Nootropics and Improved Athletic Performance
Can supplements make smarter, better athletes? 
The ads could almost write themselves. “Here’s a supplement that will make you smarter, and by the way, it’ll make you a better athlete too!” The supplements in question are called nootropics, sometimes called ‘smart drugs’ because people take them to improve focus, increased mental sharpness, fight fatigue, and speed up reaction times. In the last few years, nootropics have been tested as a way to enhance athletic performance. Do they work? And if they do, how do they work and for what sports?
Nootropics
The term ‘nootropic’ covers a broad range of substances. You could consider coffee and fish oil as smart drugs — caffeine increases alertness, and the fatty acid DHA in fish oil boosts long-term brain health. Your grocery probably stocks popular nootropic supplements like gingko biloba, SAM-e, and bacopa. These supplements are popular because buyers believe they support cognitive function.
Many people consider supplemental creatine, an amino acid naturally occurring in muscle, as a nootropic supplement. Another naturally occurring nutrient, choline, has been linked to supporting brain and nervous system functions like memory, mood, and muscle control. Primary dietary sources of choline include beef, eggs, and dairy products. For that reason, many vegans and vegetarians include supplemental choline in their diets.
There are prescription cognitive enhancement drugs like Adderall and modafinil which increase focus and stave off drowsiness; these are especially popular among college students during finals week. A related class of stimulant is the racetam group. Racetam supplements aren’t prescription; in fact, you can buy a version like phenylpiracetam at health food stores or through Amazon. However, you should be aware that the International Olympic Committee considers its stimulant effect so powerful that it bans athletes who test positive for it, as does professional tennis, baseball, basketball and the UFC.
How could supplements that boost your mental processes help you as an athlete? Consider their effects. Proponents of nootropic supplements to enhance performance claim that they:
- Increase ability to concentrate
- Shorten reaction time by improving neural processing
- Increase clarity and focus
- Decrease anxiety and stress
- Relieve depression
- Slow or reverse the onset of age-related cognitive decline
- Improve natural sleep patterns
- Boost energy
- Boost endurance and resist fatigue
There are two broad categories of nootropic supplements. Chronic supplements like gingko biloba, bacopa, creatine and the DHA in fish oil work cumulatively over extended periods of time such as weeks or months. They gradually boost the structural health of your brain and nervous system. They build better neural connections, improve cell health, combat mental decline, relieve depression and improve sleep. Think of them as rebuilding and maintaining your engine.
The other category of nootropic supplements works in an acute (1 – 3 hour) time frame. Acute cognitive enhancers like caffeine, ashwagandha, modafinil and rhodiola rosea affect the neurochemistry of focus and concentration, reaction time, neural processing, energy and fatigue resistance. Think of these supplements as putting a nitro booster on your engine, so that you can inject some nitrous oxide into it when you need extra power.
Let’s consider how these might improve your performance in different sports.
Golf: The percentage of time that you spend actually hitting the ball is tiny compared to the time you aren’t hitting the ball. This gives you extra time to think about your mistakes, what you need to do for your next shot, the mechanics of your swing – there are so many distractions that can interfere with your ability to focus, to control your anxiety and stress, and to visualize your next shot. In other words, better management of your mental game could pay huge dividends in lowering your score. Acute supplements that increase focus and diminish anxiety could have definite advantages.
Alpine skiing and mountain biking: The mechanics of skiing a steep mogul run or riding your bike down a technical singletrack require intense focus and quick reaction times. If you can improve these and then combine the improvement with increased energy and endurance, the benefits for rapid descent mountain sports are clear. Depending on your level of skill, reducing anxiety while skiing through a glade of trees or down that double-black might also have added benefits.
Basketball: There is anecdotal evidence that acute supplements make a more seamless connection between neurological and muscle systems, making ‘muscle memory’ work more smoothly and unconsciously. If you’ve rehearsed that top of the key shot enough, you might be able to boost your scoring percentage without thinking about it – and speaking of not thinking about it, who couldn’t use more focus and less anxiety at the free-throw line?
Weightlifting: The popularity of cognitive enhancement supplements in weightlifting can be summed up as “lift bigger, recover faster.” Some supplements like Alpha-GPC, when taken 90 minutes before lifting, may increase human growth hormone secretions and increase overall power, while others like Adrafinil may increase stamina. Reduced inflammation and faster recovery times are also reported benefits.
Marathon, cycling, and mountaineering: Sports that require a sustained effort over long periods of time can also be enhanced. Supplemental choline appears to increase endurance and reduce inflammation and soreness. Rhodiola rosea seems to increase oxygen uptake, which makes for more efficient energy use. Endurance sports have also seen an increase in the use of phenylpiracetam. It reportedly increases both physical stamina and cold resistance, while focusing the athlete’s thinking.
The use of nootropic supplements is relatively new, both for cognitive enhancement and for athletic performance. We’re still in the early stages of scientific research done on their effectiveness and healthy use. One thing to consider – if you plan on trying nootropic supplements for your sport, do a little research on “stacking” for the nootropic you plan on trying. Stacking simply means the best way to combine supplements so that they work well together and don’t cancel each other out. “Smart drugs” may help you become a better athlete if you’re smart about how you use them.
