A nootropic is a cognitive enhancer. It’s a smart pill – yes, we can use that word, because new research in brain science leads us away from that antiquated former measure of intelligence you were taught as a child. IQ is old school; this is a new age. One where knowledge and facts are a mouse swipe away.
Google may be making us stoopid, but we’re in a new age. To succeed in 2016 you have to manage facts. You have to tune out distractions and calculate, distort, adjust and work with information. So if IQ is out, how can you do this? Here’s a hint: sharpen your memory. BrainPill nootropic cognitive booster was made for that purpose.
What is BrainPill?
BrainPill is a nootropic cognitive booster. You can call it a smart pill – no, it’s not a Limitless pill and it won’t give you a four digit IQ (and that’s a good thing). Instead, it’s designed with natural ingredients like Cognizin, which has shown in clinical studies to increase levels of neurotransmitters, promote integrity of the neuronal cell membranes and boost energy in the frontal cortex.
In particular, BrainPill is designed to strengthen memory, help performance under pressure, increase learning potential, boost concentration and ultimately help you get more done.
BrainPill is designed to strengthen memory, help performance under pressure, increase learning potential, boost concentration and ultimately help you get more done.
Of course, with that will come the inevitable references to NZT-48, the pill that made Eddie Morra ridiculously smart in Limitless – and the scary effects that came with it.
Limitless was a movie (and subsequent TV series), but it does raise a few misconceptions about nootropic supplements like BrainPill. Let’s get those out of the way.
Limitless: Fact Vs. Fiction
Fact: NZT-48 is based on a real pill.
Although the film takes some obvious creative license, NZT-48 is purportedly based on a drug called Provigil, which has been used by global armed forces to keep soldiers alert during long missions. The drug is designed to keep patients awake and alert and is available in the United States with a prescription.
It’s not meant to make people more intelligent though – a clear departure from the movie.
Fiction: You only use 10% of your brain.
This is one of the oldest brain myths out there and has been dispelled many times. First, a little logic; if we only used 10% of the brain, then traumatic brain injuries would not be so devastating because you’d have plenty more resources to pick up the slack. Yet even slight injuries to the brain have profound – sometimes permanent consequences.
Second, it’s evolutionary. The brain uses up to 20% of the body’s energy, despite that it makes a maximum just 2% of human body mass. The body is evolved for efficiency, so if the remaining 90% of the brain was not in use, humans with smaller brains would have an evolutionary advantage – and all that unused space would have been whittled down.
Third, brainscans show that all areas of the brain are active at all times, though some more than others.
Fact: You can remember everything you’ve ever seen
Surprised? This is partially true, although it’s not a gift you’d want to have.
In his book, The Mind of a Mnemonist, Russian psychologist Alexsandr Luria speaks of a man named Sheresevski with extraordinary recall. He remembered everything he ever saw and heard, and where and when he learned things. Yet it was more of a curse than a gift because he was unable to sort important facts from the trivial.
Imagine remembering every phone number you ever dialed, every bill you paid, and pretty much everything you ever said, did and heard in between. That’s the definition of ‘too much information’ – literally.
Granted, that’s an extreme case, and one of the few (if only) known examples in recorded history but it does illustrate what Limitless got right – and what it did not.
Fiction: You could have a four digit IQ
The highest known IQ was in the 250-300 range and belonged to an American, William James Sidis, who entered Harvard at age 11 to study mathematics and died at 46. While the whole premise of Limitless is just that – to have no limits – the film is based on the presumption that 90% of the brain goes unused, and could therefore be tapped for unlimited intelligence.
But we already know the 10% myth is false, and while there are anomalies among us, an IQ of 1000 is definitely pushing it.
Why IQ is Over
In The End of IQ (and the Dawn of Working Memory), researchers Tracy and Ross Alloway propose that IQ is redundant in the digital age because it can’t measure our ability to work with information.
It’s antiquated, because IQ just measures how well you can do on a test – a static gauge of cognitive skills based on a specific block of knowledge – that fails to show how your brain really helps you shine or flounder.
And it has little bearing on how well you’ll do in life. A 6 year study of school children found their IQ scores at 5 failed to influence their grades at 11.
