Evidence Based
In this podcast, you’re going to learn about supplements that can help you focus better.
The ability to control your attention and focus for extended periods of time is one of the most important metaskills. That is, it’s a skill that makes other skills better.
Mastering your attention and eliminating distractions can make a big difference in your life.
You can train your ability to focus with meditation or use techniques like Pomodoro to accomplish more deep work. You can also address your environment, tipping the scales in your favor to accomplish goals faster and easier.
Your internal environment plays a role too. You can also get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and eat well, which will all help boost your brain power.
The last part of the equation is supplementation. Are there any supplements scientifically-validated to improve your ability to focus? Find out in this episode.
Lastly, if you want to support the show, please drop a quick review of it over on iTunes. It really helps!
Timestamps:
7:00 – What do you mean by focus?
10:43 – What supplements enhance focus?
Mentioned on the Show:
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
+ Scientific References
- Shimada, M., Shikanai, Y., Shimomura, K., Harada, S., Watanabe, G., Taya, K., Kato, M., & Furuhama, K. (2003). Investigation of testicular toxicity of nefiracetam, a neurotransmission enhancer, in rats. Toxicology Letters, 143(3), 307–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4274(03)00197-8
- Zvejniece, L., Svalbe, B., Vavers, E., Makrecka-Kuka, M., Makarova, E., Liepins, V., Kalvinsh, I., Liepinsh, E., & Dambrova, M. (2017). S-phenylpiracetam, a selective DAT inhibitor, reduces body weight gain without influencing locomotor activity. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 160, 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2017.07.009
- Zhang, J., Wei, R., Chen, Z., & Luo, B. (2016). Piracetam for Aphasia in Post-stroke Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. In CNS Drugs (Vol. 30, Issue 7, pp. 575–587). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-016-0348-1
- Al Hajeri, A., & Fedorowicz, Z. (2016). Piracetam for reducing the incidence of painful sickle cell disease crises. In Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Vol. 2016, Issue 2). John Wiley and Sons Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006111.pub3
- Jung, H. Y., Kim, D. W., Nam, S. M., Kim, J. W., Chung, J. Y., Won, M. H., Seong, J. K., Yoon, Y. S., Yoo, D. Y., & Hwang, I. K. (2017). Pyridoxine improves hippocampal cognitive function via increases of serotonin turnover and tyrosine hydroxylase, and its association with CB1 cannabinoid receptor-interacting protein and the CB1 cannabinoid receptor pathway. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – General Subjects, 1861(12), 3142–3153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagen.2017.09.006
- Mappouras, D. G., Stiakakis, J., & Fragoulis, E. G. (1990). Purification and characterization of L-DOPA decarboxylase from human kidney. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 94(2), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00214121
- Kahathuduwa, C. N., Dhanasekara, C. S., Chin, S. H., Davis, T., Weerasinghe, V. S., Dassanayake, T. L., & Binks, M. (2018). L-Theanine and caffeine improve target-specific attention to visual stimuli by decreasing mind wandering: a human functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Nutrition Research, 49, 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2017.11.002
- Giles, G. E., Mahoney, C. R., Brunyé, T. T., Taylor, H. A., & Kanarek, R. B. (2017). Caffeine and theanine exert opposite effects on attention under emotional arousal. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 95(1), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjpp-2016-0498
- Foxe, J. J., Morie, K. P., Laud, P. J., Rowson, M. J., De Bruin, E. A., & Kelly, S. P. (2012). Assessing the effects of caffeine and theanine on the maintenance of vigilance during a sustained attention task. Neuropharmacology, 62(7), 2320–2327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.01.020
- Haskell, C. F., Kennedy, D. O., Milne, A. L., Wesnes, K. A., & Scholey, A. B. (2008). The effects of l-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biological Psychology, 77(2), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.09.008
- Bruce, S. E., Werner, K. B., Preston, B. F., & Baker, L. M. (2014). Improvements in concentration, working memory and sustained attention following consumption of a natural citicoline-caffeine beverage. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 65(8), 1003–1007. https://doi.org/10.3109/09637486.2014.940286
- Spiers, P. A., Myers, D., Hochanadel, G. S., Lieberman, H. R., & Wurtman, R. J. (1996). Citicoline improves verbal memory in aging. Archives of Neurology, 53(5), 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1996.00550050071026
- Gruber, S. A. (2015). Citicoline Treatment Improves Measures of Impulsivity and Task Performance in Chronic Marijuana Smokers: A Pilot BOLD fMRI Study. International Journal of Neurology and Neurotherapy, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.23937/2378-3001/2/2/1032
- Aidelbaum, R., Labelle, A., Baddeley, A., & Knott, V. (2018). Assessing the acute effects of CDP-choline on sensory gating in schizophrenia: A pilot study. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(5), 541–551. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117746903
