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While our ancestors may have relied on big muscles or iron will to get ahead in the world, these days it takes a quick and active mind to succeed. However, while lifting weights is clearly the best way to get big muscles, the path to a bigger brain isn’t as obvious.
One option is nootropics, or smart drugs, like NooCube, designed to improve cognitive performance. By taking NooCube, you may be stimulating neurotransmitters in the brain, increasing focus, so you can think more clearly. Does it live up to the hype? Let’s find out!
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Like many nootropic supplements, NooCube makes big promises but offers a product based on preliminary or low-quality science. On the other hand, it’s cheaper than many alternatives and has a money-back guarantee, so there’s little danger in giving it a try.
Wondering if NooCube can pump your IQ? Check out NooCube nootropics here.
NooCube is a nutritional supplement that is marketed as enhancing cognitive function. It’s one of several supplements sold as nootropics for motivation, smart drugs that put you in a heightened mental state. NooCube contains a number of natural ingredients and herbal extracts that help to achieve its effects.
You can think of cognitive functions as the practical thinking skills we use to get through the day. The specific functions are usually considered to be:
NooCube is manufactured by Wolfson Brands, a UK-based company that produces a whole range of other nootropic supplements for improving mental performance under several different labels. The company also manufactures products for general wellness and beauty, among other things.
Each ingredient in NooCube has a different mechanism of action, and while some may enhance cognitive function directly, the makers decided to formulate NooCube in a way that also supports general brain health.
The primary method, however, is to promote motivation, which in this context can be thought of as roughly the same as mental speed and alertness. Putting your brain to work can deplete supplies of neurotransmitters, leading to the brain fog feeling that makes it difficult to concentrate and think.
Increasing supplies of those neurotransmitters are thought to clear the fog. Nootropics usually include at least one ingredient intended to increase levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. For NooCube, that role is primarily filled by Alpha-GPC, though all the ingredients play a role.
The eight active ingredients of NooCube include:
NooCube ingredients also include essential nutrients like vitamin B, as well as gelatine for the gel cap and magnesium stearate as a filler.
The benefits of these ingredients are backed by clinical trials and other types of scientific evidence. However, manufacturers often make broad, eye-catching claims when the science is less sure, more limited, or both. While they are associated with improvements in cognitive functions, that may not be the whole story.
For example, many studies focused on improving brain function focus on things like treating Alzheimer’s disease. While a NooCube ingredient may improve memory for some people suffering from the condition, there’s no way of knowing if it will have a similar effect on a healthy person.
Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine is a precursor of one of the most important neurotransmitters, acetylcholine [2]. Supplementing alpha-GPC will stimulate neurotransmitters, primarily acetylcholine, involved with brain function, including communication between brain cells [3].
Alpha-GPC has been investigated for other benefits, including helping to stabilize mood. However, it’s primarily included in the NooCube formula due to its ability to increase motivation.
NooCube references studies for each of its ingredients, justifying each inclusion. However, the studies they cite in support of huperzine A are from 1995 and 1999, meaning they might be somewhat out of date. One study focused on Alzheimer’s patients who showed an improvement in memory tests and cognitive function tests [4].
However, more recent studies using healthy participants didn’t show similar improvements in cognitive function test scores [5].
Native to the Amazon jungle, cat’s claw has been used as a natural remedy for centuries to ward off conditions such as infections, inflammations, and cancer. However, there is no rock-solid scientific evidence that it can provide health benefits [6]. The manufacturers point to it as an antioxidant, reducing free radicals that can damage cells.
It also helped prevent some types of age-related brain damage in mice, though these effects have yet to be replicated in humans [7].
Note that cat’s claw may lower blood pressure or prevent adequate clotting.
NooCube’s website claims that Bacopa can have a range of benefits, including encouraging new nerve growth. It’s a common ingredient in nootropics for memory, having been used for that purpose in traditional medicine.
It’s possible that our ancestors knew what they were talking about, as researchers observed significant improvements in memory for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, other studies report a smaller improvement or no improvement at all, so it’s difficult to say how effective Bacopa monnieri is [8].
The scientific name for this ingredient is Avena sativa, though it’s been used to support mental health under the simpler name of oat straw since the Middle Ages [9].
You won’t find these in Quaker oatmeal—instead, we’re looking at wild green oats, which contain several potentially psychoactive compounds [10]. Short-term use of an extract of green oats did make multitasking easier.
Use over longer periods enhances blood flow to the brain by dilating blood vessels. Beyond the fact that it improves blood flow to the brain, it’s also been found to improve cognition over the long term in some cases.
L-theanine is one of several amino acids that appear regularly in supplements. It’s found in green tea, helping to reduce anxiety and supporting enhanced focus [11][12]. Theanine is also commonly found in weight loss supplements if you want to double up by investigating nootropics for weight loss.
Another amino acid, L-tyrosine is a common ingredient as it is considered to be a natural nootropic brain booster. It provides the raw materials for making dopamine, a neurotransmitter critical to motivation and cognition.
Clinical trials link its use to improved memory in people with lowered levels of dopamine, either due to illness or just a lot of hard thinking. It’s important to a well-functioning brain, but if you already have healthy levels of dopamine, this amino acid is unlikely to make a difference [13].
Along with the similar pterostilbene, resveratrol is an antioxidant that may help prevent oxidative damage caused by free radicals [14][15]. As a result, it could provide some neuroprotective benefits so you can maintain a healthy brain as you grow older.