Consider the example of one question from an IQ test given to children: “Define the Police.”
Researchers gave this question to a child and marked him wrong for deviating from a more acceptable answer like “they keep us safe.” Instead, the child answered “I don’t like the police, they took my dad away.”
Was he wrong? Not at all – the child answered the question based on his real world experience. He did not think the police kept him safe because they arrested his father.
That’s a form of practical knowledge you can’t measure on any IQ test – and it doesn’t make someone less intelligent in the digital age, where cultures and knowledge cross-germinate and ability to focus on and manipulate information becomes more important than a test that doesn’t measure how you’ll get on at work.
Why Working Memory is Better
Instead of measuring intelligence by an outdated vehicle, let’s switch our thinking a little and suggest a better gauge of your smarts is something you’re already familiar with: your short-term memory.
Your short-term memory is ‘working memory’. Like RAM on a computer, it’s your brain’s ability to quickly retrieve facts and important files. But it’s more than that – your working memory is also linked to your executive function, decision-making and your ability to focus and perform under stress.
And unlike IQ, which has a limited scope based on cultural depictions of knowledge, working memory puts folks on the same playing field. Knowledge is no longer tied to a specific set of beliefs. As the Halloways argue, the person from Paris, France is measured by the same standards as the guy from Paris, Texas.
So what is working memory?
It’s your ability to work with information and manipulate, calculate and otherwise make use of it for a specific outcome. A good example is an air traffic controller, a profession which requires one to dissect and work with information with many variables that must be factored into decision-making, like equipment, traffic volume, the weather and fatigue.
An air traffic controller needs to make fast decisions when things get hectic while balancing the stress of knowing they’re responsible for hundreds of lives. Likewise, your responsibilities may not be of that caliber, but you have things on the go, like your job, finances, health and family.
Your working memory is also linked to your executive function, decision-making and your ability to focus and perform under stress.
They all matter, and require your brain to manage information for you to make the best decisions based on what’s on your plate.
A good working memory can help you:
Boost Concentration – A study conducted at the University of North Carolina found that people with stronger working memory were less likely to stray from their work than folks whose memory wasn’t quite all there.
Multi-Task – Generally speaking, your brain prefers to focus on one thing at a time. There’s an exception to this though – researchers at the University of Utah found that people with good working memory were more likely to be ‘super-taskers’. Yes, you really can multi-task, but you need a sharp memory to pull it off (and don’t use this as an excuse to text and drive!).
Get Better at Sports – Forget any notions of ‘the dumb jock’. Swedish researchers found that athletic performance increased proportionally to scores on working memory tests. The better the score, the more likely an athlete was to predict, adapt and kick a little behind on tarmac.
Be Happy – The Halloways found that working memory was directly correlated to happiness. People whose memory was sharp were less likely to experience depression according to their work with almost 4,000 adults.
Do Better in School – Their research also found that working memory was three to four times more accurate than IQ in predicting how well students performed in math, reading and spelling.
The Nootropic Connection
OK, so what does this have to do with a nootropic supplement like BrainPill?
It’s quite simple really. While there are many so-called ‘natural Limitless pills’ traipsed endlessly across the internet hoping you’ll fall for their IQ promises and whip out your credit card, your approach should be different. You’re looking for a nooptropic supplement made specifically to boost working memory, and with it, your cognitive performance.
That’s where BrainPill nootropic cognitive booster may be of interest – it’s made with proven cognitive boosters like Cognizin, Vinpocetine and Huperzine A that have shown in clinical studies to strengthen memory, boost fact recall, increase alertness and give the brain energy to do its job effectively.
And the part about a nootropic being a ‘smart pill’?
When you help your working memory, you boost cognitive skills. Yes, you can accurately say a nootropic like BrainPill can make you more intelligent because it’s designed to tighten your memory. Forget NZT and the four digit IQ. You want a memory that stands on its tippy-toes – something you’ll get with a nootropic formulated specifically to do just that.
BrainPill is a nootropic designed to boost working memory – and the cognitive, social and financial benefits that come with it – in this age of information, when you need to stay sharp, work smart, and truly unleash the power of your brain.
