Last updated: October 2023. I’ve posted a few reviews of Nootropics on this blog, and I’ve always used them as part of my method of focusing and getting the best out of myself.
This is my experiences and my review of Mind Lab Pro, the popular nootropic supplement.
I’ve ACTUALLY used this by the way…
Unlike many other nootropic reviews out there, I test these things.
And I work from home, on my own business. I need to FOCUS for hours per day, making videos, podcasting, writing and editing websites.
So I’ll give you a completely unbiased review and opinion of things like Mind Lab Pro.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
For the uninitiated, nootropics are smart drugs which means supplements which aim to improve your brainpower in some way. They can be used for motivation, study, focus or just thinking clearer.
If you prefer a video, watch this:
How do nootropics like mind lab pro work
Nootropics work by altering or boosting certain systems in your brain.
Some will prevent re-uptake of things, some will give you a boost of something (like caffeine) and others will optimise blood flow to your brain so you can think faster.
It’s hard to say how nootropics in general work, because there are just so many different types and they all do slightly different things.
In terms of Mind Lab Pro, it works by optimising your brain, and giving it all it needs to think faster, and more clearly.
The exact ingredients and details can be found here but in this review I’ll cover some honest experiences I’ve had with the nootropic, and how it works long term.
I think this is the first review to cover the long term aspect of using Mind Lab Pro.
There are lots of reviews where the person has clearly not used the nootropic for more than a day or two, but this is going to be a regularly updated journal showing HOW I get on with Mind Lab Pro.
Why I chose Mind Lab Pro
I’ve tried several nootropics and over the years I’ve ben drawn towards nootropics that have BETTER ingredients and that actually work. At first, it was just a case of looking for the cheaper ones, but that’s a mistake.
You’ll find in general, you get what you pay for.
So my search led me to the slightly more pricy Mind Lab Pro, and I have to say.. They’re really good, and the focus I get from them is actually really good.
I’ve tried other nootropics and to be honest, I’ve never REALLY tried an AWFUL nootropic, although there were a LOT of low quality nootropics on Amazon that just.. did nothing.
I think that’s the main down side to nootropics that you’ll find on Amazon and places where there’s lots of competition.
You’ll get the businesses that try and just profit from the trend, by finding cheap ingredients and trying to market it better than the people before them.
That does tend to be quite annoying, and I have wasted a lot of money on nootropics that didn’t work, especially some of the cheaper ones (yet weirdly, highly reviewed ones) on places like Amazon.
That being said, there are also some good nootropics that you can find online, like CILTEP, and to some degree Optineuro (although it’s caffeine based).
Mind Lab Pros side effects?
In terms of side effects, I haven’t found ANY.
I think the dosages they’ve used for the ingredients, and how they’ve balanced everything together has worked really well.
It means that you don’t get any of the issues which you might get with some other nootropics (like stomach upsets).
I’ve ALWAYS had a problem with taking pills on an empty stomach, but for some reason with MLP I don’t have this issue, and I can actually take it several hours after eating and still be fine.
This is strange for me but everyone’s different. I haven’t noticed any side effects in terms of how I feel and how I perform long term throughout the day.
With some other nootropics I have noticed a drop off, a point in the day where I start to really notice myself dropping mentally, and that is still there with this nootropic to some degree.
I found that after about 10 hours of constant focusing and working (with lunch breaks of course!) I wasn’t able to focus for much longer.
BUT that being said, I NORMALLY can’t focus for more than about 2 hours at a time (I get very easily distracted) so it’s still a massive improvement from the control or the usual level of performance for me.
I am also able to sit and write for about 2 hours at a time which is a long time I think, to write solidly for.
Normally I can only write for about half an hour solidly, without moving from my chair. Again, this is just me and it might be different for you.
If you can ALREADY sit and write for say 4 hours, you’ll see a big improvement when you take this.
How long does it take for Mind Lab Pro to work?
I’d say it takes about 10-15 minutes to start to feel the effects, and anything you feel before that is probably just your expectation or a placebo effect.
Here’s the thing:
It can’t be digested and absorbed that quickly, so I think really you should wait 15 minutes or so before asking yourself how you feel.
NOTE: I’ve found the absolute BEST way to get results from this is to hit the ground running.
What do I mean by that?
If you take it and then INSTANTLY start working, then by the time you’ve got into a flow of working, it’s already kicked in and boosting you without you even realising it.
Then before you know it, you’ve been typing to 4 hours and you’ve produced something really good!
It works LESS well if you take it and then sit around waiting to feel the effects. Like I’ve said in countless other reviews, nootropics only work if you do as well.
So the best thing to do, is to have breakfast, set yourself up for the day ideally with some slow digesting energy like oats or a smoothie, and then take a nootropic like Mind Lab Pro.
But as soon as you’ve taken it, try and forget about it.
Try and just start working normally and then before you know it, you’ve been focusing for hours and you look back and think ‘Oh, wow that really did help!’.
That’s what I’ve found anyway.
You’re welcome to try your own ideas with this and experiment, but that’s what I’ve found to work the best.
It’s like when I used to work in an agency, the most productive I could be, was when I would drink a coffee WHILE working.
So by the time I’ve naturally got into my zone, THEN the coffee kicks in and boosts it even more, without me noticing.
WHEN should I take Mind Lab Pro?
