Best Nootropics For Anxiety

Our society has glamorized “stress” and “busy,” making us think it’s normal.

A certain degree of “stress” and “anxiety” is indeed normal.

Anxiety is a normal response to a range of different situations. It allows us to be alert to threats and motivate us to react. However, it can impact your mental wellbeing when you feel anxious every day and can’t remember the last time you felt relaxed.

The following article breaks down anxiety and the best nootropics that help anxiety.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety can affect you both mentally and physically and can present itself with a variety of symptoms. Common symptoms include:

• Feeling nervous, agitated, and angry
• Feeling powerless
• Having a sense of unexplained impending danger, panic, or doom
• Having an increased heart rate (tachycardia)
• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Feeling weak or tired
• Struggling to pay attention and focus
• Sleep disturbances

HPA Axis and Stress Response

Physiologically, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis mediates the stress response.¹Mary Ann C. Stephens, Ph.D.,Gary Wand, M.D. Stress and the HPA Axis Role of Glucocorticoids in Alcohol Dependence, Alcohol Res. 2012

Anxiety is characterized by a dysregulation of the HPA axis ²Gustavo E. Tafet1 and Charles B. Nemeroff Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: The Role of the HPA Axis, Front. Psychiatry. 2020.

Anxiety disorders are often found as a comorbidity with depression ³Zhiguo WU and Yiru FANG, Comorbidity of depressive and anxiety disorders: challenges in diagnosis and assessment, Shanghai Arch Psychiatry. 2014.

Both anxiety and depression are strictly connected to gut health.

70 % of dopamine and 90% of serotonin are produced in the gut ⁴Philip Strandwitz, Neurotransmitter modulation by the gut microbiota, Brain Res. 2019.

Dopamine and serotonin are both neurotransmitters and are both considered “happy neuro chemicals.” They are related to mood and happiness.

Dopamine and serotonin also play crucial roles in sleep, digestion, pain response, and other bodily functions.

This means that what is going on in your gut will affect your mood, anxiety, depression, and focus ⁵Dr. Siri Carpenter, That gut feeling, American Psychological Association. 2012.

Types of Anxiety

There are several different types of anxiety. Let’s look at the five most common ones.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Panic Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Social Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

A long-term condition that causes feelings of anxiety and exaggerated worry. These worries regard a wide range of issues and situations rather than one specific event ⁶Rowa, Karen Antony, Martin M., Generalized anxiety disorder., American Psychological Association. 2008.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder characterized by having repetitive thoughts, behaviors, and urges ⁷Daniel A Drubach, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2015.

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder where unexpected and intense fear is accompanied by severe physical manifestations such as chest pain, sweat, and palpitations ⁸Peter P Roy-Byrne , Michelle G Craske, Murray B Stein, Panic disorder, Lancet. 2006.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

An anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a traumatic event ⁹Heather A Kirkpatrick, Grant M Heller, Post-traumatic stress disorder: theory and treatment update, Int J Psychiatry Med. 2014.

Social Anxiety Disorder

A condition where the subject experiences overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about social situations.¹⁰Falk Leichsenring, Frank Leweke, Social Anxiety Disorder, N Engl J Med. 2017

Common Anxiety Prescriptions Medications 

Treatment for anxiety usually consists of psychotherapy and medications. The most common prescription medications for anxiety include:

• Benzodiazepines
• Antidepressants

Benzodiazepines

A group of sedatives commonly used to treat anxiety disorder ¹¹Malcolm Lader, Benzodiazepines revisited–will we ever learn?, Addiction. 2011.

They work by enhancing the neurotransmitter GABA activity, a chemical in the brain that helps the feeling of calmness.

They also help with sleep disturbances.

Some common benzo’s include:

• Xanax
• Klonopin
• Valium
• Ativan
• Tranxene

Antidepressants:

Antidepressants are also used to treat anxiety, particularly Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

They work by increasing the levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

This chemical affects mood, sleep, memory, sexual desire, and appetite ¹²M Berk, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in mixed anxiety-depression, Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000.

