Sleep plays an important role in your brain health. Some theories state that sleep helps clear abnormal proteins in your brain and consolidates memories, which boosts your overall memory and brain health. Aim for seven to eight consecutive hours of sleep per night, not fragmented sleep of two- or three-hour increments.

Consecutive sleep gives your brain the time to consolidate and store your memories effectively. Sleep apnea harms your brain's health and could be why you may struggle to get consecutive hours of sleep.

Talk with your health care team if you or a loved one suspects you have sleep apnea. Your diet plays a large role in your brain health.

Consider following a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes plant-based foods, whole grains, fish and healthy fats, such as olive oil. It incorporates less red meat and salt than a typical American diet.

Studies show people who closely follow a Mediterranean diet are less likely to have Alzheimer's disease than people who don't follow the diet. Further research is needed to determine which parts of the diet help brain function the most.

However, we know that omega fatty acids found in extra-virgin olive oil and other healthy fats are vital for your cells to function correctly, appear to decrease your risk of coronary artery disease, increase mental focus and slow cognitive decline in older adults.

Your brain is similar to a muscle — you need to use it or lose it. There are many things that you can do to keep your brain in shape, such as doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku, reading, playing cards or putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

Consider it cross-training your brain. Incorporate different types of activities to increase the effectiveness. Most health care teams don't recommend the paid brain-training programs available. These programs often overpromise results or focus on memorization skills that aren't useful in everyday life.

Your brain can get just as good of a workout through reading or challenging yourself with puzzles. Finally, don't watch too much TV, as that is a passive activity and does little to stimulate your brain. Social interaction helps ward off depression and stress , which can contribute to memory loss.

Look for opportunities to connect with loved ones, friends and others , especially if you live alone. Research links solitary confinement to brain atrophy, so remaining socially active may have the opposite effect and strengthen the health of your brain.

The health of your arteries and veins is important to your heart health but it is also critical for brain health. Get your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol checked regularly and take steps to keep your numbers within a normal range. Some of these drugs may cause dependence and can have a range of side effects.

They can be particularly harmful to young people as their brains continue to develop into their mid-twenties. Nootropics, smart drugs, brain boosters, memory boosters, neuroenhancers, drive drugs, study drugs.

The research is still inconclusive on exactly how the drugs work to stimulate the mind, but early research indicates they may act on a variety of different systems within the body simultaneously.

One explanation is that they may increase blood flow to the brain, which allows the brain to use more oxygen. Some drugs increase the amount of certain chemicals neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which are released in the part of the brain associated with dependence.

The drugs often used to enhance cognition can generally be divided into 3 groups: Eugaroics, ADHD medications and Nootropic Supplements. Eugeroics are a class of drugs that promote wakefulness and alertness.

The most commonly used Eugeroic drug that is used to improve cognition is Modafinil. The drug was introduced in the late s to treat narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea and shift work sleep disorder. Modafinil promotes wakefulness and alertness and may have some value in treating stimulant withdrawal and could be effective in decreasing drug craving and dependence.

However, further research is needed. There is no safe level of drug use. Modafinil affects everyone differently, but the most common side effects include:.

Research into nootropics is still limited which means there is a lot of uncertainty about the side effects the drugs may cause if used on an ongoing basis.

It is recommended that these drugs are used only with a prescription from a medical practitioner to avoid any potential harms. Brand names: Ritalin®, Ritalin la®, Concerta®, Ritalin 10®, Dexamphetamine tablets®, Vyvanse®.

Ritalin was introduced during the s to treat chronic fatigue, depression, and psychosis associated with depression. It was used extensively in the s to treat ADHD and is now the most common psychotropic medication prescribed to children in the United States and Australia to treat restlessness, impulsive behaviour and inattentiveness.

This research showed changes in brain chemistry associated with risk-taking behaviour, sleep disruption and other undesirable effects such as weight loss. Methylphenidate affects everyone differently, but the most common side effects may include:. Certain B vitamins, fish oil and herbal supplements such as Gingko biloba and extracts of Bacopa monnieri may offer a safer option to pharmaceutical drugs to enhance cognitive performance.

The benefits may not be as immediate but the effects are reportedly much longer lasting. However, the American Medical Association has advised that a number of products being advertised as nootropic supplements have not been examined in terms of safety and efficacy.

Modafinil and is a Schedule 4 substance that can only be prescribed by a doctor or dentist in the ordinary course of their professions. Methylphenidate is a Schedule 8 drug which means doctors must follow state and territory laws when prescribing it and must notify, or receive approval from, the appropriate health authority.

