Dietary supplements known to improve brain function have been around for many years — they’re known as nootropics. But these various smart drugs, or smart pills, have only become really popular within the last several years.
These natural and synthetic compounds identified as being “brain boosters” can be purchased individually in pill form. Becoming more popular are supplements that combine numerous such compounds into one product. One of the best selling of such supplements is Mind Lab Pro. Here we take a deep dive into what Mind Lab Pro is, and why it has become so popular.
Contents
What is Mind Lab Pro?
In short, cognition is a word that refers to the mental processes involved in gaining comprehension and knowledge. These cognitive processes include things such as problem-solving, judging, thinking, remembering, and knowing. These are all higher-level functions of the brain, and encompass planning, perception, imagination, and language.
Mind Lab Pro (in reviews you may also see this supplement referred to as Mind Lab Pro Nootropics or Opti Nutra Mind Lab Pro or MindLabPro) is a dietary supplement designed to improve a large variety of cognitive functions including learning, memory, information processing, creativity, concentration, focus, motivation, and mood. That’s a wide range of benefits, so it should come as no surprise that Mind Lab Pro is beneficial to a wide range of people including professionals, athletes, entrepreneurs, students, and older, active adults. Basically, anyone who wants to “get smarter” and get more done.
What are Nootropics?
Mind Lab Pro is a dietary supplement that is a combination of many individual nootropics. So it’s important to have a handle on just what a nootropic is.
The Romanian chemist and psychologist Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea coined the term nootropic by combining the Greek word for mind (noo) with the French word for change (trope). Why? Because that’s exactly what a nootropic does: it “changes the mind.” Some people refer to nootropics as smart drugs, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.
In 1964 Giurgea developed what’s considered the world’s first synthetic nootropic. Piracetam was developed to treat motion sickness, but Giurgea found that it also brought about improvements in memory and mental performance.
In the decades following the creation of Piracetam, scientists and laboratories have put great effort into successfully developing additional synthetic nootropics. Synthetic nootropics are just half the story, though. Nootropics are also found throughout nature. Caffeine and, perhaps surprisingly, nicotine are two good examples of natural nootropics. Some amino acids, herbs, and extracts of certain plants or plant roots also yield many natural nootropics — the mushroom Lion’s Mane and the root of the flowering plant Rhodiola rosea are both considered powerful natural nootropics.
Some “brain supplements” carefully determine which of the many nootropics work best together (synergistically), and combine those selected nootropics into a single pill or capsule (combining multiple nootropics into a single serving is referred to as stacking). Mind Lab Pro consists of 11 different natural nootropics, combined into a single capsule.
Who Makes Mind Lab Pro?
Mind Lab Pro is manufactured by Opti-Nutra. The labs and manufacturing plant are located in New Jersey, USA.
While all non-USA supplements certainly aren’t to be considered suspect, it is reassuring to purchase dietary supplements that are made in state-of-the-art, sterile premises in America, from a business that is registered with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
All Mind Lab Pro nootropic ingredients are acquired from known, reputable sources, and then quarantined and tested to verify purity — this takes place before ingredients enter the manufacturing facilities. After being certified free of herbicides, pesticides, microbes, GMOs, and allergens, the ingredients are blended, encapsulated, and bottled.
When a batch is produced it is third-party tested to validate its potency and purity. Finally, capsules undergo disintegration and dissolution testing to ensure they will break down efficiently in the digestive tract for superior bioavailability and absorption.
How Mind Lab Pro Works
Spoiler Alert: In response to the question: Does Mind Lab Pro work?, our answer is an emphatic “Yes!”
Now, let’s get into the specifics of how and why this brain enhancer works. Mind Lab Pro acts as a whole-brain optimizer to help you reach a state of peak overall mental performance. Researchers theorize that nootropics, in general, seem to work across multiple brain pathways (also referred to as biological pathways or bio-pathways), optimizing the brain’s various functions and structures in several different ways.
Brain Pathways
These pathways are the different ways the brain carries out its many duties — the complex human brain has many methods to “make things work.” Nootropics seem to act on six of the primary brain pathways.
