Laurence Lee

July 20, 2022 in Supplements

We live in a world with a relentless stream of distractions ranging from social media notifications to workplace email alerts. Keeping your train of thought for just five minutes is hard. These distractions coupled with creeping brain fog, mental fatigue, memory struggles, diminished enthusiasm and high stress levels can significantly hamper your ability to achieve optimal productivity on a day-to-day basis.

Enter nootropics such as Neuriva Plus. Also called cognitive enhancers, brain supplements or smart drugs, they help improve brain function and efficiency. Each nootropic brand has a distinct set of ingredients, which means they do not have identical efficacy. 

Relatively new ones like Neuriva Plus are still somewhat unknown entities. Its novelty does not however imply Neuriva Plus cannot be your first choice. Let’s delve into the product’s strengths and weaknesses and highlight the top alternatives.

What is Neuriva Plus?

Neuriva Plus is a nootropic formulated to improve concentration, focus, memory, new knowledge absorption, logical reasoning and accuracy.

Its clinically-tested and naturally-sourced ingredients support brain health, help you overcome distractions, improve your reaction speed and support your ability to stay focused longer.

It works through a holistic strategy to mind performance that’s complemented by the Neuriva Brain Gym app.

Neuriva Plus is part of the Neuriva brand of supplements that is a component of Schiff Vitamins. Other products in the Neuriva line include Neuriva Original, Neuriva De-Stress and Neuriva Brain + Energy. Schiff Vitamins is a subsidiary of RB Health (US) LLC with some of its better-known brands including Airborne, MegaRed, Digestive Advantage and Move Free. 

RB Health is a division of the 200-year-old, UK-headquartered consumer goods giant, Reckitt (formerly Reckitt Benckiser). Before Schiff Vitamins was acquired by Reckitt in 2012, it was known as Schiff Nutrition, a dietary supplements company founded by bodybuilding legend and entrepreneur Joe Weider. Schiff Nutrition was widely considered the world’s first sports nutrition company.  

Few nootropics can boast of such a rich history, the backing of legendary personalities, a portfolio of recognizable brands and a formidable financial base. Surprisingly, Neuriva Plus falls short of expectations and does not seem to hit the heights of efficacy one would expect. Let’s find out why.

Top Alternatives

The nootropic industry boasts of hundreds of distinct products, each of which could be an alternative to Neuriva Plus. It is not possible to cover all of them here but we consider two worth mentioning — Mind Lab Pro and NooCube.

Mind Lab Pro

  • Speeds up recollection and improves knowledge retention.
  • Amplifies motivation.
  • Improves multitasking.

NooCube

  • Boosts memory and grows cognitive capability.
  • Enriches mental energy.
  • Reinforces concentration.

Other notable alternatives to Neuriva Plus include Vyvamind, Thesis and Alpha Brain.

What Makes These Alternatives a Better Choice

The nature and diversity of nootropic agents in Mind Lab Pro and NooCube are what gives these two cognitive boosters the edge over Neuriva Plus. We will cover the agents that set these two apart in more detail in a section further down. 

In summary though, while Neuriva Plus has phosphatidylserine, coffee fruit extract and some B vitamins, all of which help brain performance in some way, this is a relatively narrow set of agents. Mind Lab Pro and NooCube on the other hand each contain at least 11 proven nootropic agents including l-theanine, l-tyrosine and brahmi herb.

Benefits

Neuriva Plus promises several benefits:

Improve Concentration and Focus

Your level of productivity is directly dependent on your ability to overcome distractions and stay focused on tasks longer. The more time you can spend doing what you need to do, the more likely you are to complete your tasks. Neuriva Plus claims to enhance your concentration and focus.

Better Mind Reaction Speed

How quickly your mind reacts to a situation determines whether you will get things done. Moreover, reaction time can be a lifesaver in dangerous situations. Neuriva Plus’ ingredients accelerate your brain’s reaction.

Enhances Logical Reasoning and Accuracy

Good decision making depends on evaluating the facts to make a logical and accurate deduction. Neuriva Plus’ claims to improve your ability to make rational and correct decisions on the fly.

Ingredients

Neuriva Plus’ ingredient mix and quantity per daily serving is listed below. A cursory glance of the relatively few ingredients show a weaker value proposition compared to many other cognitive enhancers.

  • Phosphatidylserine – 100 mg: Phosphatidylserine is a fatty compound that naturally occurs in the human brain’s cerebral cortex as well as in meat and fish. It is also found in certain plant extracts such as sunflower lecithin, soy lecithin and white beans. 

    Phosphatidylserine has been shown to inhibit mind degeneration, improve memory, enhance thought clarity and magnify mood. It also stifles the production of the stress hormone, cortisol. High levels of cortisol lead to high stress levels.

  • Coffee Fruit Extract – 200 mg: Neuriva Plus contains coffee fruit extract as the patented CognatiQ (previously known as NeuroFactor). The extract’s polyphenols have been shown to increase the amounts of BDNF, an important neuroprotein that supports learning ability, improves memory and enhances cognitive performance.

    CognatiQ is decaffeinated though it is unclear what amount of residual caffeine and other ingredients it contains.

