Piracetam – The First Nootropic, Benefits and Dosage
In the eternal search for improved cognitive performance, people have been coming up with newer drugs that can help get more out of your brain. One such group of cognitive enhancers is racetams. This group of brain supplements called nootropics is found to offer significant improvements in your cognitive abilities.
When you consider the group of racetams, piracetam is the most popular of all of them and for a good reason, because it was the first to be synthesized. While this was the first nootropic ever found, it became the first one also to catch the public eye in Europe in the 70s.
What Is Piracetam?
Piracetam is the parent compound of the nootropic class called racetams. While it started as a prototype it soon gathered enough momentum to be considered a proper nootropic supplement which could be supplied globally.
Piracetam, like most nootropics, has been found to increase cognition and the ability to repair brain cells. It has been used in several cases with good results for people with cognitive impairments or cognitive decline. It is also found to have neuroprotective properties and can help older patients with aging brain cells.
Piracetam History
Piracetam is one of the most often discussed nootropic supplement of the last decade and for good reason. It was probably one of the first brain supplements conceived and instantly its popularity skyrocketed. A lot of people today still believe the piracetam was created recently because of the hype surrounding it even now.
Another fact is that since piracetam has been in the market for so long, there have been several studies that validated the cognitive performance increase with these supplements. And there are several studies that verify how much piracetam can improve your cognitive output compared to other supplements in the market.
Piracetam Benefits
There are several nootropic supplements out there but piracetam is the one that is the most talked about. There are several reasons for this as we will find out.
Improved cognition
There is significant evidence to suggest that piracetam can increase cognition levels. This is especially true when the person in question is suffering from cognitive ailments or neural degeneration of some kind. What you need to keep in mind is that this is not just for people who have a cognitive impairment, but healthy people can use piracetam and derive its benefits.
Better memory
While a lot of people might think that cognition and memory are the same thing, when you are being specific they are not. When piracetam first came out it was known as a memory enhancer and the rest of the benefits came after. There were several double-blind studies conducted of piracetam when confirmed the fact that piracetam offers a substantial boost in memory power and prowess.
Neuroprotective ability
The performance of the human brain tends to decline with age. While the eventual decline of cognitive ability is inevitable, piracetam can do a lot to help slow it down. In case of people with extreme neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, piracetam can completely halt this deterioration for a long period of time.
Elevated mood
Since it dispels anxiety and stress in the brain, you feel that your mood is a lot more elevated. While in this case, clinical research is slim, there have been more than a few cases where people reported that they’ve had improved mood and fewer mood swings after taking this.
Increase in perception
Your perception improves when supplemented with piracetam. A lot of people reported to observing effects like vibrant colors and feeling more “alive”. While these are sometimes anecdotal evidence, we shouldn’t disregard the fact that piracetam is effective at increasing several abilities of the brain.
Piracetam Effects On Corpus Callosum
The brain has 2 hemispheres that are responsible for different types of functions. The right side of the brain is responsible for our Emotional Quotient (EQ) and the left side is where the computations occur, Intelligence Quotient (IQ). The fastest minds have a strong connection between the 2 hemispheres. This enables quicker transmission of data and more coordinated physical action. Piracetam enhances communication between the 2 side of your brain allowing for fewer delays in processing information.
Piracetam long term effects
Piracetam is a low toxicity nootropic that does not have the dangerous stigma other nootropics do. This means that long term effects when you take piracetam is minimal when you’re adhering to the right dosage. You also need to note that everyone has different biomechanics and should vary their intake accordingly.
How Does Piracetam Work?
Nootropics compounds are complex because they deal with several neurotransmitters in the brains. While they all have a consistent method of activating the cells in the brain, there are significant differences based on the brain chemistry of the individual taking it.
While there are several studies that have shown an increase in the functions of the brain, most studies fail to explain the why of it. There are however several theories that might just be true.
The most popular model of explanation is that piracetam helps increase neuronal function and improve membrane fluidity. The auxiliary effect of this is increased mitochondrial function which helps brain function.
There are several theories as to how piracetam is supposed to work. These remain theories because the exact way how piracetam works in the body is still a mystery despite several studies.
Piracetam – Mechanism of action
This is not clearly understood even now and is still under research. Piracetam is a cyclic derivative of GABA. What this should tell us is that GABA receptors and metabolism should be affected but they are not. While this is neither a sedative or a stimulant it is proven to improve cognitive efficiency. It is also known as a vasodilator which means it improves circulation all over the body.
What we know of their action is that it is an AMPA and NMDA receptor enhancer which are really important to learning and memory processes. It is also found to affect acetylcholine levels within the body, so it can give you a cognitive improvement.
Piracetam Uses
Piracetam is used in several countries for its ability to function as a neuroprotective agent. It is also used as a medical agent for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. It is popular because it can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke as well as work to reduce post-stroke damages to the neurons.
There are several studies about how piracetam can work on several types of neurological disorders. Research has shown that it is effective enough improve neural conditions of people who have been suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia. But it hasn’t been found very effective in medicine against other approved drugs for the treatment.
Piracetam has found off-label use and has been found reasonably safe owing to its low toxicity, side effects, and drug interactions. It also has evidence that it can work against dyslexia and other learning disabilities.