Brain Chemicals
Neurons, or brain cells, communicate with one another. This communication is carried out by brain chemicals — neurotransmitters that send instructions from one brain cell to the next, thereby transferring vital information throughout not only the brain, but the entire body. There are dozens of different kinds of neurotransmitters, but about a half dozen of them are considered major neurotransmitters. The most well known of these are:
- Dopamine — the “thrill” neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the brain’s reward system
- Adrenaline — also called epinephrine, this neurotransmitter is responsible for the body’s fight or flight response
- Serotonin — the neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness and well-being
- Acetylcholine — probably not as well-known as the above three, but this neurotransmitter is plays a huge role in memory and learning functions
Nooptropics, like the ones included in Mind Lab Pro, supply the brain with chemical precursors — chemicals necessary for the creation and release of neurotransmitters. Nootropics also inhibit neurotransmitter breakdown. That is, they keep already released neurotransmitters in the bloodstream longer.
The net effect? Nootropics positive role in neurotransmitter production optimizes attention, mood, memory, motivation, and processing speed.
Brain Energy
As far as its size and weight, the brain may not be a large part of an entire human body. But it’s a very energy-demanding organ that uses up 20% of the body’s total energy! If your body comes up short in providing energy to your brain, its efficiency diminishes resulting in mental fatigue and “brain fog.” Longer term you’ll suffer from brain degeneration and cognitive decline.
The nootropics in Mind Lab Pro enhance the activity of mitochondria — the tiny power generators that keep brain cells (and all other cells) healthy and properly functioning. There are thousands of mitochondria in every brain cell, so any supplement that enhances the metabolic activity of mitochondria is a good thing. The increase in mitochondria health supplied by nootropics supports improved focus, quick thinking, and mental agility.
Brain Regeneration
Your brain, like the rest of your body, changes as you age. Research demonstrates that aging inevitably affects cognitive abilities such as processing speed, memory, and conceptual reasoning — these abilities tend to decline gradually over time. That’s the bad news. The good news is that your brain is capable of regenerating new neurons (brain cells) through the process of neurogenesis.
Neurogenesis, also referred to as neuroregeneration, brain plasticity or neuroplasticity, is the regrowth or repair of nervous tissues by generation of new neurons (brain cells).
Nootropics have been shown to stimulate neurogenesis by raising the brain’s levels of natural brain-boosting growth factors such as NGF, increasing neuron building block materials like choline, and maintaining neuron membrane plasticity and flexibility.
Cerebral Blood Circulation
The idea that brain health and brain regeneration depend on healthy cerebral blood circulation to increase the delivery of brain-nourishing compounds into the brain is understood by most people who look into brain-boosting supplements. What’s probably not as well-known is that cerebral blood circulation is also important for removing brain-harming neurotoxins out of neurons. The balance of “good in” with “bad out” is critical to cognitive longevity.
Early research indicates that nootropics may improve cerebral circulation by helping to oxygenate the brain, improve neuronutrient delivery, and clear toxins.
Neuroprotection
Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons. In an attempt to become complete they steal the electrons of other cells, causing a chain reaction of newly created unstable atoms. Free radicals damage cells, causing illness and aging. Evidence demonstrates that the accumulation of free radicals plays a key role in neurodegeneration — the functional decline associated with aging brains.
Antioxidants are compounds that neutralize free radicals. Some nootropics included in Mind Lab Pro act as antioxidants, while others increase the brain’s antioxidant capacity. Both contribute to neuroprotection — the preservation of neuron function and structure.
Brain Waves
Brain waves, also called neural oscillations, are the electrical activity of the brain. Different brain waves have different frequencies. The frequency of a wave is the number of oscillations the wave covers in a given period of time. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), which is the number of oscillations in one second. A short wavelength has a higher frequency than a long wavelength.
A brain wave falls into one of five categories, defined by frequency. The categories are named delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma. Delta waves are the lowest frequency, and result in a tired, dreamy state, while gamma are the highest frequency, and result in high alertness.