  • Vitamin B6 – 1.7 mg: As pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B6 has long been known to fire up metabolism, regulate blood flow and support red blood cell formation. It has also been found to have important benefits for mind health such as driving neurotransmitter production, slowing down brain aging, improving mental energy levels, elevating mood and enhancing memory.
  • Vitamin B9 – 400 mcg: As folic acid, vitamin B9 supports protein metabolism as well as the formation of RNA and DNA. It boosts red blood cell formation and has long been a fixture of supplements recommended during pregnancy, fetal development and phases of rapid human growth. It enhances brain health while slowing brain aging.
  • Vitamin B12 – 2.4 mcg: As cyanocobalamin, vitamin B12 has been shown to regulate blood flow and support red blood cell formation, as well as slow brain aging, improve mental energy levels, elevate mood and enhance memory.

Key Nootropic Agents Not Found in Neuriva Plus

Neuriva Plus lacks the diverse ingredient mix of leading cognitive enhancers. The following are some nootropic agents that would have made Neuriva Plus a more effective smart drug at par with top alternatives.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Improves concentration and focus.
  • Supports memory efficiency and new knowledge absorption.
  • Boosts mind reaction speed.
  • Enhances logical reasoning and accuracy.
  • Backed by one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies.

Cons

  • A much narrower set of ingredients compared to leading cognitive enhancers.
  • Contains a proprietary coffee fruit extract. Unclear what other ingredients it contains and their quantities.
  • While its coffee fruit extract is decaffeinated, it is unclear how much residual caffeine it contains.
  • No information on how long you must wait before seeing results.
  • Neuriva Plus has to be combined with the good lifestyle practices — sufficient rest, proper exercise and healthy diet.
  • Results depend on each person’s distinct brain chemistry.

Potential Side Effects

Unlike its top alternatives, Neuriva Plus does not claim it has no side effects. This is concerning. 

To its credit though, none of the ingredients has known side effects as long as they are used within the limits of their recommended daily value. Also, Neuriva Plus has only five active ingredients, all of which are clinically tested for human use. This small set of ingredients does lower the risk of side effects.

Still, each person has a unique mix of brain chemicals. That means Neuriva Plus may react differently with different persons. Reach out to your doctor before you use Neuriva Plus. This is especially important if you are under 18, pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or have been diagnosed with a long-term illness such as neurological/psychiatric disorders, heart problems, kidney disease and cancer.

Price and Offers

  • A bottle of Neuriva Plus goes for $49.49. There is a discount for orders of three or more bottles.
  • The supplement only ships within the US and American military/diplomatic addresses overseas. Shipping is free for all Neuriva Plus orders.
  • There is no money back guarantee which is odd for a health supplement. Returns can be refunded only if the bottles are sent back unopened and in original packaging no more than 30 days from the order date.

Conclusion

Neuriva Plus is a Reckitt brand. Any supplement maker would want to have the backing of a multinational consumer goods behemoth. Yet, this does not seem to translate into Neuriva Plus ranking among the best cognitive enhancers in the market. 

Not only does it have a small set of nootropic agents, it also falls short on procedural aspects such as shipping and money back guarantees. There is no commitment on how long you should wait to see results. 

All of this does not necessarily mean Neuriva Plus will not work for you. However, there seem to be better alternatives out there.

Top Alternatives

Mind Lab Pro

  • Speeds up recollection and improves knowledge retention.
  • Amplifies motivation.
  • Improves multitasking.

NooCube

  • Boosts memory and grows cognitive capability.
  • Enriches mental energy.
  • Reinforces concentration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Neuriva Plus work for me?

Neuriva Plus may work for you. Still, with its limited nootropic agents, it does not have the broad capabilities of leading cognitive enhancers.

Is Neuriva Plus safe for me?

Neuriva Plus is made from natural, clinically-tested ingredients. As long as you adhere to the recommended dosage, it is safe.

How long will it take to see results?

It is unclear how long you must wait before seeing results once you start using Neuriva Plus. This stands in stark contrast to a cognitive enhancer like NooCube which promises changes in as little as an hour after taking the first pill.

Are there any side effects from taking  Neuriva Plus?

Neuriva Plus does not purport to have no side effects. This is disconcerting. As a precaution, consult your doctor before you start to take it.

Can I take Neuriva Plus with other nootropics?

Do not use Neuriva Plus simultaneously with other cognitive enhancers. The supplement’s safety has only been evaluated for its ingredients. There are no safety tests on how it interacts with other smart drugs. 

Also, Neuriva Plus contains phosphatidylserine and B vitamins which are common ingredients in many nootropics. Combining it with another nootropic may result in exceeding an ingredient’s recommended daily value. 

In any case, taking multiple nootropics at one go does not do much in helping you know which one works and which one doesn’t.

About the author 

Laurence Lee

Lee is a neuroscientist who has dedicated his career to understanding the inner workings of the brain. He has seen firsthand the power of these supplements in improving cognitive function and believes that more people should be aware of their benefits. In his articles, Lee shares his extensive knowledge on the subject and provides unbiased reviews of different products.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
Subscribe to get the latest updates