Bedtime

research” pills, which Matzner assures me have been tested for purity. After swallowing a yellowish capsule, I feel no different than usual. The flowers on the side of the road look no brighter. Writing this story isn’t any easier. On another day, I test a couple of Nootrobox’s products. Like Nootroo, Rise is mild, but maybe that’s because both require sustained use for their effects to be felt, according to the companies. I test Nootrobox’s Sprint with a colleague on yet a different day, and it gives us a jolt. “Something is definitely happening,” we agree, sitting upright at our desks, typing manically. A few hours later, I feel depleted. Woo says that “everyone has different experiences, but any caffeine crash from Sprint, anecdotally, is much less harsh than with a typical caffeinated product.” Go Cubes gave me a kick, but I prefer cappuccino. I might take them on a hike or on a reporting trip to the middle of nowhere.

Nutrients in both companies’ formulations may be useful, but taking too many of the pills could have adverse effects on heart health and hydration levels, says Lisa Mosconi, director of the Nutrition and Brain Fitness Lab at the NYU Langone Medical Center. She also wonders if taking caffeine in pill form eliminates the beneficial effects of drinking coffee, which studies say can help ward off dementia. “Coffee comes from berries, and the berries of any plant are incredibly rich in” antioxidants, she says. “The problem with supplements is they often focus on just one, or a few, ingredients but lose the synergy that comes with eating the actual food.”

Nootrobox is working with Maastricht University in the Netherlands to test the benefits of Sprint vs. pure caffeine on what Woo describes as a “battery of psychometrics” (reaction time, short-term memory, etc.). In mid-april, Nootrobox announced it’s exploring a partnership with personal-electronics company Jawbone to make an app for wearables that will let users figure out how nootropics affect measurements such as heart rate. For Woo, each step the company takes is in service of ensuring the future relevance of mankind. “What we want to unlock is the next-level thinking that makes us human,” he says. “In a way, it’s almost arming humanity against artificial intelligence and robots.” <BW>