I think I agree with you on this.Seems like one of those supplements that needs a crucial ingredient called placebo.
Anybody tried "kratom"? Originates in Thailand but it's been illegal here since 1943, although it grows wild in the jungle so can be found many places.
It is not a controlled substance in the U.S. and Canada. Said to give a pleasant opiated happiness but with a strong alertness/motivational effect. Apparently used to good effect by some people. Haven't tried it myself. Possible addictive if taken regularly in high doses.
so far, I'm a big fan. I take one in the morning with a cup of coffee, and one right after lunch to keep me going. I don't feel a buzz like with energy drinks or caffeine, just a nice sense of urgency and focus. I was quite productive this week, got a lot of stuff rolling for serpIQ and on some of my own sites so I'm happy.
It also makes me overall feel happier. A nice elevated mood. I dig that.
I sleep like a fucking rock when I have taken them, which is great because I generally sleep like shit (anxiety + sleep doesn't add up well). The only downside is if you set an alarm to wake up at a decent hour, you wake up feeling REALLY groggy. I woke up feeling hungover today when I hadn't had more than 2 beers last night.
Still working out the best method to use them, but I'm a fan so far. $40/bottle seems expensive but the productivity they've added to my day pays for itself in like 15 minutes so I'm ok with it.
Hmm, so I have been taking Alpha Brain since Thanksgiving. Since I am a time management / productivity freak I wanted to see if Alpha Brain was a placebo or legit.
I track the time I spend working vs breaks taken using Toggl and I try to keep it as accurate as possible, this is something I have been using before I took Alpha Brain so there is no bias on it.
For my breaks I summed up the times I was not working and lunches taken. For times worked I summed up the times I spent on my email, meetings and working on my next actions.
Travel time was not included since its not a break or work but something in between.
I started taking alpha brain the week of Thanksgiving which is 11/28 highlighted in green.
My daily dose is one capsule every morning. I also take Acidophilus / Bifidus, 2500mg of Fish Oil, and Animal Pak Multivitamins. My stack is identical pre and post alpha brain with the exception of alpha brain itself.
Mentally I was unsure if it was going to work or not. In order to counteract any placebo effects I decided to do a two month test.
The work to break ratio was derived by the formula of work / break (pretty simple)
Here are my results
Alpha Brain Results by wiredniko, on Flickr
Some interesting things to note. My low week on Alpha Brain 1/9/12 was actually a week I did not take Alpha Brain. Also note that it seems like it takes 2 weeks to go into full effect, both on 11/28 and after 1/9 there is a jump. I was not aware of this jump until I saw a results so there are no placebo bias for both situations.
My average work to break ratio before alpha brain was 2.74, post alpha brain 5.28. Effectively my amount of work doubled.
One thing that you cannot see in this image is my work hours total and break totals. What I noticed is my break totals stayed about the same while my work pretty much doubled.
Furthermore my focus has increased, I go a lot longer without needing a break.
I can't comment on the creativity portion of Alpha Brain since its hard to measure.
Dream wise I saw no difference either, I am the type of person that does not remember his dreams and that has remained.
Physical side effects, I did get my first migraine ever while on Alpha Brain, I am not sure if its related or not. I also had an eye twitch twice, which again I am not sure if its related or not
Nah, did some more research and I think its 100% placebo effect.
Sorry to bump an old thread. I found my bottle of Instant Focus that I had ordered a while ago.
Has anyone tried this stuff? The website is no longer up...
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So it's recently come to my attention that I have ADHD -- serious here.
The lowest score I've gotten on those online tests is 77 where 35 means you probably have it.
So I've contacted a number of shrinks in my insurance plan and I can't get any help so far. Psychiatrists seem like the most unprofessional group of doctors in the world -- only 2 answered me back. One said I need to go to a neuro - psychologist to take a test then find a shrink to write the prescription. wtf?
Anyone in the NYC area that knows a reasonable doc for some help; please PM me...
Thanks in advance.