Research-Based

Best Nootropics For Memory – Top 4 Choices

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By Ryan Brennan

Reviewed by Juliana Tamayo, MS, RDN - Last Updated

Brain Mredicine

While we are learning more about the brain every day, we still know very little about it. One thing has been obvious all along and it’s that our brain is one of the most complex and sophisticated organs in the human body. The more we study it, the more surprised we are by the findings.

As research continues, many scientists are turning their attention to nootropics and what they provide for the brain. What they’re finding is a plethora of ingredients, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for our cognitive function and brain health. 

When looking at the market today, there are hundreds of different products that claim to be nootropics. Some of them will contain a powerful blend of nootropics, while others will fall short of their claims. Shopping for these products can be very difficult if you don’t know what to look for. 

One of the major benefits of adding a nootropic supplement to your daily routine is improved memory. If you’re having a tough time storing and retaining information, it likely means your brain and body are deficient of essential nutrients. Adding these nutrients to your diet will solve your problem in most cases.

Best Nootropics For Memory

Can Nootropics Improve Your Memory?

When it comes to the brain, there’s a lot that remains unknown. With that being said, we’ve learned a lot about how our brains work over the past 100 years. Our brains are responsible for a lot of our actions and behaviors, but they also play a large role in our memory. 

Some scientists believe our entire brain contributes to our memory, but others are starting to argue that there are specific areas in the brain responsible for this. Certain things are known to trigger our memory and scientists are starting to dig deeper into what those triggers are.

Up to this point, they’ve uncovered four major areas contributing to memory — the amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex. 

  • Amygdala – Scientists have revealed that our ability to store information is impacted by stress hormones. The amygdala helps to regulate our emotions, which in turn helps us regulate the information being stored in our brain. This part of the brain can also help transfer new information into our long-term memory.
  • Hippocampus – damage to the hippocampus can cause us to lose our ability to form new memories. It plays an essential role in recognition memory (past events) and spatial memory (surroundings and environment). Like the amygdala, it also plays a role in transferring new information into long-term memory.
  • Cerebellum – The cerebellum has long been known to control our movements. Scientists have recently found that it also plays a role in cognitive function by helping us learn from errors and change our movements based on the errors we make.
  • Prefrontal Cortex – This part of the brain helps control our short-term memory and decision making. It helps us process information, store it, and retrieve it later on.

Scientists have also found a number of neurotransmitters playing a role in our memory. While it’s still unclear which neurotransmitters contribute to what part of our memory, they have discovered that dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate, and epinephrine all contribute to memory. 

Keep in mind that our emotions are essential to improving our memory. A nootropic stack that includes mood-enhancing ingredients will maximize your results. 

Best Nootropics For Memory

Best Nootropic Ingredients For Memory

When shopping for a nootropic supplement designed to improve your memory, there are certain ingredients you should be on the lookout for. Try to avoid paying attention to claims located all over social media and advertisements — they won’t always tell the whole story. 

Nutrients, vitamins, and minerals with scientific backing is what you’re after here. Anyone can say something works, but it takes state-of-the-art research to prove something actually works. Let’s take a look at what some of these proven ingredients are and how much you should be taking to see results.

Bacopa Monnieri

  • What It Is: This ingredient is showcased first because it is hands down the best nootropic memory enhancer available. There are countless studies proving its ability to increase communication between neurons, giving us a heightened memory and recall ability.
  • Recommended Dose: 200mg or more (the more Bacosides included, the better)
  • Side Effects: Nausea, stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhea, dry mouth, and fatigue with very high doses.

Phosphatidylserine

  • What It Is: Another important ingredient, phosphatidylserine is already found in the brain and is an essential part of our cell membranes. They help to signal when a cell membrane is dying, allowing immune cells to come in and do their job. Since this phospholipid is known to decrease as we age, it’s smart to add it to your daily diet.
  • Recommended Dose: 300-400mg daily
  • Side Effects: Upset stomach and insomnia in high doses

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

  • What It Is: Lion’s Mane Mushroom is a traditional medicine made famous by the Chinese. It is known to help release the Nerve Growth Factor, which allows nerve cells to grow, repair, and mature. It helps to strengthen your overall cognitive function long-term.
  • Recommended Dose: 300-1,000mg
  • Side Effects: No known side effects.

Citicoline

  • What It Is: Citicoline is essential when transporting choline to the brain, which is made into acetylcholine and phosphatidylcholine. Citicoline is known to affect our focus, information processing, memory, and learning capacity.
  • Recommended Dose: 250mg daily
  • Side Effects: Headaches, restlessness, and GI disturbances in high doses.

