17 Best Nootropics for Motivation (These Get You Going)

Updated on January 17, 2023
 by — reviewed by Jason Williams, PhD (Contributor: George Collins / Editor: Yoko Hill)

We all need to be motivated. That’s why we resort to the best nootropics for motivation.

These nootropics drive us to do more and keep us functioning well throughout the day.

Our lack of motivation is related to our dopamine levels.

According to the neuroscience of motivation, dopamine is a neurotransmitter and healthy brain chemicals that play a vital role in increasing our motivation levels and affecting play how we feel pleasure.

This guide will determine the best motivation nootropics and which one is the most potent to increase dopamine levels.

It will also tackle the adverse effects and safety to help us weigh each nootropic’s effectiveness.

Supplements for motivation are essential in improving our dopamine levels. We were used to caffeine being our source of motivation.

Simultaneously, some take L-dopa, which is the precursor to neurons’ release of dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline), collectively known as catecholamines.

Nowadays, there are similar if not the best motivation nootropics to increase dopamine release.

Why is there a need to prioritize our dopamine?

An essential part of the brain reward pathway is the mesolimbic dopamine system. The mesolimbic reward pathway is critical in mediating pleasure and having experience as a reward through our dopamine receptors.

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On the other hand, the prefrontal cortex helps people set and achieve goals.

Let us look at the list of these powerful nootropics other than caffeine and L-dopa.

According to scientific research and customer reviews, the 17 best nootropics for motivation are:

1. Vyvamind

Vyvamind is an natural brain supplement for motivation and our number one choice. The nootropic contains six ingredients, with the aim of increasing energy, improving focus, and aiding flow. Vyvamind is an all-natural alternative to amphetamine-based Adderall that helps you get motivated.

Vyvamind contains Citicoline, L-Tyrosine, and L-Theanine, all of which help to protect your brain from structural changes that can degrade it as you age.

2. N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (NALT)

N-Acetyl L- Tyrosine increases memory, executive activity, creative flow states, stress reduction, better mood, and anti-anxiety. N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine is a highly effective nootropic to boost cognitive function that helps maintain cognitive performance under a lot of stress.

How long does l tyrosine take to work? The effect of this nootropic usually lasts three hours.

3. Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a supplement that helps our brain function. This ingredient is a polyphenol that some plants produce in response to stress, such as injury or fungal infection.

resveratrol

Resveratrol is an inhibitor of the enzyme PDE4 (Phosphodiesterase-4), which raises CAMP levels in the brain. With this, AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) activates through the cAMP-dependent pathway.

Boosting cAMP and inhibiting PDE4 makes the effect of normal dopamine production more potent. This process of boosting the stream of chemical pathways improves memory, learning, and motivation.

4. Rhodiola Rosea

Rhodiola Rosea is believed to make workers more productive. It is a remedy for poor concentration and short-term and long-term memories.

Rhodiola Rosea increases attention by improving concentration over a prolonged period, making it ideal for detail-oriented tasks.

Rhodiola Rosea helps fight tiredness that stifles clarity of the mind by stimulating your nervous system. Studies show it even saves injured neurons that release dopamine and encourages brain cells’ growth and development.

Other potential uses of Rhodiola can reduce stress-eating. In the brain, Rhodiola increases serotonin and reduces corticosteroids.

5. Lion’s Mane Mushroom

Lion’s Mane is known as a mind mender. This ingredient has active ingredients that fight fatigue, stimulate brain cell growth and protect cells against destruction and inflammation caused by Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases.

Lion’s Mane enables you to focus more closely and for more extended periods making motivation better.

This is one of the nootropics involved in motivation and is beneficial in one’s cognitive function.

6. Bacon Monnieri

Bacon Monnieri is one of the best nootropics to improve focus and soothe restlessness - which both, if left unchecked, can drain motivation.

Research shows that it may alleviate anxiety and stress, improve cognition, and boost brain function.

7. L-Theanine

L-Theanine is a supplement to boost your inspiration or creativity. It is an amino acid present in green tea.

L-Theanine fuels feelings of calmness while also increasing the brain’s alpha waves linked to creativity. L-Theanine makes ideation sessions a lot easier.

8. B-Vitamins

If you feel lethargic, a bit low, and lack motivation, B vitamins might be the issue, as they’re vital links in energy production chain reaction.

They play a critical role in converting nutrients into serotonin. They work in synergy, targeting different areas.

For example, a thiamine deficiency (vitamin B1) causes emotional disturbances. A lack of niacin (vitamin B3) is linked to depression.

b vitamins

A low level of vitamin B12 can cause irritability, low mood, and poor retention.

