concentration and motivation

I suffer from very poor concentration and motivation which causes me to drift off in classes sometimes and miss information, as well as being extremely lacking in motivation, my studies are going very downhill. I am wondering if there is anything I can take to aid memory, concentration and motivation. I believe lugols is one thing I can take? Are there any others, or is it just something I have to force myself to do, thanks.

I've ran into many supplements that claim to improve these areas; a class of supplements that most interest me relating to this is nootropics such as hydergine, vinpocetine, huperzine A. There are many herbs that can help with this also such as ginkgo for example. I've read that poor motivation and concentration is due to low dopamine, where as poor memory can be attributed to low acetylcholine in the brain. There are many different supplements that increase both of these neurotransmitters such as the l-phenylalanine and choline which are precursors to dopamine and acetylcholine. There is a lot of stuff out there and in the end it is up to you to decide what sounds best for what you are trying to achieve.

the role of acetylcholine seems to be crucial

you can restore its levels with supplements but the easiest way is to detox one day on apples/or apple juice or even cider

then to start some high fat days, meat, mustard (helps to restore the acetylcholine levels) and to go without masturbation/ejaculation for several days - you will experience a dramatical increase in confidence, motivation, memory, concentration

NeoGenesis - Have you personally tried anything you can reccomend? I am trying to achieve better success in college, I am smart but never have the motivation to revise or concentration in class.

Prague - How many days should I abstain from masturbation? So for one day just eat apples, apple juice and cider only. Then a couple of days after, eat high fats, then revert to normal diet?

when my Testosterone and thyroid are good my motivation and energy is superman like..

when there just a little off i literally feel like an overweight 75 year old man.

blackjack wrote:when my Testosterone and thyroid are good my motivation and energy is superman like..

when there just a little off i literally feel like an overweight 75 year old man.

Hahaha, do you take anything for your testosterone and thyroid?

tooyoung

we are on the same boat

this should be the easiest way to resore proper adrenal function (and was for me)

detoxify one day on juices (plus the apple juice raise directly acetylcholine levels that are needed for proper adrenal release), later get some T promoting and E blocking foods (Omega3, turmeric, red meat, fat, eggs, parsley, cabbage, onion, celery, broccoli or supplements like bee pollen, mucuna pruriens, passionflower, damiana, etc)

the most important part is to go as long as you can withou masturbation/ejaculation. Try a week. It works wonders. You'll see improvements in 3 days. Btw I say masturbation because i have realised that masturbation for me is the worst think on motivation/memory but sex on the other hand has no negative impact - on the contrary, slightly positive.

tooyoung wrote:NeoGenesis - Have you personally tried anything you can reccomend? I am trying to achieve better success in college, I am smart but never have the motivation to revise or concentration in class.

I know exactly what you mean, I am also in college and finishing up this year. I have done well throughout my schooling, however I never had the motivation to really excel as much as I would have liked to. Also it is very difficult for me to concentrate for long periods of time to write a paper or study, it will take me forever as I get distracted easily. As for anything i could personally recommend, unfortunately not. I have been unemployed for over a year now so as i've had time to do a lot of research on various supplements, I have not had the same opportunity to try out all of the stuff i would like. I have tried the amino acid l-phenylalanine but i did not take it regularly enough or in high enough doses to give it a proper testomonial. I have also tried the amino acid l-theanine which is an amino acid that is known for inducing calmness and relaxation without sedation, and as a result supposed to help concentration. Again I haven't taken that regularly enough to give it a strong recommendation. Like I mentioned before I find nootropics (also known as smart drugs) to be facinating supplements because of their cognitive enhancing effects. I plan on trying these myself soon. Also if you search "Natural supplements for ADD" (not saying you have ADD) you will find a lot of supplements used by people with ADD (attention deficit disorder) who are able to correct their deficiencies; one major one being their inability to concentrate. Again I have not been able to try any of these myself but plan to in the future as I have some ADD like qualities myself. Sorry I can't provide any personal rec's but there is a lot of stuff out there and sometimes it can be just a trial and error type of thing finding out what is best for you.