In comparison to benzodiazepines, they have less risk of developing dependence.

Therefore, they are a good option for chronic anxiety.

However, they take up to 4-5 weeks to begin relieving the symptoms, so they cannot be taken at need ¹³M Berk, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in mixed anxiety-depression, Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000.

Some common SSRI’s include:

• Cymbalata
• Effexor
• Pristiq

Things That Make Anxiety Worse

• Unhealthy diet – a large number of studies have demonstrated that an unbalanced and unhealthy diet can significantly worsen anxiety ¹⁴Sophie Dutheil , Kristie T Ota , Eric S Wohleb , Kurt Rasmussen , Ronald S Duman , High-Fat Diet Induced Anxiety and Anhedonia: Impact on Brain Homeostasis and Inflammation, Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016 . Specifically, you should avoid high consumption of processed food containing preservatives, dyes, additives, high sugar, saturated fats, and insufficient Omega 3 intake ¹⁵Carla J Santos , Adaliene V M Ferreira , Ana L Oliveira , Marina C Oliveira, Julia S Gomes , Daniele C Aguiar , Carbohydrate-enriched diet predispose to anxiety and depression-like behavior after stress in mice, Nutr Neurosci. 2018 ¹⁶Elnaz Daneshzad , Seyed-Ali Keshavarz , Mostafa Qorbani , Bagher Larijani , Leila Azadbakht , Association between a low-carbohydrate diet and sleep status, depression, anxiety, and stress score, J Sci Food Agric. 2020.
• Caffeine – Caffeine is a stimulant and should be avoided by those suffering from anxiety. High doses of caffeine are known to induce anxiety symptoms, especially in people who have panic disorder and social anxiety disorder ¹⁷Casey E O’Neill , Ryan J Newsom , Jacob Stafford , Talia Scott , Solana Archuleta , Sophia C Levis , Robert L Spencer , Serge Campeau , Ryan K Bachtell , Adolescent caffeine consumption increases adulthood anxiety-related behavior and modifies neuroendocrine signaling, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016.
• Alcohol and drugs – if you suffer from anxiety, you should avoid overconsumption of alcohol and consumption of drugs. They can both change the serotonin levels in the brain, which can worsen anxiety ¹⁸Justin J Anker , Matt G Kushner, Co-Occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and Anxiety: Bridging Psychiatric, Psychological, and Neurobiological Perspectives, Alcohol Res. 2019 ¹⁹Florence Vorspan , Wajdi Mehtelli, Gaël Dupuy, Vanessa Bloch, Jean-Pierre Lépine, Anxiety and substance use disorders: co-occurrence and clinical issues, Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015. Alcohol-induced anxiety can last for several hours or even an entire day.

Holistic Ways to Improve Anxiety

When anxiety becomes a daily struggle, even before turning to medications, there are many things you can do on your own to feel better. For example, you can try one of these holistic, drug-free remedies, from mind-body techniques to calming teas.

Improve your diet

Start with avoiding toxic foods that trigger anxiety. Eat more protein and good quality fats (e.g., red meat, organ meats, choline-rich foods, Omega 3 Rich Foods)

Exercise

Exercise is a powerful anxiety fighter for many reasons.

It leads to changes in the brain that promote feelings of calm and wellbeing ²⁰Brendon Stubbs , Davy Vancampfort , Simon Rosenbaum , Joseph Firth , Theodore Cosco , Nicola Veronese , Giovanni A Salum , Felipe B Schuch , An examination of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for people with anxiety and stress-related disorders: A meta-analysis, Psychiatry Res. 2017.

Good examples of exercise for anxiety include yoga and strength training.

Both release endorphins, chemicals in your brain that energize your mood and make you feel good (20).

Exercise also doubles as a distraction, allowing you to find some peaceful time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety ²¹Aaron Kandola , Brendon Stubbs, Exercise and Anxiety, Adv Exp Med Biol. 2020.