Ginkgo Biloba

  • What It Is: Like Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Ginkgo Biloba is a great nootropic to stack with anything. It helps provide oxygen to the brain by expanding our blood vessels and thinning our blood. This is due to the terpenes and glycosides found in this nootropic.
  • Recommended Dose: No more than 100mg is plenty
  • Side Effects: Skin reactions, constipation, dizziness, nausea, and headaches in extreme doses.

Alpha-GPC

  • What It Is: Alpha-GPC helps increase the amount of choline being delivered to the brain, as well as the amount of acetylcholine and dopamine. Your brain will function more accurately with daily supplementation.
  • Recommended Dose: 300-400mg daily
  • Side Effects: Dizziness, headaches, nausea, and low blood pressure in high doses.

Best Nootropics For Memory

While you could find the above ingredients sold separately, there is a wide variety of products out there that offer powerful stacks of these ingredients in capsule form. Of course, you could always make your own stack, but these products have gone through rigorous clinical trials to ensure safety. 

If you’re looking for a proven stack of nootropics that will improve your memory — among other things — we’ve included a few of our favorites below.

Mind Lab Pro

Mind Lab Pro Bottle

Mind Lab Pro is quickly gaining popularity as the best overall nootropic on the market today. It’s packed with citicoline, Bacopa Monnier, phosphatidylserine, and Lion’s Mane Mushroom. That pretty much fits our requirements for a memory enhancer to a T!

It also comes with Vitamins B6, B9, and B12, Rhodiola Rosea, L-Theanine, L-Tyrosine, and Maritime Pine Bark — all of which will help with your overall brain health, ability to perform in stressful situations and improve your mood.

A one-month supply will run you $65, but it’s worth every penny. You can save some money by purchasing a 3-month supply for $195 — they’ll even gift you an extra bottle! If you’re looking for the best nootropic product on the market, look no further than Mind Lab Pro.

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form EDGE

Form EDGE Bottle

In regards to the best nootropic ingredients we detailed in the section above, form EDGE is another product that fits our requirements super well. It offers more than enough Alpha-GPC, Phosphatidylserine, Bacopa Monnieri, and Ginkgo Biloba to enhance your memory. 

In addition to that, it’ll include BioPerine and Vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, and B12. This added stack of nootropics will help boost your overall brain health, but the BioPerine, in particular, will help your body to better absorb nutrients.

form EDGE is going to cost much less than Mind Lab Pro, but won’t be as effective. It’s $20 per bottle, which will last you one month. 

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Alpha Brain

Alpha Brain

Alpha Brain is another popular nootropic that has a reasonably good stack for enhancing your memory, among other things. It includes Bacopa Monnieri, Phosphatidylserine, and Alpha-GPC from our list above. They aren’t entirely clear about how much of each ingredient is in each serving, making it tough to say how effective it is. 

It’ll also include a variety of other ingredients including Vitamin B6, L-Tyrosine, L-Theanine, Cat’s Claw Extract, Huperzine-A, L-Leucine, Vinpocetine, and Pterostilbene. Overall, it’s a fairly powerful stack with a lot of benefits. 

This one will also run on the expensive side with a 45-day supply costing $80. You can subscribe and save 15%, but then you’ll be locked into the product monthly.

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HVMN Rise

HVMN Rise

If Lab Mind Pro and Alpha Brain aren’t necessarily in your price range, HVMN can be a trustworthy and affordable blend for you. It’s extremely simple and will only contain three ingredients — Bacopa Monnieri, Citicoline, and Ashwagandha. 

Citicoline and Bacopa Monnieri will help with cognitive function like memory, focus, concentration, and information processing. Ashwagandha is more of a stress-reducer but also helps our brain thrive under stress. 

A one-month supply will cost $35, but you could also save around $5 by subscribing. If you’re looking for a basic stack with effective results, HVMN Rise is highly recommended. They also have several other stacks that you can add in variety. 

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Ryan Brennan

Ryan Brennan is a health and fitness writer with both personal and professional experience in the field. His passion for nutrition stems from personal experiences dealing with malnutrition, low energy, and other health complications. Through research and experimentation, Ryan was able to overcome these issues and take control of his health. He now aims to help others do the same. Ryan has been writing about nutrition, fitness, and supplementation for the past 7 years. He also has experience in the field, serving as the manager of a high-end fitness facility in Las Vegas, NV where he currently resides.