2017 Nootropics Survey on /r/Nootropics

Caution: this presentation of survey results is based completely on aggregated subjective experience. This survey was conducted for research and educational purposes only. It is strongly advised not to make decisions based on this data set. Before deciding to use any of these substances, consult a qualified medical professional and, if you suffer from any mental health problems, a mental health professional. The reported doses are likely to be inaccurate and it is highly recommended not to decide on the dose of a nootropic based on these data!

Introduction

tl;dr: most substances seem to have no or only slight effects when rated subjectively. Most substances with substantial effects were already well-known for their effects, some of them are prescription drugs or pharmaceuticals.

Sample Description

Age. The mean participant age was 26.86 years (standard deviation = 9.68, range = 12–88).

Gender. From the total sample of 380 participants, 325 (91.07%) male and 29 (9.89%) female participants completed the survey. 19 did not answer and 7 chose the “other” option for gender. From those seven participants, three gave a valid response, while four answered “attack helicopter”. Those three participants were either non-binary, trans-male or trans woman. The male-to-female ratio can be considered rather extreme even for Reddit standards, which was roughly 70/30 in an analysis a couple of years ago and can be compared to extremely male-dominated subreddits like /r/baseball or /r/Libertarian.

Country of residence. The vast majority of participants were from English speaking countries. The table lists the top 10 most frequent responses. Other countries included Switzerland (5 participants), France (3), Italy (3), Netherlands (3), New Zealand (3), Portugal (3) and South Africa (3).

Country Frequency
USA 185
Not answered 47
Canada 23
UK 22
Australia 14
Germany 8
Belgium 6
Russia 6
Spain 5

Personality Scores

A brief personality inventory, the Mini-IPIP, was administered. It measures the Big Five personality traits:

The scores of this sample were compared to a larger sample of college students used to validate this personality questionnaire.

| Dimension | Mean | SD | Interpretation | |—|—|— |—| | Extraversion | 2.67 | .94 | Low | | Agreeableness | 3.46 | .87 | Low | | Conscientiousness | 2.99 | .81 | Low | | Neuroticism | 2.93 | .83 | High | | Openness | 4.03 | .73 | High | Means and standard deviations for the big five personality scales, interpretation (low or high) when compared to a reference sample. All differences are statistically significant with medium effect sizes

Nootropics: Use and Perceived EFfects

Participants were asked about their usage of 63 different nootropics. If a participant indicated that they tried a nootropic, they were asked about the perceived effects with this substance later.

Perceived Effects

All perceived effects were rated on seven-point scales. The following graphs summarize the results. Substances are listed on the y axis, ranging from the highest to lowest mean rating. The points indicate the mean rating for this substance. Lines indicate a 95% confidence interval (CI), thus expressing the uncertainty of the respective mean. Wider CIs indicate a greater variety of responses. The red line indicates the neutral response labeled “no effect“. As a rule of thumb, all mean ratings with confidence intervals crossing the red line are likely to have no effect. If the lower (left) end of a CI is higher than e.g. the white line for “small increase“, the effects of this substance were rated quite high. This was rarely the case. Most substances had ratings somewhere between “no“ and “small effect“, with some exceptions.

Overall Pleasantness

Most substances were rated as being somewhere between neutral and slightly pleasant, suggesting that detrimental effects are rare for nootropics. Three substances were rated as below neutral, but the confidence intervals are extremely large. On the other hand, some substances were rated as being more than “slightly“ pleasant: DMHA, Huperzine A, Selegiline and LSD.

Anxiety

According to the responses, anxiety is reduced most effectively by the following substances: L-Theanine, Tianeptine, CBD, Kava and Phenibut. All of these substances are well known for there anxiolytic, calming effects. On the other hand, anxiety is slightly increased by a number of well-known stimulants, like methylphenidate, caffeine, adderall and the finil group.

Focus

The most profound effects on focus were reported for Adrafinil, Caffeine, Phenylpiracetam, Modafinil, Armodafinil, Methylphenidate and, most of all, Adderall. Melatonin and GABA seem to decrease focus, but only very slightly.

Memory

Not many substances seem to improve memory. In fact, none of them were rated as leading to more than a “small increase“ in memory.

Motivation

A number of substances were rated as motivating. Most of them were stimulants. Melatonin, Bacopa monnieri and GABA seem to have slight detrimental effects on motivation.

Mood

LSD, Tianeptine, Phenibut and Adderall seem to improve mood. Remarkably, LSD microdoses were rated as having effects comparable to Tianeptine, which is an antidepressant.

Nootropics Dose

Participants asked for the dose in milligrams of the nootropics they have already taken. Most of them managed to answer in the required format. Minimum, average and maximum doses for all substances are listed in the table below.

Substance Minimum dose in mg Median dose in mg Maximum dose in mg
L-Theanine 100 200 400
Bacopa 200 300 500
Caffeine 80 200 800
Curcumin 100 500 2500
Ashwagandha 300 500 1200
Rhodiola 50 300 700
St. John’s Wort 250 575 900
Kava NA NA NA
Methylphenidate 10 20 200
Adderall 5 25 60
L-Deprenyl 10 10 10
Tyrosine 250 600 9000
NALT 60 500 500
Creatine 1250 5000 10000
CDP-Choline 150 300 2000
Alpha-GPC 125 300 1200
Carnitine/NALC 500 500 1000
Omega–3 300 1375 5000
Magnesium 100 300 1000
Modafinil 5 125 600
Armodafinil 75 150 150
Adrafinil 50 450 900
Piracetam 200 3100 8000
Phenylpiracetam 75 160 275
Aniracetam 90 800 2400
Oxiracetam 600 800 1500
Pramiracetam 100 700 1600
Coluracetam 15 55 200
Fasoracetam 100 22.5 60
Nefiracetam 250 250 250
Noopept 10 15 20
Semax .1 .6 2
Selank .1 .25 2
Doepezil 1 1 1
Huperzine A .085 1 5
Tianeptine 10 33 150
NSI–189 5 40 100
Melatonin .05 3 30
GABA 100 175 250
5-HTP 5 125 200
Black Seed Oil 30 265 500
Ginseng 50 325 600
Ginkgo 60 120 250
Nicotine 1 4 36
Sulbutiamine 200 500 1500
Uridine 10 250 600
Sacrosine 2000 2000 2000
Sunifram 10 20 20
BPC–157 .01 .25 200
Boswellia NA NA NA
Guanfacine 2 2 2
DMHA 150 150 150
LSD Microdose .00005 10 25
CBD Oil 10 25 60
PRL–8–53 20 20 20
Agmatine 50 750 2000
Selegiline/Deprenyl 10 10 10
Phenibut 150 1000 3500
Lion’s Mane 200 800 3000

Correlations

Coming soon…