Some nootropics can raise the frequency of brain waves. Some of the nootropics in Mind Lab Pro target alpha brain waves — a mid-level frequency that promotes an alert-yet-relaxed mindstate that’s beneficial for creativity, learning, and productivity.
Mind Lab Pro is a Universal Nootropic™
Some nootropic supplements target only a limited number of brain pathways, resulting in supplements that support only one, or a couple of cognitive functions such as just focus, or just memory. By instead targeting all six major brain pathways, Mind Lab Pro optimizes as many brain functions as possible. Opti-Nutra calls this unlocking 100% Brainpower™, and states that Mind Lab Pro is a Universal Nootropic™.
There are over 100 natural and synthetic compounds that act as nootropics. Some nootropics are more powerful than others, some play a role in very specific cognitive functions, and some work better in conjunction with other nootropics. So determining which nootropics are best to include in a brain enhancing supplement stack is a serious undertaking. Mind Lab Pro unites a diverse selection of nootropics that support all six brain pathways and a wide array of cognitive functions.
To make the Universal Nootropic™ concept a reality, the nootropics in Mind Lab Pro were selected based on a very particular set of criteria:
- Nootropics that are effective in small doses to allow for a wide assortment in every capsule
- Nootropics that each bring unique value — that is, no redundancy
- Nootropics that aren’t single-taskers — each needs to have multiple brain-boosting activities
- Nootropics that have properties backed by studies and evidence
Using the above criteria Opti-Nutra selected 11 nootropics that optimize the six previously-discussed brain pathways, and do so from multiple angles:
- Bacopa Monnieri
- Citicoline
- Lion’s Mane Mushroom
- L-Theanine
- Maritime Pine Bark
- N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine
- Phosphatidylserine
- Rhodiola Rosea
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B9
- Vitamin B12
This chart from the Mind Lab Pro website provides a nice summary of which nootropics affect which pathways:
Mind Lab Pro Ingredients
Each of the 11 nootropics works as a standalone brain supplement, but stacked together in Mind Lab Pro they work synergistically, complementing each other’s bioactivities to optimize the whole brain.
Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa monnieri — also known as brahmi — is an small, antioxidant-rich herb native to tropical and semitropical areas throughout the world. In Ayurvedic medicine — the ancient Indian medical system — Bacopa monnieri was used to promote intellect and longevity. It is thought that ancient scholars used Bacopa to memorize extensive scriptures and hymns.
Research and studies conducted on both humans and animals have shown that supplementation with the Bacopa monnieri improves cognitive function, concentration, and memory performance. Because of this, extract of the herb leaves is a common ingredient in many smart drugs. Brahmi is considered by many to be one of the best nootropics for ADHD.
Citicoline / Cognizin®
Acetylcholine, or ACh, is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in concentration, memory, and several other brain functions. There is no such thing as an acetylcholine supplement, so to increase acetylcholine levels in the brain you’ll take a nootropic known to encourage the body to release more of this neurotransmitter. Choline is the best nootropic for this task.
There are a few types of choline available as supplements. The best type to take is called Citicoline (also known as CDP-choline). The term cholinergic refers to anything that’s involved in the actions of the acetylcholine. Citicoline (CDP-choline) enhances acetycholine production so it’s said to be a cholinergic supplement or cholinergic nootropic.
Citicoline is also a building block of cell membranes, and as such it’s an essential nutrient for cells — especially brain cells. Like Bacopa monnieri, citicoline is an ingredient common in brain support supplements.
Citicoline is well-documented for its neurological health benefits that include improved memory, attention, focus, and concentration. It’s considered so effective that it is given orally or as an injection to help memory loss from aging, and as a treatment for Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and other conditions of the brain.
Mind Lab Pro uses a special branded form of citicoline called Cognizin®. Clinical research has found that Cognizin increases levels of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) — the body’s main energy storage molecule — in brain cells, thereby increasing brain energy.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Lion’s mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) is an edible fungus used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for supporting the brain and neurological health.
Clinical research shows that the lion’s mane mushroom stimulates nerve growth factor (NGF) production. NGF is a molecule that regulates the growth, function, and repair of neurons. NGF plays an important role in neurogenesis — the regrowth or repair of nervous tissues by generation of new brain cells.