- Knott, V., Smith, D., De La Salle, S., Impey, D., Choueiry, J., Beaudry, E., Smith, M., Saghir, S., Ilivitsky, V., & Labelle, A. (2014). CDP-choline: Effects of the procholine supplement on sensory gating and executive function in healthy volunteers stratified for low, medium and high P50 suppression. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 28(12), 1095–1108. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114553254
- Knott, V., De La Salle, S., Choueiry, J., Impey, D., Smith, D., Smith, M., Beaudry, E., Saghir, S., Ilivitsky, V., & Labelle, A. (2015). Neurocognitive effects of acute choline supplementation in low, medium and high performer healthy volunteers. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 131, 119–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2015.02.004
- Knott, V., Salle, S. de la, Smith, D., Choueiry, J., Impey, D., Smith, M., Beaudry, E., Saghir, S., Ilivitsky, V., & Labelle, A. (2015). Effects of acute CDP-choline treatment on resting state brain oscillations in healthy volunteers. Neuroscience Letters, 591, 121–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2015.02.032
- Lanini, J., Galdurõz, J. C. F., & Pompéia, S. (2016). Acute personalized habitual caffeine doses improve attention and have selective effects when considering the fractionation of executive functions. Human Psychopharmacology, 31(1), 29–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2511
- Wilhelmus, M. M. M., Hay, J. L., Zuiker, R. G. J. A., Okkerse, P., Perdrieu, C., Sauser, J., Beaumont, M., Schmitt, J., Van Gerven, J. M. A., & Silber, B. Y. (2017). Effects of a single, oral 60 mg caffeine dose on attention in healthy adult subjects. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 31(2), 222–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116668593
- Kahathuduwa, C. N., Dassanayake, T. L., Amarakoon, A. M. T., & Weerasinghe, V. S. (2017). Acute effects of theanine, caffeine and theanine–caffeine combination on attention. Nutritional Neuroscience, 20(6), 369–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2016.1144845
- Kamimori, G. H., McLellan, T. M., Tate, C. M., Voss, D. M., Niro, P., & Lieberman, H. R. (2015). Caffeine improves reaction time, vigilance and logical reasoning during extended periods with restricted opportunities for sleep. Psychopharmacology, 232(12), 2031–2042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3834-5
- Giles, G. E., Mahoney, C. R., Brunyé, T. T., Taylor, H. A., & Kanarek, R. B. (2017). Caffeine and theanine exert opposite effects on attention under emotional arousal. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 95(1), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjpp-2016-0498
- Copland, D. A., McMahon, K. L., Silburn, P. A., & De Zubicaray, G. I. (2009). Dopaminergic neuromodulation of semantic processing: A 4-T fMRI study with levodopa. Cerebral Cortex, 19(11), 2651–2658. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhp017
- Oranje, B., Gispen-De Wied, C. C., Westenberg, H. G. M., Kemner, C., Verbaten, M. N., & Kahn, R. S. (2004). Increasing dopaminergic activity: Effects of L-dopa and bromocriptine on human sensory gating. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 18(3), 388–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/026988110401800310
- Oranje, B., Gispen-De Wied, C. C., Westenberg, H. G. M., Kemner, C., Verbaten, M. N., & Kahn, R. S. (2006). No effects of l-dopa and bromocriptine on psychophysiological parameters of human selective attention. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 20(6), 789–798. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881106061712
- Nakashima, A., Hayashi, N., Kaneko, Y. S., Mori, K., Sabban, E. L., Nagatsu, T., & Ota, A. (2009). Role of N-terminus of tyrosine hydroxylase in the biosynthesis of catecholamines. In Journal of Neural Transmission (Vol. 116, Issue 11, pp. 1355–1362). J Neural Transm (Vienna). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-009-0227-8
- Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: Evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance. Neuropsychologia, 69, 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.022
- Colzato, L. S., Jongkees, B. J., Sellaro, R., van den Wildenberg, W. P. M., & Hommel, B. (2014). Eating to stop: Tyrosine supplementation enhances inhibitory control but not response execution. Neuropsychologia, 62, 398–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.12.027
- Padilha, S. C. O. S., Virtuoso, S., Tonin, F. S., Borba, H. H. L., & Pontarolo, R. (2018). Efficacy and safety of drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: a network meta-analysis. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27(10), 1335–1345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1125-0
If you enjoyed this podcast, get weekly updates. It’s free.
Sending…
Great! You’re subscribed.
100% Privacy. We don’t rent or share our email lists.
You May Also Like
Our Most Popular Evidence-Based Articles
Our 100% “It’s-On-Us” Money-Back Guarantee
No matter what you decide to buy, you’re always protected by our ironclad, 100% money-back guarantee that works like this:
If you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, you get a prompt and courteous refund. No forms to fill out or hoops to jump through.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits so our shipping is 100% free!
Okay, we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters.
So, if you live in the United States, your order ships free regardless of order size, and if you live anywhere else, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money.
