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Daily Edition • Monday, July 6

Can Nootropics Really Make You Smarter? Here’s the Science

Young woman wearing headphones and glasses, writing with a pencil at a table with a laptop and glasses of water nearby.

Laura Adai/Unsplash

The Trend: It only takes a quick scroll through WellnessTok to come across nootropics. Marketed as stimulant-free alternatives to caffeine, nootropic supplements promise improved focus and memory, along with a calmer energy boost. Interest has exploded alongside growing concerns about burnout and brain health, with the U.S. nootropics market projected to grow by more than $3 billion over the next decade. L-theanine, ashwagandha, bacopa, lion’s mane, and rhodiola are common nootropic ingredients you’ll find in capsules, powders, gummies, coffees, and sparkling drinks.

What People Are Saying: The pitch is enticing: support neurotransmitters, reduce mental fatigue, improve attention, and even protect the brain as we age. Some ingredients do have promising evidence — L-theanine may promote calm focus, while ashwagandha may reduce anxiety. But in general, experts say that the science doesn’t match the hype. Health professionals also caution that supplements aren’t regulated like foods and medications, so it’s hard to know if labels are ever truly accurate (or if quality is assured).

What to Know: Nootropics aren’t magic potions, but some ingredients may offer modest benefits when backed by good evidence and paired with healthy habits. If you want to try them, look for products with transparent dosing and sourcing, realistic claims, and third-party testing — and remember that sleep, exercise, and a balanced diet remain the most powerful brain boosters we have.

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The Longevity Hack No One’s Talking About — Except Longevity Experts

A man wearing white earphones smiles outdoors against a backdrop of mountains and blue skies.

Courtesy: Nuropod

Your vagus nerve sets how fast your body bounces back from stress — the command center for recovery, sleep, and steady energy. Most people have never heard of it. Fewer know you can train it.

Nuropod does exactly that, through your ear, 15 minutes a day. Across trials at 150+ universities including Harvard, UCLA, and the NHS, it lifted vagal activity 61% and HRV 18%, with users reporting deeper sleep. 60+ studies. 5 million sessions completed. Featured on Netflix’s Don’t Die and worn by Olympic and pro athletes. Try it for 30 days, money back.

See How It Works

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Personal Growth

The Yale Doctor Who Treated War Zone Heat Casualties Has Summer Tips

A woman in workout attire sits on a ledge, drinking from a water bottle, with a scenic ocean view behind her.

Fellipe Ditadi/Unsplash

Cool It: When a Yale emergency medicine professor tells you to drink water the night before a hot day, that’s advice with some real weight behind it. As a retired Army colonel, David Della-Giustina treated heat casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq and has seen heat illness escalate fast. So getting ahead of dehydration before you’re even outside is his number one priority.

How To Do It: Once you’re spending time in the heat, be sure to take a rest as soon as you start feeling off. For example, a headache or a wave of nausea is your body telling you to find shade and get somewhere cool before things get worse. Rethinking your outfit also helps more than most people expect, since lightweight, loose-fitting long sleeves and pants block direct sun absorption better than bare skin.

The Benefits: Heat illness progresses quickly from mild overheating to heat stroke. But the early signals are easy to catch if you’re paying attention.

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Mindfulness

Ancient Brain Cells May Help You Tune Out Distractions

Midjourney

Zeroing In: Scientists have long thought attention was controlled by the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that’s highly developed in humans and primates but far less so in other animals. But if that’s the case, then how are birds, fish, frogs, and other creatures able to focus when searching for food or avoiding predators? Researchers from Johns Hopkins University think they know, after discovering a circuit of inhibitory neurons in the brainstem that’s shared by all vertebrates and acts as a “focus filter.”

The Study: The researchers gave mice an attention task and rewarded them when they focused on a visual cue and ignored distractions. The mice performed the task successfully until the researchers switched off those inhibitory neurons, which resulted in them becoming easily distracted.

The Takeaway: When these neurons were switched off, the mice lost their ability to sift through information to decide which one needed their attention in the moment. Researchers posit this finding could potentially open the door for new targeted treatments for ADHD and autism in the future.

Keep in Mind: The study was done on mice, not humans. More research is needed to determine if human brains would respond the same way.

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Quick Picks

Ease Back In — Here’s what to eat after intermittent fasting.

Shoe Savior — Here’s how people are upgrading their sneakers.*

Crunch Time — The FDA recalled these chip brands over salmonella risk.

Sleep It Off — Could melatonin help relieve chronic pain?

Brain Bites — This simple diet was linked to a 30% lower dementia risk.

^*Indicates a brand partnership

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What We're Cooking

3-Ingredient Frozen Whipped Lemonade

Two cups of creamy lemon mousse with a spoon, accompanied by a slice of lemon, on a patterned plate.

Courtesy: Serious Eats

Serves: 2 | Cook Time: 25 minutes

This frozen lemonade is cold and refreshing like a slushy, yet smooth and airy like soft-serve ice cream. It comes together with just three ingredients (plus ice) — lemon, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk — that balance both creamy silkiness with tangy citrus. Finish with a sprinkle of grated lemon zest for a fresh, bright kick, making it the fluffiest and tastiest way to beat the summer heat.

Get The Full Recipe

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This, Not That

Savory Start

Scrambled eggs topped with green onions alongside two slices of dark bread in a bowl.

THIS

Two golden-brown, flaky chocolate croissants on a sheet of parchment paper.

NOT THAT

Karolina Grabowska/Unsplash, Nicholas Doyle/Unsplash

This: A savory breakfast
Not That: A sugar rush disguised as morning fuel

Try eggs, leftovers, avocado toast, cottage cheese, beans, or a breakfast taco. Sweet breakfasts can be great, but if you’re hungry again an hour later, a more savory, protein-forward start may treat you better.

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HEALTHY HABIT

Add One Color to Your Plate

A full nutrition overhaul can feel like a lot. A simpler move: add one colorful fruit or vegetable to whatever you’re already eating. Toss greens into eggs, add berries to yogurt, throw peppers into a bowl, or slice an orange on the side. Small upgrades count.

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Final Thought

Winding path through grassy terrain with a distant view of Mont Saint-Michel at sunrise.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step

Rafael Peier/Unsplash