So I came across information of an interesting nootropic today. Piracetam causes a significant reduction in the rate of cognitive decline in humans, and has been shown to reverse brain damage in rats. In addition, it curse breath holding spells in children (there's an odd discovery if I've ever seen one), increases recall, and decreases cognitive decline-related aggression. You'll also find people across the internet swearing up and down that it increases cognition, but this is unproven.
I've been taking piracetam daily for several years. The stuff is super cheap. I've only spent like $60 on three big tubs of it. I'm about finished with my second tub, and it's lasted me a couple years.
I do think it makes me ever so slightly sharper. I experimented with it a bit when I first picked it up, and I'm pretty sure that I read/write more, retain more information, and draw more connections in thought when I'm taking it. But that was back when I was still in school, wasn't nearly as burned out, and was pushing myself much harder to do more things. Back then, I was taking slightly larger doses than I am now, and trying to get in three doses a day.
I've since stopped taking it with the intention of improving my mental performance or anything like that, though I still think it does. I mainly care about maintaining my mental health, especially since Alzheimers runs so strong in my family. This was my intention all along, but I couldn't help indulging my curiousity in the beginning. I'm now much more casual about it. Whenever I drink a cup of coffee at home, I drop in about 1/4 tsp of the stuff. Very small amount. Usually only once a day. I'm just hoping it will make a difference in the long run, and there's really no reason not to give it a shot. Once again, it's crazy cheap, and...
I can verify that I've experienced no side-effects. Some people get headaches, but that's supposed indicate that you're lacking choline, which is an essential nutrient. I don't think it's ever caused me a headache. Or anything else. Never experienced any sort of withdrawal, and I've stopped taking it for several weeks before. You really don't experience much of anything with it. It's very, very subtle. You only really notice anything when you look back on what you've done with your time, and compare that to what you would have expected of yourself without it. At least that's how it's been for me.
I scoured the internet for information when I first started taking it. The stuff has been around since the 70s, and no long-term side-effects have ever been pinned on it, either.
Piracetam is one of a whole family of chemicals referred to as Racetams, and it is the weakest of them. I may yet give one of the stronger ones a try someday. The next step up is aniracetam, and the experience with that one is supposedly much less subtle. Rob Rhinehart, of Soylent fame, experimented with incorporating that in his formula for a while. He was still working his day job as a software engineer at the time, and he said "it was like the code was writing itself."