That said, as most international customers spend about $200 with us each time they shop, this setup is a win-win.
And no matter what you decide to buy, you’re always protected by our ironclad, 100% money-back guarantee that works like this:
If you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, you get a prompt and courteous refund. No forms to fill out or hoops to jump through.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Clinically Effective Doses
Great ingredients aren’t enough to make a great product—you also need correct doses.
That’s why we use the exact doses of every ingredient that have safely produced the desired benefits in peer-reviewed studies.
Made in USA
Where your supplements are made matters, because rules and regulations regarding quality and purity differ from country to country.
And if you want to ensure the supplements you’re swallowing every day are safe and effective, you want products produced in the USA.
That’s why all of our supplements are made in America in NSF-certified and FDA-inspected facilities that operate in accordance with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations.
We pay a premium to work with the best manufacturers in the country, but it’s the only way we can also produce the best all-natural sports supplements.
Lab Tested
Did you know that studies have shown that many supplements contain dangerously high levels of toxins like lead, arsenic, and cadmium?
Not ours.
Every ingredient of every supplement we produce is tested for heavy metals, microbes, allergens, and other contaminants to ensure they meet the strict purity standards set by the FDA.
Naturally Sweetened & Flavored
While artificial sweeteners may not be as dangerous as some people claim, studies suggest that regular consumption of these chemicals may indeed be harmful to our health and that more research is needed.
That’s why all of our supplements are naturally sweetened and flavored and contain no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk.
Science-Backed Ingredients & Doses
Unlike some supplement companies, we don’t sell dubious white labeled or off-the-shelf formulations.
Instead, our custom and unique formulations are the result of extensive reviews of the scientific literature to discover the most effective ingredients for each.
Split your entire online purchase into 4 interest-free payments, over 6 weeks with no impact to your credit.
25%
today
25%
2 weeks
25%
4 weeks
25%
6 weeks

Shop and add items to your cart as normal!

Choose Sezzle at Checkout! You’ll be redirected to Sezzle to Sign Up or Log In
to complete your order.

Your order will be shipped out right away* and your payments will be split up
over 6 weeks.
*shipping times subject to merchant shipping policy
Shop directory. Reschedule payments. Plus more!
Waiver and Release of Liability
In consideration of the services and/or products offered by Legion Athletics, Inc. (“Legion”) including, but not limited to, nutrition plans, exercise routines and coaching, and in addition to the payment of any fee or charge:
I knowingly and voluntarily enter into this waiver and release of liability and hereby waive any and all rights, claims or causes of action of any kind whatsoever arising out of my use of Legion’s services and/or products, and I hereby release and hold harmless Legion and its consultants, officers, contractors, agents, owners and employees from any and all responsibility, liability, cost and expenses, including for injuries, damages or disorders (physical, metabolic, or otherwise), resulting from my use of Legion’s services and/or products.
I understand that fitness activities including, but not limited to, strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular exercise, with or without the use of equipment, are potentially hazardous activities that involve a risk of injury and even death, and I am voluntarily participating in these activities and using equipment and machinery with knowledge of the risks involved. I hereby agree to assume and accept any and all risks of injury or death related to said fitness activities.
I understand Legion’s services and products are not meant to treat or manage any health conditions or circumstances, and I acknowledge that Legion has recommended I obtain a healthcare provider’s approval for my use of Legion’s services and/or products, through regular physical examination(s) and/or consultation. I acknowledge that I have obtained my healthcare provider’s approval or have decided to use Legion’s services and/or products without such approval and hereby assume all responsibility for my use of said services and/or products.
I understand that results from using Legion’s products and/or services are not guaranteed, and I agree to not hold Legion liable for any outcomes or lack thereof.
OUT OF STOCK
Security Check
Please click the checkbox below. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Fact Checked
Our scientific review board of nutritionists, dietitians, molecular biologists, doctors, and other accredited experts is responsible for reviewing every article, podcast, and video we produce to ensure they’re evidence based, accurate, trustworthy, and current.
Thanks to their connections, credentials, and academic experience, this team of MDs, PhDs, and other professionals has access to a wealth of research published in the largest and most prestigious journals in the world.
This allows them to not only review individual studies but also analyze the overall weight of the evidence on any and all topics related to diet, exercise, supplementation, and more.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, or anything less than factual, please let us know in the comments section of the article in question.
Evidence Based
We follow a detailed, rigorous, multi-step process to create content that meets the highest standards of clarity, practicality, and scientific integrity.
First, our research associates provide our editorial team with accurate, up-to-date, proven scientific evidence.
Then, our editorial team uses this research to draft articles and outlines for podcasts and videos.
Finally, our scientific review board reviews the content to ensure all key information and claims are backed by high-quality scientific research and explained simply and precisely.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, or anything less than factual, please let us know in the comments section of the article in question.