NeoGenesis - Thanks for all the info, I will definitely check out what you recommended tomorrow. I often wondered if I did have ADD, my parents suspected I had ADHD as a child but didn't want to take me to do the doctors as they didn't agree with what they would prescribe, the "ADHD" eventually worn off, maybe it was me just being a typical young child and now I've matured, don't know if having ADHD relates to having ADD later on. Are you currently taking anything to aid with your concentration and motivation?

tooyoung - You might try increasing your levels of PEA (Phenylethylamine). PEA levels are lower in those with ADHD.

Look for PEANhance by nutricology, it contains Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, standardized for PEA content.

Other that that, paying attention to how msg affects you or how sugar affects you. Lithium orotate can help nullify some of these effects.

Lastly, acetyl l-carnitine increases the acetylcholine, which definitely helps.

IH-

Are there any ways to increase Phenylethylamine without taking the supplement?

1..... - If you consume plenty of raw, organic chocolate, it will supply Phenylethylamine.

Look for something like raw, chocolate nibs.

tooyoung wrote:NeoGenesis - Thanks for all the info, I will definitely check out what you recommended tomorrow. I often wondered if I did have ADD, my parents suspected I had ADHD as a child but didn't want to take me to do the doctors as they didn't agree with what they would prescribe, the "ADHD" eventually worn off, maybe it was me just being a typical young child and now I've matured, don't know if having ADHD relates to having ADD later on. Are you currently taking anything to aid with your concentration and motivation?

I currently do not take anything specifically for concentration or motivation because of financial reasons and in relation to my own health problems, I have bigger fish to fry at the moment. I do take fish oil which is said to indirectly improve memory and concentration. I think that has helped me a bit, but has also been effective in toning down my anxiety. As I mentioned, within this last year I have done a lot of reading on supplements and during this time I also read the book Mind Boosters by Dr. Ray Sahelian. This book is pretty much dedicated to improving concentration, memory and mood through the use of supplements. I would definately recommend this book to you to gain more information on what mind boosting supplements are out there. Dr. Ray Sahelian is a medical physician who is a rare breed in that he researches and strongly recommends nutritional supplements rather than simply dealing out drug prescriptions. Anyhow, most of the info in the book can actually be found on his website. http://www.raysahelian.com/memory.html There is a lot of info on this site; it shows what he recommends and why, as well as a list of the studies that back him up. This is definately a great resource to get started with.

NeoGenesis

Thanks for the link to that book, I'll check it out once all my exams are over. You mentioned fish oil, what types do you use? I am going to purchase some krill oil purely for the hair loss aspect after CS recommended it, I have some "fish oil" downstairs though, is it safe or unnecessary to take both, krill oil and fish oil?

tooyoung - Krill is enough, but it wouldn't hurt at all to take fish oil on top of it.

jdp710 posted this video earlier, and it's a good video to watch for this topic.

http://www.msgexposed.com/category/video/

Like CS said taking krill oil alone our in conjunction with fish oil would be fine as it is the EPA and DHA found both in fish and krill oil that benefit mental performance. I myself take fish oil and not krill mainly due to cost, as krill is a bit more. However if that is not an issue to you then you could definately consider krill as it has added benefits such as Astaxanthin. With that being said, fish oil generally has a higher concentration of EPA and DHA, so it is up to you in this regard. I myself take Carlson Labs Fish oil because they pack a lot of punch, providing me with 300 mg EPA and 200 mg DHA per capsule. I have used a store bought brand in the past that only provided about half that so finding a good brand is key also.

Reviving an old topic. I still have concentration and motivation problems, although I haven't fully tried supps against them. CS you mentioned PEAhance, I can't find it anywhere, where sells it? Is there anything else out that would help concentration, motivation or memory?

http://www.iherb.com/Allergy-Research-Group-Nutricology-PeaNhance-75-Veggie-Caps/7855?at=0