Reviews

Supplements

A selection of supplements laid out in the kitchen

This is a list of supplements I’ve tried at some point. In general, I don’t think supplements are that useful, especially compared to good habits, but some of them (magnesium, melatonin) have worked well for me.

Magnesium

I take a 500 mg tablet of magnesium almost every day.

Personally, taking magnesium improved my sleep, fatigue, and muscle control, so I suspect that I was deficient in it. This is probably a sign that my diet is unhealthy, but leafy greens are expensive and expire quickly whereas magnesium pills are cheap and have a long shelf life, so I take the pills.

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Ashwagandha

I previously took ashwagandha every day alongside the magnesium because I heard that it could help with sleep. Personally, I didn’t notice any effects from it, so I stopped taking it.

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Melatonin

I took melatonin every night to help me sleep for quite a while, and I found that it worked fairly well. However, I find that I can naturally get tired these days, so I no longer need the melatonin.

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Nicotine

I use nicotine replacement lozenges occasionally (about 10 times per year). However, the lozenges are not meant to be used by non-smokers, and nicotine has health risks, so I don’t necessarily recommend it.

Anecdotally, I find that the lozenges improve my focus and help me relax. This seems to increase my average Anki pass rate from 90% to nearly 92%, so they are a good fit for exams in my opinion. That said, I dislike the taste, they upset my stomach a bit, and I’m aware of the risks, so I only use them in exceptional situations.

Related story: A few years ago, I came across a man in the city who was going through a very bad cigarette withdrawal (cursing, throwing things at people, etc.), so I gave him one of my nicotine lozenges. It didn’t seem to help him much, but I still carry them in my bag in case they’re ever useful in such a situation.

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