L-Theanine
L-theanine is an amino acid found naturally in green tea. L-theanine has the unique ability to sharpen focus, alertness, and attention while simultaneously instilling a state of relaxed tranquillity. It does this primarily by modulating alpha brain waves — the brain waves with a mid-level frequency. L-theanine acts as a neurotransmitter, and also positively affects the levels of several of the brain’s neurotransmitters, including dopamine and norepinephrine.
You’ll find L-theanine in Mind Lab Pro — and many other brain supplements — because of its proven effectiveness in improving learning and creative problem solving, and because it works so well synergistically with other nootropics.
Maritime Pine Bark
Maritime is a type of pine tree that grows in areas around the Mediterranean Sea, including France, Spain, and Portugal. The bark from maritime pine trees contain a number of health-promoting compounds, including the polyphenol proanthocyanidin.
Polyphenols are a type of compound found naturally in some plant foods. Polyphenols act as powerful antioxidants that neutralize harmful cell-damaging free radicals.
Proanthocyanidins are a particular type of polyphenol, and are found in a variety of fruits — particularly berries such as the blueberry. Proanthocyanidins are also found in large quantities in maritime pine bark extract. Proanthocyanidins have been shown to enhance learning, attention, focus, and mental energy and clarity. Proanthocyanidins also improves cerebral circulation by boosting blood flow both to and within the brain.
Opti-Nutra claims that the maritime pine bark extract included in Mind Lab Pro is the most potent nootropic pine bark extract on the market.
N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine
N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (sometimes referred to as NALT) is an amino acid compound that is a precursor for the synthesis — is a building block for the production — of dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine — neurotransmitters that are important in cognition.
N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine has been proven in studies to contribute to better mental processing, memory, and mood.
Phosphatidylserine (PS)
Phospholipids are a type of fatty acid that are major constituents of cell membranes — they provide barriers in membranes to protect the cell. Phosphatidylserine, or PS, is a particular type of phospholipid that helps cells maintain fluidity and promotes the production of the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine.
Phosphatidylserine (you aren’t the only one who can’t pronounce the word, so go ahead and call it PS — everyone else does) may be one of the most important nootropics a person can take. It improves mental clarity and promotes positivity and is the only nootropic with an FDA-qualified claim for reducing cognitive decline risk.
Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola rosea (sometimes referred to as simply rhodiola) is a flowering plant that grows naturally in wild Arctic regions. This plant is considered an adaptogen — a class of herbs that increase resistance to stress and tolerance of stress. Adaptogens “adapt” to meet the body’s needs by regulating the adrenal, pituitary, and hypothalamic glands. Adaptogens have been important for hundreds of years in the ancient Indian medical system.
Rhodiola rosea is known to improve memory and learning, and enhance mood, attention span, and mental processing.
Vitamins B6, B9, and B12
Homocysteine is an amino acid made naturally by the body. Elevated levels of homocysteine play a role in neurodegenerative disorders, so neurologically it’s important to avoid increases in this amino acid. The combination of three B vitamins — B6, B9 (folic acid, or folate), and B12 — normalize homocysteine levels. That’s one reason why all three of these vitamins are included in Mind Lab Pro.
These three B vitamins also play roles in maintaining healthy brain tissue and mood-balancing nutrients in the brain, increasing long-term memory, and optimizing blood flow to the brain.
Mind Lab Pro Cognitive Benefits
The power of Mind Lab Pro — the main factor that sets it apart from many other brain supplements — is that its particular combination of nootropic ingredients target a half dozen brain pathways. This whole-brain optimizing formula means Mind Lab Pro provides many cognitive benefits.
- In social settings a person will feel both more relaxed and in a brighter mood, with more fluid verbal skills.
- In any type of competitive environment people have quicker reaction times and enhanced strategic thinking.
- Students or on-the-job learners will have a calm clarity and improved studying capacity.
- Office workers will experience better single-task focus as well as enhanced multitasking skills.