Vitamin B6 benefits metabolism and the central nervous system. It turns food into energy and creates neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin.

Researchers have also found that vitamins B12, B6, and B9 (folate) can restore the blood-brain barrier’s integrity in adults with mild cognitive impairment and elevated homocysteine.

9. TeaCrine

TeaCrine is a compound that delivers energy, clarity of the mind, and improved motivation and mood. It is one of the most versatile motivation pills.

It does provide not only energy but also a powerful mood boost for your sensory experience.

10. Adrafinil

Adrafinil is a prodrug for modafinil. Its supplementation increases the body's modafinil concentrations.

Adrafinil heightens wakefulness and alertness. It is a stimulant that does not cause hyperactivity and fights sleepiness instead.

Taking adrafinil may also improve long-term memory, but further research is needed to confirm this effect.

11. Aniracetam

Aniracetam is an enhancer and a stimulant. It makes you more alert and awake. It serves as a positive modulator of excitatory receptors known as AMPA receptors. It decreases the receptor desensitization rate.

Aniracetam is used for anxiety, depression, and dementia and works like caffeine.

12. Sulbutiamine

Sulbutiamine is Vitamin B1's synthetic form to treat chronic fatigue. It's also a potent cholinergic that's known to enhance focus, and it may supercharge mood and motivation and well.

Sulbutiamine increases thiamine levels in the brain. People take sulbutiamine by mouth for Alzheimer's disease, weakness, athletic performance, depression, diabetic nerve damage, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, and retention.

13. Noopept

Noopept nootropic is related to the racetam-family that stimulates dopamine, serotonin, and nicotinic receptors cognition. It also increases BDNF.

These nootropics enhance memory, logical thinking, mood, energy, and motivation.

Noopept also boosts Alpha and Beta brain waves. You become calmer, more creative, and easier to go into a flow state. You are also prone to making innovative and resourceful decisions.

14. Modafinil

Modafinil works to improve one’s performance on long and complex tasks, enhancing decision-making and planning skills, a new review of studies finds.

Modafinil treats sleep disorders but its users, like students, take it to study for exams and use it off-label.

It is claimed to help them focus and elevate dopamine despite the lack of solid evidence to show if the drug works this way.

15. Acetyl-L-Carnitine

One of the benefits of Acetyl-L-Carnitine is it improves our brain’s activity. Older adults usually feel tired, and taking acetyl-L-carnitine improves feelings of physical tiredness.

The structure of Acetyl-L-Carnitine is similar to acetylcholine. It stimulates acetylcholine receptors in the brain, allowing the acetyl group to cross the blood-brain barrier. This process does not occur with L-Carnitine.

16. Sunifiram

Sunifiram works like nefiracetam in the hippocampus. It is a potential cognitive enhancer and has anti-amnesiac properties.

Its anti-amnesiac activity is several orders of magnitude greater than piracetam on a per weight basis, and preliminary evidence suggests it has a similarly low toxicity profile.

17. Alpha GPC

Alpha-GPC is a supplement that increases brain levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is important for memory and learning.

Alpha GPC increases the brain's acetylcholine chemicals. This brain chemical is essential for memory and learning functions.

Side Effects and Safety

Although these nootropics are not proven to diagnose, treat, cure our mental illness, they can certainly help our brain perform and develop our motivation for dopamine.

Though there are side effects reported that are minor, including:

  • insomnia
  • blurry vision
  • high blood pressure
  • a fast heart rate
  • circulation problems
  • addiction

Like any other drugs, it is up to the users to do some research and be aware of what they will put into their bodies.
Safety depends on various factors, including a person’s physical and mental health and if they are prescribed other medications that may interact with nootropics.

The said supplements do not treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. It is always best to seek medical advice to know the best nootropics for motivation you will take and check if it is approved by the food and drug administration.

Conclusion

In conclusion, energy and motivation always come together. We need these two to improve our mental performance and improve dopamine.

That is why nootropics, though not intended to diagnose, treat or cure our mental state or brain’s neurotransmitter, improve our system’s dopamine neurons. They solve our lack of motivation and prevent mental fatigue.

Mind Lab Pro supplies the best dopamine nootropics for motivation and effectively improves dopamine levels.

It contains all the mentioned ingredients that increase dopamine and improve motivation. Whenever you feel burned-out, feeling high stress, and want to power up, caffeine is not your only option.

Mind Lab Pro nootropic will be your best option to increase motivation, mood, power, mental energy, and cognition.

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