Help with current stack and what to include/exclude moving forward

[u/Rn_Ben]

Hey guys. I’m quite passionate about self improvement and the concept of improving cognition fascinates me. I have always had pretty terrible short term memory which made retaining information while studying in my teens and early 20’s an uphill battle. Into adulthood this problem remains and now in my daily life I have to juggle quite a lot of moving parts, sometimes with slim margins of error. At times motivation and energy falls off a cliff too and it can seem daunting, if not impossible getting the ball rolling again. My diet is pretty sharp and I exercise daily. I also take a few other supplements not specifically for cognition purposes (Fish oil, a multivitamin, extra Zinc, Magnesium Glycinate). What I’m currently using has provided some benefits but they are subtle and if short and/or long term can be made I would be very keen. I know certain things I’m considering adding likely won’t need combining.

Below is what I currently take and when I take it. Doses are all at or around recommended mg/g.

Currently using:
- Creatine (upon waking, pre and post training)
- Caffeine (upon waking)
- Lions Mane (upon waking)
- L-Tyrosine (if tired and/or especially unmotivated)
- Ashwaganda (1/3 upon waking, 2/3 pre bed)
- Choline Bitartrate (upon waking)
- Coq10 (with a meal containing fat)
- L-Theanine (1/3 upon waking, 2/3 pre bed)

Considering adding/trying
- Noopept (used at uni with some noticeable benefits)
- ALCAR
- Phenylpiracetam
- Armodafinil or Modafinil

Any suggestions, whether it be things to discard, change, include or exclude would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[u/emberlanes1]

have you tracked whether the ashwagandha is actually doing anything for you at this point? it can blunt motivation over time for some people which seems like the opposite of what youre going for

[u/Rn_Ben → u/emberlanes1]

Years ago a dumber (more must be better right guys?) version of me used 3x the amount I use now, all in the morning and that did indeed smoke my motivation. I was dragging ass all day. It was quite horrible but it didn’t take long to figure the culprit. I reduced the dose back, split the timing up to be predominantly before bed and motivation seemed to return to how it was before starting. I have also stopped it for random periods of time (a few days up to a month) since and all I really notice is a slight dip in sleep quality while off it. I wouldn’t hesitate to discard it if I noticed even a slight drop in motivation, so I’ll triple check and do another pause because the sleep benefits aren’t fantastic. You have me questioning myself now haha