- People who work out will feel greater motivation and a higher drive to excel.
- Anyone should notice a longer attention span, faster processing, and sharper recall.
Creativity
Much of a person’s level of creativity is genetic — we can’t all be a Thomas Edison, Leonardo Di Vinci, Mozart, or Salvador Dalí. But we all have a creative side, and whatever amount of creativity that you have will be enhanced by alpha brain wave promoting nootropics such as citicoline and L-theanine, and anti-stress, mood-supportive adaptogens like rhodiola rosea.
The ingredients in Mind Lab Pro put your mind in a relaxed, positive state, while at the same time giving you focus and attention. This combination means you’ll find new ideas come to you at an accelerated pace, and your creative side can come bursting through.
Focus, Concentration, and Attention
Some people — often students — take synthetic stimulants to increase their focus. The problem with prescribed stimulants is that their effects are very temporary, and are so intense that users often expend a great deal of mental energy concentrating on trivial, unimportant tasks (constantly organizing and reorganizing your desk is an example of that).
If improved focus is important to you, Mind Lab Pro is a great option because its nootropics boost focus naturally, not synthetically. The results are more subtle, but they’re also more practical because you’ll be focusing on only the tasks that are important to you, and the effects are much longer lasting. Mind Lab Pro is a long-term solution for increasing focus and concentration. Citicoline, L-theanine, and maritime pine bark extract all have a well-documented history of sharpening focus and increasing alertness and attention.
Mental Stamina and Composure
Stress, whether brought on by physical, mental, or emotional conditions, impairs cognition. Anti-stress and anti-fatigue nootropic adaptogens such as rhodiola rosea provide the mental stamina that keeps your brain charged throughout the day, even in stressful environments.
When you’re in the middle of a stressful, chaotic, or distracting situation, it’s easy to lose your thought process and falter at memory recall. Replenisher nootropics like L-Tyrosine contribute to keeping the brain calm and composed, even in stressful scenarios.
Memory, Learning, and Information Processing
Mind Lab Pro has the unique ability to improve all facets of memory, from short-term memory to long-term memory to information recall and processing.
Bacopa monnieri reduces anxiety and increases reaction times. Citicoline boosts recall and memory. Phosphatidylserine helps with cognitive functioning. Collectively these nootropics enhance information processing — the mental ability to take in, process, store and recall information (basically, just another way of saying “thinking”).
Mood and Motivation
An adequate level of the neurotransmitter dopamine is key to being motivated — so much so that dopamine has been labeled the motivation molecule. Dopaminergic nootropics — nootropics that target dopamine levels — enhance both motivation and mood.
When the brain’s reward pathway is rich in dopamine, you’re in a better mood and more likely to engage in positive behaviors — you have the motivation to learn new information and entertain new ideas. N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine — and to a lesser extent L-theanine and phosphatidylserine (PS) — replenish neurotransmitters, including dopamine.
Mind Lab Pro Side Effects
Some nootropics tend to have minor side effects in some users. Somewhat remarkably, there are virtually no reports of Mind Lab Pro causing side effects in any users — making Mind Lab Pro a very safe brain supplement. The reasons for this are probably best explained by Opti-Nutra, the maker of Mind Lab Pro. The following quote is from the Mind Lab Pro website:
About the only issue that could be considered a side effect is insomnia. Mind Lab Pro has an energizing effect on the mind, so if you take the supplement in the evening, there’s a chance you won’t be tired at your normal bedtime. The solution? That’s easy — don’t take Mind Lab Pro in the late afternoon or evening. Instead, take it in the morning so you’re energized during the day — not at night.
Mind Lab Pro Compared to Other Brain Supplements
Mind Lab Pro is an extremely popular brain supplement, but there are several other multi-ingredient brain supplements that have a good reputation. Qualia Mind, Alpha Brain, and Noocube are three that have a large following, so we take a look at them to see how they faire against Mind Lab Pro. Additionally, we size up the prescription drug Modafinil. While Modafinil isn’t a supplement consisting of the combination of many nootropics (it’s a single drug that’s considered a nootropic), it has a long history of use as a nootropic — especially among students.
