Your brain requires many things to operate effectively, including amino acids to support neurotransmitters, fat to maintain membranes, a wide range of vitamins and minerals to support enzymes, as well as numerous chemicals. Should any of those elements become present in sub-optimal amounts then the effects can be significant. Thinking can slow down, memory recall can become difficult and mood can dip. With that context in mind, supplements can play one, or more, of several roles:

• Restore specific deficits. For example, if you’re deficient in B12, magnesium or omega-3, you’ll experience reduced mental performance. Fortunately, addressing these deficits is relatively simple with the right diet and/or supplementation. In most cases this can be done simply and quickly, within just a few weeks [1-3].
• Buffering stress. There are a number of proven herbs and amino acids that can be effective in helping you perform mentally, even when stress or anxiety would normally build up. For example, in the run up to exams, work deadlines, or too many late working sessions. Supplements that can play a role in this area include tyrosine, rhodiola and l-theanine (often in combination with caffeine, either in supplement form, or through beverages such as coffee or tea) [4,5,12].
• Brain health, particularly over the longer-term. There are supplements, or ingredients that are proven to work in maintaining brain health over the longer-term. Phosphatidylserine, circumin and DHA are all widely accepted as being effective in this regard, however, it’s helpful to think of them as effective in providing on-going brain maintenance and performance support, rather than upgrading your brain to a whole new level. They have all been shown to be effective in slowing the rate of age-related decline across a number of multi-year clinical studies [2,7,8].