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The Science Behind Nootropics – Do They Actually Work?

Herbal brain boosters are on the rise, but does science back them up? Here's some truth behind nootropics and their alleged benefits.

ByGabe Allen
New pill researchCredit: nevodka/Shutterstock

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Sometime in 2024, I started getting ads in my Instagram feed from a supplement company called Thesis. The ads generally featured good-looking, fashionable people telling neat, 30-second stories about how the supplements had solved their chronic procrastination, indecision, or distractibility. Many of the evangelists were identified as high-achievers in their respective fields — a Ph.D. neuroscientist, a CEO, or a surgeon.

I’d be lying if I said that the ads weren’t compelling. As a digital journalist, my working life is constantly mediated by my computer screen. That same screen is a gateway to a functionally infinite amount of information, news, and entertainment. And, over the years, the internet has slowly harnessed more and more of my waking hours on and off the clock. It’s a reality that, at times, leaves me feeling overstimulated and paralyzed.

Many other people have had a similar experience. Over the past decade, young people have ...

  • Gabe Allen

    Gabe Allen is a Colorado-based freelance journalist focused on science and the environment. He is a 2023 reporting fellow with the Pulitzer Center and a current master's student at the University of Colorado Center for Environmental Journalism. His byline has appeared in Discover Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, Planet Forward, The Colorado Sun, Wyofile and the Jackson Hole News&Guide.

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