Mind Lab Pro vs Qualia
Qualia Mind is a popular, powerful nootropic supplement manufactured by Neurohacker. When it comes to the number of ingredients, Qualia certainly isn’t lacking — there are more than two dozen nootropics in this brain supplement. Making a direct comparison of Mind Lab Pro and Qualia Mind is difficult because of this large difference in number of ingredients.
Qualia Mind has more than twice the number of ingredients than Mind Lab Pro, but it also costs more than twice as much. And that big price difference matters — nootropics in general aren’t cheap, so no matter what multi-ingredient brain supplement you choose, you aren’t going to get by with paying just, say, $20 or $30 per month. Mind Lab Pro costs about $2 per day, while Qualia Mind costs around $6 per day. If you become convinced that the nootropics in Qualia Mind are superior to those in Mind Lab Pro, you’re going to have to be willing to pay about $200 per month for that advantage. That’s a price point well above what most people are willing to, or can, pay.
There’s also the quality of the ingredients to take into account. Many of the nootropics in Mind Lab Pro are high-quality, patented ingredients, while Qualia Mind is comprised mainly of generic ingredients. That difference tends to make the nootropics in Mind Lab Pro have a higher bioavailability. That is, the nootropics in Mind Lab Pro are better absorbed (in other words, the Mind Lab Pro ingredients will have a higher effectiveness).
Finally, Qualia Mind, unlike Mind Lab Pro, contains caffeine. Some people might consider the inclusion of caffeine a plus, but people who get too “jittery” from caffeine will find this ingredient a negative.
Mind Lab Pro vs Alpha Brain
Alpha Brain, manufactured by Onnit, is one of the first mainstream brain supplements — and it remains one of the more popular nootropic supplements. Alpha Brain has about the same number of nootropic ingredients as Mind Lab Pro, and its pricing is similar too — Alpha Brain is a little less than $2 per day, while Mind Lab Pro costs a little more than $2 per day.
The main difference between the two supplements is their working mechanism. Both supplements have the same goal of enhancing cognitive functions, but Alpha Brain focuses on the relaxation of the brain whereas Mind Lab Pro focuses on energizing the brain.
As its name suggests, Alpha Brain focuses on the production of alpha brain waves. Recall that alpha brain waves are a mid-level frequency wave that promote an alert-yet-relaxed mindstate that’s beneficial for enhancing creativity. Mind Lab Pro also believes that alpha brain wave production is useful — Opti-Nutra includes the amino acid L-theanine in Mind Lab Pro for that purpose. But Onnit is all-in on the idea of increasing alpha brain waves — the majority of the ingredients in Alpha Brain are included for the purpose of alpha brain wave production.
Here’s the difference in brain enhancement philosophy. Onnit is of the opinion that when your brain is relaxed, it can be more focused, and thus performs better. So Alpha Brain focuses on alpha wave production. Opti-Nutra, on the other hand, believes that energizing brain cells is the best route to take. So Mind Lab Pro includes many nootropics known for producing energy.
Most nootropics and nutrition experts are of the mindset that the desired result from a nootropic is a contribution to energizing the brain. We’re of that mindset as well — which is why our preference is Mind Lab Pro. Additionally, another plus for Mind Lab Pro is that its nootropics have a much stronger focus on the production of a variety of neurotransmitters — neurotransmitters that traverse the entire brain and act on multiple pathways.
Mind Lab Pro vs NooCube
As discussed earlier, citicoline (CDP-choline) is a type of choline and a precursor (it plays a role in the creation) of acetylcholine (ACh) — a neurotransmitter important to memory and other cognitive functions. A compound that plays a role in acetylcholine production is called a cholinergic, so citicoline is considered a cholinergic.
Because it boosts acetylcholine levels, citicoline is a powerful nootropic — that’s why it’s present as an ingredient in several brain supplements including both Mind Lab Pro and the Wolfson Berg Limited product NooCube. It’s good to have a cholinergic like citicoline as part of a brain supplement, but this is where the brain-enhancing philosophies of NooCube and Mind Lab Pro diverge.
