Biohacking: Pills That Make You Smarter And More Productive
Image Source: Observer
In Silicon Valley, the Nootrobox subscription service will deliver brain-enhancing supplements called nootropics right to your door every month. These “smart drugs,” which supposedly improve productivity and mental focus, have become increasingly popular among success-driven CEOs, athletes, nutritionists, and the like. The nootropics subreddit currently has over 60,000 subscribers discussing their own experimentation with these controversial drugs.
Asprey frequently attaches tracking wires to his head and body to log his brain activity, sleep cycle, and overall well-being. Image Source: PBS
Dave Asprey, author of New York Times bestseller The Bulletproof Diet and an avid biohacker, has researched and used nootropics along with his “Bulletproof Coffee” to reportedly increase his IQ by 20 points, improve quality of sleep while actually sleeping for less time, and lose weight (in his case, over 100 pounds).
Ray Kurzweil. Image Source: Singularity University
Along with Asprey, Ray Kurzweil is one of today’s most prominent nootropics advocates. Fittingly, he’s been described as both “the restless genius” and “the ultimate thinking machine.” Inventor of the first CCD flatbed scanner (basically, the kind of scanner we’re all familiar with), the first print-to-speech reading software for the blind, and the first music synthesizer capable of reproducing the sound of orchestral instruments, Kurzweil—Google’s current Director of Engineering—is a hyper-productive powerhouse.
Kurzweil takes over 100 supplements every day and advocates the use of nootropics to enhance cognitive performance. Most nootropics are stacked combinations of well-known cognitive boosters like caffeine, L-theanine, creatine, and piracetam, most of which can be purchased over the counter in any nutritional supplements store.
While doctor-prescribed concentration-boosters like Adderall and Ritalin have helped many people diagnosed with ADHD, the detrimental side effects from longterm use have led many to seek out healthier and equally effective alternatives. Although nootropics users and suppliers regard these drugs as safe, the longterm effects have not been well-researched as of yet. Nevertheless, Nootrobox believes that nootropics will be “widely available in 7-11s, classrooms, and workplaces within a few years.”