Breathing exercises

Examples of breathing exercises include meditation, alternate nostril breathing, and EFT tapping.

Several clinical studies have shown how mindfulness meditation, for example, is a promising therapeutic strategy for anxiety and can significantly improve stress reactivity ²²Sy Atezaz Saeed, Karlene Cunningham, Richard M Bloch, Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Benefits of Exercise, Yoga, and Meditation, Am Fam Physician. 2019.

Calming Teas

Chamomille is one of the most commonly used calming tea. For example, more than 150 participants in a clinical study reported that long-term use of chamomille reduced generalized anxiety disorder ²³Jun J.MaoaSharon X.XiebJohn R.KeefecIreneSoellerdQing S.LidJay D.Amsterdam, Long-term chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial, Phytomedicine. 2016.

Tulsi, also called Holy Basil, is an Indian medical plant shown to decrease anxiety symptoms in several clinical and preclinical studies ²⁴D Bhattacharyya , T K Sur, U Jana, P K Debnath, Controlled programmed trial of Ocimum sanctum leaf on generalized anxiety disorders, Nepal Med Coll J. 2008 ²⁵Manavi Chatterjee , Pinki Verma, Rakesh Maurya, Gautam Palit, Evaluation of ethanol leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum in experimental models of anxiety and depression, Pharm Biol. 2011.

Hibiscus is another calming tea with significant anxiolytic effects ²⁶Cláudia Vanzella, Paula Bianchetti, Sabrina Sbaraini, Samanta Inês Vanzin, Maria Inês Soares Melecchi, Elina Bastos Caramão, and Ionara Rodrigues Siqueira, Antidepressant-like effects of methanol extract of Hibiscus tiliaceus flowers in mice, BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 .

Mind Your Gut Health

Now we know that the connection between gut health and mental health is loud and clear. Looking after the microbes living in your gut can be a great way to keep anxiety symptoms at bay. You can do so using probiotics and/or digestive enzymes.

Probiotics – for example, Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum have both been found to be good probiotics for anxiety and overall brain health ²⁷Michaël Messaoudi,Nicolas Violle,Jean-François Bisson,Didier Desor,Hervé Javelot &Catherine Rougeot, Beneficial psychological effects of a probiotic formulation (Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175) in healthy human volunteers, Gut Microbes. 2011 ²⁸Michaël Messaoudi, Robert Lalonde,Nicolas Violle, Hervé Javelot,Didier Desor,Amine Nejdi,Jean-François Bisson,Catherine Rougeot,Matthieu Pichelin,Murielle Cazaubiel,Jean-Marc CazaubielAssessment of psychotropic-like properties of a probiotic formulation (Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175) in rats and human subjects, Cambridge University Press. 2010. You can try MegaSporeBiotic from Microbiome Labs as a complete probiotics supplement.

Digestive Enzymes – life is better when digestion works at its best. For example, a digestive enzyme supplementation, lactase if you are lactose intolerant, improves anxiety ²⁹J Yang , M Fox, Y Cong, H Chu, X Zheng, Y Long, M Fried, N Dai, Lactose intolerance in irritable bowel syndrome patients with diarrhoea: the roles of anxiety, activation of the innate mucosal immune system and visceral sensitivity, Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2014 .

Biohacks

Apollo Wearable – a novel science-backed up wearable device that encourages parasympathetic activity to help you relax and not feel overwhelmed by stress.

Red Light/Infrared Light Therapy – a simple, all-natural modality that harness photobiomodulation to increase energy level and fight anxiety and depression ³⁰Michael R Hamblin, Shining light on the head: Photobiomodulation for brain disorders, BBA Clin. 2016.

The Best Nootropics for Anxiety

1. Mind Lab Pro

The Nootropic Multivitamin

Mind Lab Pro is a preformulated nootropic stack that includes a unique formula of 11 research-backed ingredients.

It works as a whole-brain optimizer that supports overall mental performance. Its combination of powerful nootropics supports a calm mindset and stress management.

Buy Now

2. Magnesium