brain, then there is no question that Phenibut is a better supplement. As a direct supplement, GABA is simply not able to cross over the blood-brain barrier and enter into the central nervous system.