Using modafinil or methylphenidate without a prescription from a doctor, or selling or giving them to someone else, is illegal. There are also laws against forging or altering a prescription or making false representation to obtain pharmaceuticals or a prescription for them. brain boosters , drive drugs , memory boosters , neuroenhancers , nootropics , smart drugs.

Drug List Drug Wheel. Last published: November 08, What are nootropics? Other names Nootropics, smart drugs, brain boosters, memory boosters, neuroenhancers, drive drugs, study drugs.

How do they work? Types of nootropics The drugs often used to enhance cognition can generally be divided into 3 groups: Eugaroics, ADHD medications and Nootropic Supplements.

Eugeroics Eugeroics are a class of drugs that promote wakefulness and alertness.

Getting consecutive hours gives your brain the time to consolidate and store your memories effectively. Read more on healthy sleep.

High blood pressure increases the risk of cognitive decline. Simple lifestyle modifications will help keep your blood pressure as low as possible and cholesterol at an appropriate level. Diet, exercise, weight control, limiting alcohol and avoiding tobacco will go a long way toward improving both.

If you need help making changes to support a healthier lifestyle, ask your doctor. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for dementia. Like lowering your blood pressure or controlling cholesterol, you can help prevent diabetes by eating right, exercising regularly, and staying lean.

Maintaining your blood sugar levels will also help with sugar crashes, which can cause brain fogginess. Stress can affect mood, memory and promote anxiety. Engaging in weekly stress reduction exercises will improve your overall sense of calm. Intermittent and long-term stress impacts the brain negatively and has even been linked to inflammation and chronic illness.

Learn how to stress less. Consider an appointment with a mental health provider if you need more support. Positive relationships can be just as meaningful as nutrition and physical activity to our health and well-being.

Maintaining a strong social network can contribute to a longer, healthier life. Look for opportunities to connect with loved ones, friends and others, especially if you live alone. Research links solitary confinement to brain atrophy, so remaining socially active may have the opposite effect and strengthen the health of your brain.

Home Healthy You 8 Easy Ways To Boost Your Brain Health. Exercise regularly High-intensity and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise are not just good for your heart. Eat a healthy diet Eating healthy—lots of fruit, vegetables, healthy oils, fish and minimizing junk food and fatty meats—is critical for brain health.

Get plenty of sleep Poor sleep is one of the biggest causes of reduced concentration and memory functioning. Improve your blood pressure and cholesterol High blood pressure increases the risk of cognitive decline.

Maintain low blood sugar levels Diabetes is a significant risk factor for dementia. Care for your emotions Stress can affect mood, memory and promote anxiety. Source: molekuul. be via Shutterstock. Now, a new systematic review, published online in the peer-reviewed journal European Neuropsychopharmacology shows that modafinil does indeed confer significant cognitive benefits in this group, at least on a particular subset of tasks.

Dr Ruairidh Battleday and Dr Anna-Katharine Brem from the University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School evaluated all research papers on cognitive enhancement with modafinil from January to December They found 24 studies dealing with different benefits associated with taking modafinil, including planning and decision making, flexibility, learning and memory, and creativity.

Unsurprisingly, they found that the performance-enhancing capacity of modafinil varied according to the task. What emerged was that the longer and more complex the task tested, the more consistently modafinil conferred cognitive benefits.

Modafinil made no difference to working memory, or flexibility of thought, but did improve decision-making and planning. Ruairidh McLennan Battleday said: 'This is the first overview of modafinil's actions in non-sleep-deprived individuals since , and so we were able to include a lot of recent data.

Interestingly, we found that the type of test used to assess modafinil's cognitive benefits has changed over the last few decades. In the past, people were using very basic tests of cognition, developed for neurologically-impaired individuals. In contrast, more recent studies have, in general, used more complex tests: when these are used, it appears that modafinil more reliably enhances cognition: in particular 'higher' brain functions that rely on contribution from multiple simple cognitive processes.

Anna-Katharine Brem, a researcher at both the University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School, said: 'We ended up having two main conclusions: first, that, in the face of vanishingly few side effects in these controlled environments, modafinil can be considered a cognitive enhancer; and, second that we need to figure out better ways of testing normal or even supra-normal cognition in a reliable manner.

However, we would like to stress the point that with any method used to enhance cognition, ethical considerations always have to be taken into account: this is an important avenue for future work to explore. Professor Guy Goodwin, President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology ECNP commented: 'This overview suggests that, on current evidence, modafinil enhances cognition independent of its known effects in sleep disordered populations.

Thus, the authors say that 'modafinil may well deserve the title of the first well-validated pharmaceutical nootropic agent'. In other words, it's the first real example of a 'smart drug', which can genuinely help, for example, with exam preparation.

Previous ethical discussion of such agents has tended to assume extravagant effects before it was clear that there were any.