Last updated on February 27th, 2020 at 09:52 pm
I recently received some aniracetam from nootropics.com and in this post I’ll be reviewing its benefits, packaging, cost, and overall quality.
Disclosure: I received this product for free to review. However, it has no bearing on its rating. My review is not biased in any way or shape.
Table of Contents
A little background
I’ve tried aniracetam in the past by various different vendors and they’ve all the same effect in terms of benefits. Though, all of them were from high quality vendors. For me, I feel both acute and chronic effects from aniracetam and I’ll be covering them in my log. I should also note that I’m stacking it with the following nootropics and supplements:
- Vitamin D3 – 5000 IU every week day
- Methylfolate – 1000 mcg every 3 days
- Life Extension Two-per-day multivitamin – 1 capsule on Wednesdays and Saturdays
- Modafinil – 100 mg when needed
Log
Day 1
I took 750 mg of aniracetam, or 1 capsule, at about 11 am. I had a typical breakfast, but made sure to get some extra fat. This is important as aniracetam is fat-soluble and thus is better absorbed with a fatty meal.
An hour has passed and I have yet to feel anything, but this is normal for me as it takes a while before it starts working.
An hour and 30 minutes has passed and I’m definitely feeling a calming, anxiolytic effect. A lot of people say that phenibut is anxiolytic but I’ve personally noticed a much stronger effect with aniracetam. The sad thing is that it’s part of its acute effects and goes away with time.
About half the day is over and I can definitely say that it’s made my thinking clearer. I can talk faster and more coherently plus I’m not stumbling nearly as much when trying to find the words I want to say. Most of the effects are gone now. It doesn’t seem to last very longer and that’s why a lot of users take it multiple times a day. But, since I’m logging my long-term benefits it would just be a waste of aniracetam if I took it more than once a day.
The acute benefits of aniracetam:
- Calming, anxiety-killing effect
- Improved mood
- Faster and clearer thinking
- Enhanced focus
Day 5
So for the past 4 days the effects have been consistent, but today I feel them dissipating. I’m only getting a subtle calming effect, but on the other hand my focus has been gradually improving.
The focus-enhancing effects of aniracetam are really interesting. I’ve never felt such an effect from anything else before. And I’ve taken a lot of stimulants and nootropics for enhancing focus.
Day 14
After 2 weeks the effects usually peak and it definitely seems to be the case. I’m getting some strong benefits on focus, memory and learning, and brain fog. But the calming effect is pretty much gone now.
An effect of aniracetam that I really like is the random nostalgia or memories from my childhood. It seems to improve long-term memory. Memories I thought were long gone surface to my consciousness and in vivid detail too. It’s a very nice effect that I rarely get from other nootropics.
As for dosing, I’m still taking 750 mg once in the morning.
Day 30
As expected the effects are beginning to wane. This is usually around the time I cycle off it. From here on out, the effects get weaker and weaker the longer I take it. I’m only getting subtle benefits now, and it’s really not worth the cost to continue taking it. For me, tolerance resets after 2 weeks off of it.
Aniracetam vs Nootropics For Focus
Considering how the strongest effect I feel from aniracetam is its focus enhancement, I thought I’d compare it to other nootropics I’ve taken that have also enhanced my focus. Here’s a table comparing aniracetam’s effect on focus for me vs other nootropics and stimulants I’ve taken.
