The Alpha Brain Lucid Dream Experience: A Review

In this dream experiment, Marzena Bielecka reviews ONNIT's Alpha Brain nootropic supplement for greater mental clarity and lucid dreams.

 

Alpha Brain is a nootropic supplement designed to enhance your brain performance and stimulate acetylcholine production, which can help induce lucid dreaming as a side effect.

I was motivated to try this supplement because of its natural ingredients and beneficial antioxidants. I have always been fascinated by self development techniques and supplements - and I embraced this alternative method to improve my focus during the day and control of my mind at night.

Before I share my results, I'll briefly explain my expectations, which were based on Alpha Brain's product description:

What Are Nootropics?

Alpha Brain is one of a range of modern nootropics - also known as neuroenhancers and memory enhancers. The word derives from the Greek word nous meaning "mind" and trepein meaning "bending". In essence, these emerging "smart supplements" can improve your brain function in myriad useful ways.

In particular, Alpha Brain aims to enhance one or more aspects of your mental performance, such as attention, motivation and memory. This frequently spills over into sleep and the land of dreams.

Alpha Brain contains four particularly noteworthy ingredients:

• AC-11 - The Amazon rainforest is the home of "cat's claw", a plant revered by traditional cultures for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune-boosting properties. After years of research, scientists developed an extraction process to create AC-11, The Rainforest Super Herb. The resulting compound has been shown to repair DNA in clinical studies, and is included in Alpha Brain to help the body improve mental drive and eliminate mental fog.

• Alpha GPC - Glyceryl Phosphoryl Choline is a phospholipid metabolite found concentrated in neuronal membranes. Unlike cheaper forms of choline such as choline bitrartate, Alpha GPC has been shown to be well absorbed, easily crossing the blood-brain barrier. Once delivered, it helps support brain function and learning processes by increasing the synthesis and secretion of acetylcholine. Heightened acetylcholine is linked to memory, focus, mental drive and REM sleep states.

• Huperzia Serrata - An extract from northern firmoss (Huperzia serrata), Huperzine-A is a naturally derived acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitor. It's responsible for the breakdown of acetylcholine, and so by inhibiting AchE, more acetylcholine is made available to the brain. Efficacy has been shown in a range of 200-400 mcg daily, and safety has been demonstrated in trials up to 5 weeks and 600 mcg daily.

• Bacopa Monneira - A herb found in the marshlands of India, Ayurvedic masters have touted its cognitive enhancing effects for centuries. Clinical investigations show that it has strong antioxidant properties and may protect mental function in certain adults, while animal models have provided evidence that Bacopa improves learning skills. Bacosides, the active compounds in Bacopa, play a protective role in the synaptic functions of the nerves in the hippocampus, the seat of memory.

Also included in the patented Alpha Brain formula are: L-tyrosine, L-theanine, oatstraw (Aneva sativa), Phosphatidylserine (PS), Vinpocetine, Pterostilbene, and vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine).

What Are The Effects of Alpha Brain?

So we know what Alpha Brain claims to do. Here are my first-hand results.

This product isn't like the pill from the movie Limitless, where you're suddenly insanely smarter and see the world in a completely different light.

That's total fiction.

During the first night, I admit I thought it was probably a placebo effect, if anything. I took the pill I didn't feel any different. I couldn't remember anything except for the very end of my dream.

But the second day, I dreamed that I was having a conversation with my best friend. It would've seemed like a normal dream, if not for the black and white movie-like setting! We were sitting on an old fashioned sofa, like from the 19th century, just talking, and everything was in grayscale. I've definitely never had a dream like that before.

Now I really started to feel the difference. My brain started to work faster during the day - and also at night.

I noticed my dreams on Alpha Brain were set in beautiful locations. For example, in one dream I was walking around in a beautiful city I had never been to and felt as if I was a real traveller.

So I'm pretty sure Alpha Brain does enhance the way you dream. My dreams were more vivid, exciting and they were easier to remember. But I still would have not been able to control or extend them without my additional lucid dreaming practice.

Although my main goal was to become more conscious of my dreams, I did notice an improvement of my mental capacity during the day, too.

With this in mind, if you decide to take Alpha Brain to enhance your mental performance consider this: find something to exercise your brain - such as working out, reading, writing, or thinking about something that sparks your interest. It would be a waste to watch soaps on TV or deal with petty things!

I can also confirm that Alpha Brain improved my motivation level, focus and multi-tasking ability. For example, when I was watching a documentary I noticed that I absorbed more information and could stay focused for much longer than usual. Even better, lots of random ideas and inspiration I had forgotten about were slowly resurfacing and becoming clear in my mind.

Are There Any Side Effects?

Yes, there was one for me: sometimes I had difficulty falling asleep because my mind was too active and I was thinking about all kind of things. So if you already have difficulty falling asleep you may want to take your capsule earlier in the day, or limit your intake.

Final Thoughts

Alpha Brain had some powerful effects on my waking and dreaming consciousness. Just don't expect a Limitless miracle.

Maybe that's a good thing - because I wouldn't trust any instant solution promising immediate boosts in cognition and memory without undesired side-effects. Your brain is a very delicate organ and independent studies into nootropics are only just emerging, so don't go crazy with it.

Will you have more lucid dreams with Alpha Brain? Yes, I believe it can work but it depends how you channel the effects. I did notice that my dreams were more vivid and I could remember them better. But during this trial I still wasn't able to become aware of being in a dream. This tells me that if you want to control your dreams, supplements should be just one part of your regimen.

If you're doing something creative, you'll surely feel the mental boost from this supplement. If you just sit around and expect extraordinary results, then nothing much will happen. But if you apply yourself and set yourself specific challenges, the results will be noticeable.

In summary, Alpha Brain is for real. However you're not going to become a super genius overnight, the same way you won't become a lucid dreamer without practising. Consider this supplement a helping hand.

 

About The Guest Author

Marzena Bielecka is a travel addict, passionate about self development, mindfulness and conscious dreaming.

She shares her thoughts about personal growth at Wingman Magazine.