As I said the best time for me is actually just after lunch, because then it spreads my mental energy out over the whole day.
But if you’ve got things to focus on first thing in the morning and you really need that boost mentally, then I guess take it first thing just after breakfast.
I like to eat something small like a bit of toast or a smoothie, wait an hour, THEN take MLP.
That’s what gets me those really productive days where I seem to be able to write for hours on end.
The best dosage?
The dosage is a strange thing to talk about.
You see on the side of the bottle they suggest taking 2-4 capsules per day but I actually never follow those suggestions with nootropics.
I just take 1-2 capsules per day, first thing in the morning.
I think part of the reason for that is that I ALREADY have a really good foundation in terms of diet.
I’m almost 100% plant based (I don’t want to say Vegan because you might run!) and I find that just that alone gives me HUGE mental and physical energy.
I also sleep well, and have a clear set of goals that I follow, as well as meditating and exercising every week.
So then when I ADD a nootropic to that already good foundation, it works much better than it might work on the average person who, say, doesn’t have a good diet, doesn’t exercise, and doesn’t sleep well.
For those people, you might need the full dosage of 2-4 capsules, but you might not!
It really depends on what you need, and how your bodies going to respond.
Do what I normally suggest and start with just one, and then the next day try two if you feel like you need it.
I think for the most part, one or two capsules should do the trick, because the ingredients are solid, so you’ll certainly feel the effects.
Long term use and review of Mind Lab Pro
As I said, this post will be regularly updated over time to show my long term effects of this nootropic and how it works on my brain.
I’ve created a video where I talk in a bit more detail about this on my other channel which you can see here:
Make sure to subscribe although that channel is focused on lucid dreaming content and dreams/sleeping usually.
Make sure to bookmark this page if you want to follow along with my long term review of Mind Lab Pro, OR click here to go to their site and order your first bottle.
You can then follow along while also trying it yourself. I’m going to include lots of tips and tricks here going forward, like best way to use MLP and how to make it work better etc.
My experiences with Mind Lab Pro
As I said, I DO get much more focus when I take this. I’ve compared this to other nootropics like CILTEP.
I’d say this (MLP) is easier to take because I don’t have to have food with it, and it seems to have less of a harsh effect on my stomach.
I think going forward I’ll probably take it WITH CILTEP every morning, or maybe take CILTEP every other day or something like that.
It’s certainly now my MAIN nootropic that I use.
I’m able to write for several hours now, and it’s not a limitless pill that lets you do anything, but it works really well for what I need it for.
I’ve been taking it for over a year now, (UPDATE: I wrote a post about my experiences over 6 MONTHS!) but this will be updated going forward and edited to show my latest reviews and experiences.
I‘m also going to be experimenting with combining it with other things like CILTEP in higher dosages to see what the effect of that is.
I’m also learning languages and I want to see what effect nootropics have on language learning as well, so bookmark this page if you’re interested in all of that!
The REAL Limitless pill?
If you’re looking for the real limitless pill, it’s this:
- Sleep well, for 8 hours a night, every single night
- Get up and go to bed in line with when the sun rises and sets
- Meditate every morning and night for at least ten minutes
- Eat a plant based (ideally Vegan) diet, with plenty of variety
- Take a good multivitamin that can be easily absorbed
- Make a list of goals and do only what you WANT to do in life, the things that make you excited to get out o bed every morning
- do all of that, and THEN add in a nootropic like Mind Lab Pro to that, and oh boy.. your life’s gonna be incredible
Where to get Mind Lab Pro
At the time of writing, they’re NOT sold on Amazon because they don’t want to be linked to other, lower quality nootropics so you can only get MLP on their website.
You can also find some options there for saving money like ordering 3 boxes and you get a 4th one for free.
Are there any Mind Lab Pro alternatives?
There are alternatives to Mind Lab Pro, of course.
There are alternatives to every product or nootropic, but the question is, are they better.
This is a big debate because with nootropics, the effects are only reported by the supplements users, so it’s hard to say which one works better.
Especially when more than one nootropic has glowing reviews, and you just can’t decide, so you end up deciding based on price alone.
I would say there ARE nootropics that have an effect, Mind Lab Pro isn’t the ONLY nootropic that works, but it is for me at least, in the top 3.
I’ve tried a lot of these types of supplement, and this along with CILTEP are the best ones I’ve found, that seem to really work.
The only difference being for me that CILTEP is a little harder to digest and I have to take it with some food usually.
This makes the top 3 because not only is it a GREAT formula (just look at the ingredients and the studies that back up each claim) but it has good dosages.
The ingredients work really well together, and it’s the result of a LOT of research.
Other nootropic information
Nootropics is a big topic.
There are lots of things to consider, so here some other articles or reviews of nootropics that might help you:
- What are nootropics? An introduction to how smart drugs work that goes into more detail than the short introduction in this article
- How to become limitless with nootropics: This is an in depth article about using nootropics and becoming limitless in your own life
- NeuroPeak review: Another popular nootropic that I tried for about a month
- Alpha Brain nootropic review: Another nootropic, a bit more expensive but includes some more advanced or lesser known ingredients like Huperzia Serrata (I’d suggest this is for more experienced users)
- Lumonol nootropic review: Another option which is pretty good as an all rounder, but not as high quality maybe as some of the other ones.