| Nootropic / Stimulant | Effect on focus | Consistent? | Acute or chronic dosing? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aniracetam | Gives extreme focus. Once I'm focusing on something it's like I teleport into that world and leave the current one behind, but in a good way. I won't lose track of time or my thoughts. | Yes, effects get stronger overtime | Acute is quite subtle but with chronic dosing the effect is very noticable |
| Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) | Enhances focus to a certain degree, but doesn't give tunnel-vision. | No, sometimes the effect is strong and other times it actually worsens my focus | Acute only, never tried chronic |
| Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) | Gives oscillating tunnel-vision, like a roller coaster, probably because it's slow-release | Somewhat, more consistent than dexedrine, but less than aniracetam | Acute |
| Methylphenidate IR | Weird, robotic-like focus. Hard to explain but it kills all thoughts and makes me only focus on the task at hand, with pretty much no spontaneous thinking taking place | No, as with dexedrine it sometimes worsens focus | Acute |
| Methylphenidate Extended-release (Biphentin) | Much like methylphenidate, kills all thoughts and gives a robotic-focus feeling. | Somewhat, but also has a problem of sometimes worsening focus | Acute |
| Rhodiola Rosea | Makes focus feel natural and not forced at all. It enhances focus in such a strong, but subtle way that I don't even notice it. I'll start doing something and before I know it I'm already into a flow. | Yes | Chronic only, effect noticeable after a week to two |
| Modafinil | Weak improvement in focus, but also amplifies it. The longer I do a task, the stronger my focus becomes to the point where I develop tunnel-vision and forget everything else. So overall it's a negative effect | Mostly. If combined with coffee and sleep-deprivation the focus effect is very strong | Acute and chronic both have the same effect in me |
Packaging
During the time I took it, I never had to tilt the bottle to get a capsule as they were always within a finger’s reach.
Safety
The product came in a small box and the bottle inside was sealed with a plastic wrap. Though, this was the only seal. There was no seal on the bottle’s opening, as is the standard in the supplement industry. But, truth be told there’s probably no need as it’s not put on shelfs and tampered with by thousands of hands. The plastic seal on the bottle wraps completely around it so there’s really no way for someone to open the bottle without breaking or damaging the plastic.
That said, it would be nice to have some type of seal on the box. Maybe a plastic wrap like how some tea boxes come in.
Ingredients
On the bottle it lists just two ingredients:
- Maltodextrin
- Vegetable Capsule
Maltodextrin is used as both a filler and an anticaking agent, also known as a flow agent. In this case, it’s most likely used as a flow agent to prevent the powder from clumping together. If the powder is clumpy it’s harder to encapsulate it. Furthermore, rocks of powder may occupy a high volume but in reality are just low-dense formations. Because of these reasons, it’s important to use a flow agent to make sure the capsules have a consistent dose.
Accuracy of label (dose)
Speaking of consistent doses, I wanted to see if the label was accurate or not. Now there’s really no way for me to measure the actual contents of each capsule to determine its contents, but weighing them should suffice in this case. On their aniracetam product page, they list a certificate of analysis done by Ceretropic, a trusted vendor in the nootropics community. And they passed with flying colors.
Regardless, I weighed out about 10 capsules on my digital scale. Needless to say, the weight of the capsules were definitely consistent. Keep in mind that since this is a small weight, there will be some minor and insignificant variations between different capsules. A difference of +/- 100 mg isn’t significant, as long as the weight is greater than 750 mg. Also, my digital scale isn’t the best and multiple tries of the same capsule yielded varying results, but were still insignificant in magnitude.
Raw data
| Capsule | Weight in grams (measured) | Weight in milligrams |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.89 | 890 |
| 2 | 0.82 | 820 |
| 3 | 0.90 | 900 |
| 4 | 0.87 | 870 |
| 5 | 0.93 | 930 |
| 6 | 0.92 | 920 |
| 7 | 0.92 | 920 |
| 8 | 0.88 | 880 |
| 9 | 0.85 | 850 |
| 10 | 0.91 | 910 |
Graphed
Conclusion
Nootropic.com’s aniracetam is the real deal. The benefits I had were similar to my past experiences with aniracetam. From the packaging to the ingredients to the label accuracy, I have nothing but good things to say about this product. My only quarrel is the price as it’s a tad more expensive than the average market price.
| Summary of review | |
|---|---|
| Main points |
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| Recommend? | Yes |
| Overall Rating | |
| View Nootropics.com Aniracetam | |