Science has only begun to study some of these ingredients, so it’s difficult to give a complete list of benefits you might receive from using NooCube. A few benefits you might see include:
While NooCube claims there won’t be any side effects, that can’t be said for sure. Side effects may include, but aren’t limited to:
Side effects and adverse reactions are always a possibility when taking a supplement. If you have concerns, we recommend seeking out a licensed healthcare provider.
When we’re talking about the brain, any side effect may have the potential to be serious. Additionally, as some of these ingredients haven’t been studied in-depth, there may be side effects that aren’t well reported.
Drug interactions are also a possibility. Consider skipping NooCube if you’re taking an MAO inhibitor, blood thinners, or some HIV medications, among others [17].
For a single bottle of NooCube, which is one month’s supply, you can expect to pay $59.99. This is on the lower end of similar nootropic products. Additionally, if you opt to buy several bottles at once, you can get a significant discount. For example, buy two bottles for $119 and get a third free.
If you’ve been convinced to give it a try by positive NooCube reviews, but you’re not sure if it’s for you, there is a money-back guarantee. Within 67 days (60 days use plus return shipping), you can return two opened bottles, as well as any unopened bottles, for a full refund.
The best place to buy the supplement is on the NooCube website. You’ll be able to buy multiple bottles for a discount, as well as take advantage of the money-back guarantee if you decide it’s not for you.
Additionally, be aware of exactly what you’re buying. There are a lot of imitators out there that sell products with very similar labels and marketing, even down to using similar phrases. However, they aren’t the real thing, could contain a different formula, and may not be as safe. Checking out any NooCube reviews available can also be helpful.
Look closely at the label to make sure you’re buying the product you want. In particular, there shouldn’t be any words over the ‘NooCube’ at the top of the label.
It’s difficult to say. There are several different imitators that sell similarly packaged products, but those are definitely not the real NooCube. The other supplements may look nearly identical, except for some differences in wording or some additions to the label.
At the moment, it doesn’t seem as if the real thing is available on Amazon, so be wary of NooCube reviews.
According to the directions, a dose is two capsules per day. A single bottle comes with 60 capsules for a 30-day supply.
However, it’s not uncommon for people to vary the dose on their own, often taking NooCube in much higher doses. This is not a good idea and we do not recommend it. Not only does taking NooCube in large doses increase the possibility for side effects or drug interactions, but it also may not be any more helpful.
By taking a higher dose, you may just be using up your supply without receiving any additional benefit.
At the moment, there isn’t a good way to tell if taking NooCube for an extended period is healthy or unhealthy. Due to its status as a supplement, FDA-approved research isn’t required. While NooCube’s site claims there are no side effects, we’ve already seen that may not be true.
According to NooCube’s site, you should feel a boost to your brainpower within 30 to 45 minutes. Additionally, the effects should last between eight and 10 hours. However, there isn’t any independent research to back that up, and any individual may experience different effects.
There are a number of other supplements that are also marketed as smart drugs, nootropics for memory, focus, and more. Many will include similar active ingredients and have similar benefits to NooCube. Some also include other ingredients and therefore have other benefits. You may want to try a couple to see which formulation works best for your needs.
Mind Lab Pro has some of the same natural ingredients as NooCube, but it differs in several important ways. The biggest is that, while it doesn’t contain alpha-GPC, it does contain another compound called citicoline. It’s similar in many ways, also serving as a precursor for acetylcholine and stimulating neurotransmitters.
However, citicoline may be less potent than alpha-GPC [18]. On the other hand, Mind Lab Pro has made a commitment to environmentally safe products. Everything is vegan and the product is shipped in recycled materials.
Find out more in our Mind Lab Pro review.
Similar in many ways to Mind Lab Pro, Performance Lab Mind also relies on citicoline, as well as amino acids to stimulate neurotransmitters and improve focus. Additionally, Performance Lab uses a process to standardize its ingredients, so that every pill and bottle has the same potency.
Performance Lab Mind brain booster is also vegan-friendly. Check out all the details in our Performance Lab Nootropics review.
Looking for more answers? We’ve got you covered.
NooCube is a legitimate company and you can be reasonably sure your payment and personal information are safe. NooCube’s claims regarding their product may be harder to judge. Some ingredients could improve mental alertness, but overall their effects are based on preliminary, not fully reliable science.
NooCube is as safe as any other supplement you could buy. Its safety depends on a range of factors, most importantly your current level of physical health. Talk to a professional physician if you have concerns.
NooCube doesn’t contain a central nervous system stimulant, the most common example of which is caffeine. It won’t give you an overall energy boost like a cup of coffee would.
Instead, it is intended to improve focus and motivation. At the end of a long day, you may be tired and it’s hard to think clearly or remember stuff like a stifling fog is sitting in your brain. NooCube works to lift that fog in order to provide mental clarity, but you’d still be physically tired.
No, NooCube is not FDA approved. NooCube is a nutritional supplement, so it doesn’t require the same degree of testing that a prescription drug would.
Not really. When people think of a stimulant, they usually associate it with the effects of something like caffeine. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that will energize many aspects of the body’s functioning. NooCube won’t have the same effect.
Mind Lab Pro has scored the highest in our nootropics for motivation round-up in the past. However, different people may have different experiences. The only way to be really sure may be to take some cognitive performance tests while using different nootropics.
NooCube may be a good option if you’re trying nootropics for the first time. It’s less expensive than alternatives, has a decent guarantee, and comes from a reliable manufacturer. However, there are many options out there to try, some offering the same benefits as NooCube, others with entirely different ingredients and effects.