Piracetam Dosage
Most nootropic supplements are powerful drugs that can have intensely positive effects when used correctly. But the flip side is that when we do not follow the right dosages things go wrong. To avoid this, we need to educate ourselves on the right dosages for different nootropic drugs and make sure that we adhere to them.
Each nootropic drug has a different schedule and dosage with different conditions to be considered. Piracetam is best taken on an empty stomach. While this is ideal, many people have done this after food and they have reported that it works for them. So, it all comes down to personal preference when it comes to taking piracetam.
When it comes to dosage, it is a bit tricky. The dosage levels provided in this article are generic and not specific. This means that if you’re starting out, you should use this more as a guideline and make sure you start off with the safest dose before moving on to more potent intakes.
The most reliable numbers we’ve been able to come up after considerable research is 1600mg – 6400 mg per day divided into 3 doses. Usually, you will find that piracetam comes in 1000mg capsules and if you’re starting out, you should just take one and check for adverse reactions before you up the dosage. If you feel that the effects are overwhelming, you should decrease your dosage by half and then build up from there. This is a good rule of thumb to follow regardless of you being experienced or are a newbie when it comes to nootropics.
Increasing The Effectiveness Of Piracetam Through Stacks
Stacking nootropics is a popular method of gaining more effectiveness. This entails adding few other nootropics or nutritional components, so you get an effect that is greater than the sum of its parts. Stacking is useful not just for increased effectiveness, but some stacks might offer additional benefits like increased neuroprotective abilities or better absorption of the nootropic supplement. Here are some of the more popular piracetam stacks:
Alpha GPC and Piracetam
Adding Alpha GPC to piracetam is the simplest and safest stack on the market. Alpha GPC is very popular in a lot of nootropic stacks because of the way brain supplements work. Piracetam, for instance, activates the Acetylcholine receptor sites which in turn increases the requirement for choline in the brain.
Since Alpha GPC is a precursor to Acetylcholine, and choline is synthesized in the body from Acetylcholine. A-GPC provides a lot of Acetylcholine for the body to make choline.
If you are getting headaches, then you might do well to add Citicoline which is also another form of choline precursor.
P-A-O Stack
For many people who are already into nootropics and brain supplements, the Piracetam, Aniracetam, and Oxiracetam is a time-tested stack that has a lot of synergistic effects on your brain. Another fact is that all of these are pretty popular, and you can get your hands on them without much trouble.
Each of these nootropics in the stack has a unique effect on your brain and it can work synergistically to improve their collective effects. Aniracetam has profound anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects which is further enhanced with piracetam in the stack.
Oxiracetam has a much more potent and pronounced effect on your cognitive functions. When you combine both piracetam and oxiracetam, the effects are multiplied rather than being additive. This results in a much more focused and intense experience when you use this stack.
All said, while using nootropic stacks like this it’s a good idea to include a choline source. Piracetam supplements choline in your body. Nootropics uses up your body’s supply of choline, so you need to supplement it.
Piracetam and Huperzine A
Huperzine is an all-natural derivative of the Chinese club moss with renowned nootropic abilities. It has been found to work against Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases while at the same time offering increased memory and learning.
Huperzine can amplify the properties of piracetam resulting in better mental acuity. This combination is found to increase the amount of acetylcholine which prolongs the cognitive effects.
Adverse Reactions – Piracetam With Alcohol
Combining piracetam with alcohol is not ideal and can have problems according to several reports. The alcohol can affect the permeation of the nootropic through the blood-brain barrier thereby preventing it from working and some cases, cause adverse effects like nausea and blackouts.
Another angle to this is the fact that piracetam can repair alcohol-induced damage to the brain. Alcohol is known to deteriorate the neurons in the hippocampus area which leads to reduced functioning of the brain. Piracetam is known to alleviate these symptoms and has the ability to restore most of the neuronal density to the hippocampus.
Piracetam Powder Or Capsule
When you’re looking to buy piracetam, it is either in the form of a powder or a capsule. If you are a beginner you should opt for capsules with the strength of piracetam mentioned. Piracetam as a powder is easily soluble in water and is very bitter to taste.
Piracetam are sold under the brand name of Nootropil, which comes in 800 mg tablets and can be found online or at your local drug store. It is purported to increase the amount of blood flow you the brain which helps in enhancing awareness and memory.
Most people feel that when they take it as a powder, they feel the effects faster compared to when they consume a capsule. Another important fact is that buying piracetam as a powder is typically a lot cheaper than getting it as capsules. Since it is not FDA approved, you might find that it is harder to find piracetam as capsules. This means that once you are done with the initial phase of piracetam doses you should probably consider moving on to powders as they are more effective as well as a lot cheaper.
Conclusion
Piracetam is one of the first nootropic substances to enter the market and has been consistently found to improve cognitive abilities and well as offer neuroprotective functions. Piracetam can be combined with several other nootropics to form effective stacks that can synergistically combine to offer you more mental performance. An advantage of piracetam is that it doesn’t cause dependence like most other drugs like Adderall or Ritalin would.
Before you embark on this journey of self-improvement, consult your doctor to find out how your body would react to piracetam. While it is a low-toxicity nootropic, some people may find that it is incompatible with their biology.