In August 2018 I started to experiment with nootropics. This page will record some of the results. I will not describe the nootropics in question since that information can be found in many places online.
Caffeine L-theanine
I was excited about this one. I was never a coffee drinker, so never been high on caffeine. To my disappointment, I think caffeine doesn’t have an effect on me and I’m not the only one. I experimented with 100 mg Caffeine + 200 mg L-theanine twice, and, other time, since this was having no effect, I doubled the dose, but to no avail.
Melatonine
I have good sleeping patterns and only rarely I have trouble falling asleep. But since melatonine is pretty cheap and without big side effects I decided to give it a go. I tried to take 1 mg of it (which might be 3x more than needed or not) one night, one hour before the time I was planning to go to bed. I haven’t noticed much difference compared with other nights, either on sleepiness (I usually already feel sleepy when I “should” feel sleepy) or on the time necessary to fall asleep (I think it took even more than average). I also haven’t had any strange dreams or woke up earlier than usual.
Modafinil
I strive to have good sleep hygiene, but sometimes circumstances of life lead me to nights without much sleep. After research, modafinil sounded to me like a drug which would help go through the day productively, with a great side-effects profile. 1st experience So, after one 5h30 hour sleep (with interruptions), something that would make any sleepologist cringe, I decided to take a shot at it. A couple of hours after waking up, I took 200 mg of Modalert. And well, it delivers what it promises! It did not feel like magic and I didn’t feel super awake (I still slept two naps during the day) nor extra-super-focused. It just fell I had my usual good night of sleep. No side effects. Definitely going to try again. 2nd experience As in the 1st experience, 5 hours of sleep. But this time, waking up later than usual and having an unusual day (going to beach learning to surf, dinning out, swing dancing until late…). I didn’t feel Modafinil having any effect this time. I spent the whole day really tired (although also in a good mood).