Mind Lab Pro includes citicoline as a cholinergic that targets that brain chemical pathway. But Mind Lab Pro also includes many nootropics that target other brain pathways. NooCube includes citicoline for the same reason, but most of its other nootropics also target the brain chemical pathway. NooCube devotes most of its ingredients towards cholinergic enhancement, while Mind Lab Pro instead targets all the brain pathways.
That’s a big difference in approaches to what makes a good brain supplement. NooCube is a very good supplement, but compared to the wide-spectrum (Universal Nootropic™) Mind Lab Pro, NooCube just doesn’t compete.
NooCube is priced lower than Mind Lab Pro (about $1.50 per day compared to a little over $2 per day), but the minimal savings just aren’t worth it. NooCube consists of seven nootropics compared to the 11 nootropics in Mind Lab Pro, and unlike Mind Lab Pro, NooCube isn’t an all-purpose cognitive enhancer.
One final possible short-coming of NooCube. If you’re vegan, unlike Mind Lab Pro, NooCube isn’t a 100% plant-based product, so it isn’t vegan-friendly.
Mind Lab Pro vs Modafinil
Modafinil, which is sold under the brand name Provigil®, is a prescription medication classified as a eugeroic — a drug that promotes wakefulness and alertness. Modafinil is FDA-approved to treat sleep apnea (a sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts), narcolepsy (excessive daytime sleepiness), and shift work disorder (sleep issues in people who work at night or on rotating shifts).
Recently modafinil has been found to have strong nootropic effects, and some studies demonstrate that it can help with memory and learning in healthy individuals. While modafinil may be a decent nootropic, it does have some serious drawbacks.
Modafinil is available by prescription only, and a prescription should be given only for legitimate medical conditions like the ones mentioned just above. If you want to take modafinil for an off-label purpose (for an unapproved use) such as a nootropic, you might have a difficult time finding a physician that will prescribe it for you.
If you can obtain a prescription for modafinil you better make sure you have insurance that covers it. Covered by insurance a one month supply will cost you approximately $40. If you don’t have prescription drug insurance or your insurance does not cover it, expect to pay about $800 for a one month supply!
Finally, side effects may be an important consideration. Unlike the non-prescription, natural Mind Lab Pro, modafinil has been shown to causes a host of issues in many people. Headaches, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, flushing, tingling, and eye pain are some of the many side effects reported by many users. These types of problems may be worth putting up with for a drug that treats an illness, but if you don’t have a medical condition the risks probably don’t outweigh the potential benefits.
Buying Mind Lab Pro
The best place to buy Mind Lab Pro is directly from the source — the Mind Lab Pro website. There you can buy 1-month, 2-month, or 3-month supplies.
The Mind Lab Pro price comes out to a little more than $2 per day. There’s a Mind Lab Pro discount if you opt for the 3-month supply — doing so gets you a free bottle and brings the price down to about $1.75 per day.
High potency, high quality nootropics can be costly. There’s no getting around that. With that said, if you were to individually buy each of the 11 nootropics that make up Mind Lab Pro you’d certainly be paying quite a bit more.
We, and quite a few others, have come to the conclusion that Mind Lab Pro is the premier over-the-counter nootropic combination, making it well worth the cost.
Conclusion
Mind Lab Pro is a dietary supplement that fosters optimal brain chemistry for long-term good health and functioning.
Mind Lab Pro is a high quality nootropic formula that benefits people of all ages. These include students, athletes, competitors, business professionals, active 55+ adults, and anyone with an interest in “hacking the brain.”
Mind Lab Pro lowers anxiety, counteract stress, and enhances the ability to learn and remember information. Mind Lab Pro boosts creativity and increases motivation. Its 11 nootropics were specifically selected to target the six main brain pathways to optimize the brain’s various structures and functions in several different ways.
Opti-Nutra, the maker of Mind Lab Pro, makes the following statement about this nootropic:
After thoroughly studying Mind Lab Pro, we wholeheartedly agree! Does Mind Lab Pro work? Yes, absolutely.
