Brainzyme® FOCUS™ Alternatives: A Closer Look at the Best Options Available
Brainzyme® FOCUS™ Alternatives: How To Boost Your Brain Without Brainzyme® FOCUS™
Introduction
With the job market becoming more and more competitive, there has been a stark rise in the use of smart pills - substances, either synthetic or naturally-sourced, that have been designed to increase concentration and productivity.
Brainzyme is a popular smart pill across the world, but what methods are out there to boost your brain and be more productive without the need for Brainzyme or cognitive enhancers like it?
Keep on reading to find out.
Contents
- Exercise
- Binaural beats for concentration
- Meditation for concentration
- Mind Lab Pro vs. BrainZyme
- Concluding thoughts
Exercise as an alternative to Brainzyme
The links between exercise and the brain have been long-since established, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that exercise comes so highly in this list.
Exercise, according to Harvard, affects the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, as well as the health, abundance and survivability of brain cells. Not only that, but there have been links proven between exercise and improved mood, sleep and less stress and anxiety.
Just 30 minutes of exercise a day can make a huge difference. Try cycling to work instead of driving or going for a walk in your lunch hour.
If that's not enough to make you go for a run, many studies indicate that there is a link between exercising and having a larger prefrontal and medial cortex in the brain, the sections responsible for thinking and memory.
You don't even need to exercise all of the time to get these benefits. Regular exercise of a moderate intensity 2-3 times per week for 6 months should be enough.
If you're one of those people who find it hard to switch off after work, and can still feel stress buzzing around their head, you should definitely go for a run, brisk walk or another form of moderate exercise.
You will feel your head become clearer as the cortisol is taken away from your body. It also has the added bonus of making you more resilient to stress when you're not even exercising.
Editor's Suggestion: Exercise is essential to positive health, wellbeing and productivity, and everyone should strive to do more.
Here are some of our top tips for starting exercise:
1) Little is better than none - if you currently do no exercise, it can seem daunting to start. However, you should aim for little goals and build it up over time. For example: start one week where you do 5 minutes of exercise in the morning (push-ups, squats, press ups, lunges and star jumps), the next week do it for 10 minutes, the next 20 and so on until you're doing at least an hour a day.
2) Easy lifestyle changes - it is easier than most people think to fit exercise into their lives.
Instead of getting the bus or driving to work, walk if it is a reasonable distance.
Don't just stay glued to your phone or chatting with coworkers on your lunch break, but instead use it to squeeze in a 30-minute workout.
Walk to the supermarket instead of driving and get a taxi to pick you up with your heavy bags.
You don't have to completely change your lifestyle to exercise more, and you shouldn't until you know you are going to commit to it. Instead, squeeze in workouts around your existing schedule to maximise the chance of you sticking with it.
3) Make it social - exercise can be a fun and social activity.
There are hundreds of groups in every town and city, from pilates to couch to 5k. The added motivation that you get when you work out with someone else helps you stick at it.
Brain-boosting diets
Making sure your brain has all the nutrients it needs to perform at its best is a crucial element in productivity. That's why many people turn to supplements to ensure optimal function.
However, others prefer to ensure they eat a diet that specifically aims to maintain or improve brain health.
It's also extremely effective to mix supplements with a balanced brain-boosting diet, to ensure you're not missing out on anything.
In 2019, there are two main diets that bio-hackers and productivity gurus use to boost their brain. These are the ketogenic diet and the Mediterranean diet.
If you are interested in a more in-depth explanation of these two diets, I recommend you check out the resources referenced above. Alternatively, I will provide a short explanation of both of them here.
The ketogenic diet
Usually, the main fuel our bodies and brain uses is glucose, a sugar. However, under certain conditions, your body is able to produce alternative fuel.
This alternative fuel is called ketones, and it's produced in the liver when the body doesn't have enough glucose or fructose to sustain itself.
There are many different ketogenic diets depending on your goals. A good rule of thumb is that 70% of what you eat should be fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates. Of course, you should balance this with plenty of vegetables.
Ketosis, the state you enter when your body is producing ketones, is known as a fat-burning state, meaning it is popular among those looking to lose weight. However, ketosis is also used for those looking to boost their brain, as it has been shown that ketones are a much more efficient fuel source for our body.
It makes sense when you think about it from a natural selection standpoint. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors couldn't pop to the shops whenever they got hungry, instead, they either had to, erm, hunt or gather it.
Imagine if our bodies couldn't produce an alternative fuel - once you get hungry, our brain and body would start to shut down, meaning the chances of you being able to find more food is severely diminished.
Instead, our body produces ketones, which have a positive impact on our body and brain, meaning the chance of finding food increases.
The main idea behind the ketogenic diet is to limit the amount of sugar and carbs you intake, limiting the amount of glucose your body can extract from your food. Instead, ketogenic dieters are advised to have a high-fat diet, but it is also possible to have a high-protein ketogenic diet.
The Mediterranean diet
What was it that allowed the ancient Romans to have dominion over the western world? Was it their military discipline and tactics? Their amazing infrastructure?
Both of these things are true, but maybe there's another explanation. There's been a lot of hype recently around the Mediterranean diet, especially among those who seek to boost their brain.
The foods that are traditionally eaten by civilisations that border the Mediterranean Sea have been shown to have a positive impact on both the brain and the body.
Bread, olive oil and oranges - The key to the success of the Ancient Romans?
Foods that are high in unsaturated fats (e.g. olive oil), high in starch (e.g. bread or pasta), lots of fruit, vegetables and fish are all advised for those seeking a Mediterranean diet.
Before the Romans, the Greeks ruled the West. Both cultures are known to have followed a very similar diet to this.
Is it a coincidence? Perhaps, but the Mediterranean diet should definitely be considered for those seeking more focus, concentration and energy.
Editor's Note: Before considering supplements, you should always look at if there are any changes in your diet you can make. Often, there will be. However, diets can take a long time for you to feel the benefits, and foods today are much less nutritious than they were 50 years ago. Therefore, you should consider using supplements to ensure you get the right amount of nutrients and for short-term boosts.
Binaural beats for concentration
The neurons in your brain communicate with each other through electrical signals. The frequency of these patterns can affect your mindset dramatically. We have identified four different patterns that you often see in the brain:
Alpha Patterns - A frequency between 8 and 13 Hz. Higher Alpha Patterns are commonly associated with relaxation, focus, accelerated learning and the flow state.
Beta Patterns - A frequency between 14 and 30 Hz. Lower Beta Patterns (14-17 Hz) are commonly associated with concentration, alertness and analytical thinking. It's not recommended to go over 17 Hz.
Theta Patterns - A frequency between 4 and 8 Hz, commonly associated with REM sleep, creativity and meditation.
Delta Patterns - A frequency between 0.1 and 5 Hz, commonly associated with dreamless sleep.
What can you do with this information? Well, this part gets really interesting.
You can use this knowledge to trick your brain into falling into one of the patterns listed above. The main way people do this is by listening to binaural beats.
This is when you listen to a certain type of music where there is a difference in the frequency between the left and right ear. The brain recognises this and starts to perceive a third tone, which is the difference between the frequency of the left and right tones.
Photo credit to https://www.binauralbeatsmeditation.com
You can purchase binaural tones, or alternatively, there are tens of thousands of hours worth of tracks available on YouTube, like the one below.
What does science say about binaural beats? Whilst more studies can be done, the general consensus so far is that it actually works.
Interestingly, similar techniques have been used throughout history. For example, scientist Melinda Maxfield, PhD found that ancient cultures used drum beats at a rate of 4.5 beats per second in rituals.
This beat was used to induce a trance-like meditative state, as the brain patterns changed to a Theta pattern.
You can use binaural beats for a huge range of things, such as:
- Reduce stress and anxiety.
- Increase concentration, focus and motivation.
- Increase motivation.
- Deeper meditation.
- Improve creativity.
- Improved mood.
If you want to try out binaural beats yourself (we highly recommend that you do), follow the steps below.
You will need:
- 15-30 minutes of distraction-free listening time.
- A quiet and relaxing place.
- Stereo headphones (you need to listen to hear sounds in two different frequencies simultaneously).
Like meditation, you should practice with binaural beats and have patience. If you practice for 15-30 minutes every day, within a month you should feel the full effects.
We highly recommend that you try it for yourself by following the steps and listen to the video above.
Editor's Note:
Meditation for concentration
We have already seen how manipulating your brain waves can impact concentration. One of the most popular methods of manipulating brain waves throughout history is meditation.
Like binaural beats, meditation can be done by anyone, for free, but just requires a bit of patience and practice.
A great starting place is an app called Headspace, where a former Tibetan monk guides you through meditation practices, in his extremely soothing voice.
Editor's note: Like binaural beats, it can take up to a month to start feeling the benefits of meditation. For a quicker-term solution, you should consider brain supplements, such as BrainZyme.
Mind Lab Pro vs. Brainzyme
If you're looking for brain supplements to help you boost your brain, two of the biggest players are Mind Lab Pro and Brainzyme.
Mind Lab Pro is a popular brain supplement produced in the US, whereas Brainzyme is the premier brain supplement specialist in the UK.
Which is better, Mind Lab Pro or Brainzyme?
That really depends on what you're looking for. Mind Lab comes in one variety, and promises to be the 'universal nootropic'.
However, everyone knows that peoples brains react differently to different substances - sure, Mind Lab may work for some people, but if it doesn't agree with you then you have no recourse.
Brainzyme, on the other hand, has a range of three different brain supplements. These allow you to actively choose how you want to think, as each three of the products have a different impact on mood.
Both of these products come from a background of strong scientific research, and I highly recommend that you do your own research into reviews and ingredients to find out which suits you better.
Editor's Note: Brainzyme, not only has a greater range of products, but they are better value for money and with Brainzyme's 100% satisfaction guarantee, you don't need to risk your money to try them out.
Concluding thoughts
All of the above methods can be used to boost your brain effectively and safely. To ensure long-term wellness, we highly recommend that you mix these methods together.
You should always be aiming to eat a balanced, healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet, aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day and employ binaural beats and meditation to overcome stress, help with concentration and generally feel good within yourself.
Additionally, you can maximise your productivity by boosting your focus and energy with advanced brain nutrition from supplements like Brainzyme. They can provide excellent short- and long-term boosts to your brain.
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Thanks for your question, Mauricio.
We ship worldwide, including Spain :)
Do you ship to Spain?