Content

• 1. What is Phenibut?
• 2. How does Phenibut work?
• 3. Chemistry, Chemistry and again Chemistry!
• 4. Problems associated with low levels of GABA
• 5. What is Phenibut used for?
• 6. Phenibut - the number one nootropic!
• 7. Don’t disregard the dosage notes
• 8. Phenibut pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
• 9. Stacking Phenibut with other nootropics
• 10. How is Phenibut relevant to bodybuilders?
• 11. Clinical studies on Phenibut and GABA

oday I am going to tell you everything you need to know about Phenibut. Are you in for finding out how Phenibut works as a nootropic? Then keep reading.

1. What is Phenibut?

It is so much more than your regular energy drink or cup of coffee. It boosts your brain in a way you can’t imagine. Interested in finding out more? Read the following chapter.

How does Phenibut optimize your cognitive abilities?

It is a powerful nootropic - enough said. It improves your creativity, memory and motivation. It affects the CNS - central nervous system. Our CNS consists of the spinal cord and brain. The brain receives the information and influences the activities of every other part of your body.

What are nootropics?

Nootropics are responsible for improving cognitive functions like executive functions in healthy people. Executive functions are part of cognitive processes that you need for the cognitive control of behavior. You select and monitor your behavior in order to achieve some goals you find important. Executive functions include cognitive inhibition, working memory, attentional control and cognitive flexibility.

There are also higher-order executive functions where you need to simultaneously use more basic executive functions. These functions include fluid intelligence - reasoning and problem-solving.

What is Phenibut’s secret?

Since it is an analog of the GABA (inhibitory neurotransmitter), if you want to increase GABA levels in the brain, Phenibut can do it. It can cross the blood-brain barrier and GABA as a supplement can’t.

Now, what is the blood-brain barrier?

It is mainly made up of an endothelial cell layer and it is in charge of controlling which substances enter or leave your brain. Actually, it protects your brain from substances that could harm it.

Anyway GABA keeps glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitter) from making you feel overwhelmed. It restricts the neuron circuit when you are under stress. If your levels of GABA are low you might develop anxiety, poor mood, restlessness, and insomnia.

So, regulating your GABA level with Phenibut can help you relieve stress and anxiety, and help you feel focused and relaxed.

What are brain waves?

Brainwaves represent electrical impulses in your body. Your emotions, thoughts and behaviors are communicating between neurons in your brain. So when a mass of neurons is communicating with each other they produce brain waves by synchronised electrical pulses.

Your brainwaves happen at various frequencies. Some of them are slow and others are fast.

You must have heard their names - delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma waves.

These are their classic EEG band names.

Your brain waves are measured in cycles per hertz or second.

Delta brainwaves are the ones we have when we are sleeping. They are the slowest and have the highest amplitude.

Theta brainwaves are the ones we experience when we daydream, and have a so-called spacey state of mind. They happen when we are mentally inefficient. They are also very slow, and when we are experiencing them we are in a super relaxed state. This state is like the one between sleep and waking up.

Alpha brain waves are connected to being relaxed and our brain is just waiting to respond when we need to. They are larger and slower. Alpha brain waves happen when we just simply close our eyes and start imagining something nice and relaxing.

Beta brain waves represent the state when we are alert. They are faster and smaller. They happen when we are intellectually active and focused on what we are doing.

Gamma brainwaves regulate consciousness and perception. They are the fastest and the most subtle ones.

We all have some level of each brain wave band present at every time. They are just present at different parts of our brain. For example, delta brain waves will kick in when our brain wants to chill out. If we are getting sleepy that means that delta and theta brain waves are occupying us. When we are not paying attention to what is going on outside and we are daydreaming, then more theta waves are there. But, if we are super tense and anxious then the frequency of beta brainwaves are super high.

People who suffer from learning disabilities, head injuries, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, stroke, epilepsy and chronic fatigue syndrome have slow waves. When these slow waves are largely present in frontal (executive) part of the brain, people can’t control attention, emotions and behavior. These people have problems with memory, focusing, impulse controlling, mood and they are hyperactive. They suffer from lowered intellectual efficiency.

Anyway in this story, we are interested in Alpha and Beta brain waves. Find out how they are important when we talk about Phenibut.

GABA is also responsible for decreasing Beta brain waves and increasing Alpha brain waves.

Even though Beta brain waves make you concentrate, stay attentive and alert, too much concentration especially when you are stressed, can result in anxiety, insomnia, depression and even more stress.

When you are alert, you stimulate both Alpha and Beta brain waves. But it all depends on the type of alertness. If you are stressed you will produce Beta brain waves.

When you are alert during Alpha waves you are relaxed. So, GABA works for you here, because you won’t feel stressed, but you’ll be more than productive.

So, when you use Phenibut instead of GABA supplements you increase the GABA levels in your brain. This is all possible because as I said, Phenibut can cross the blood-brain barrier, while GABA supplements can’t.

How can Phenibut affect you?

Even though Phenibut is usually compared to alcohol, that’s completely wrong when regarding effects. Alcohol does affect the GABA receptors, but in a totally different way than Phenibut.

When you drink alcohol it makes you feel mentally and physically slow. The only similarity with Phenibut is that alcohol can help you to become more relaxed in social situations, but that’s all.

On the other hand, Phenibut can really help you in different situations than just social.

• You will do better at exams, studying and similar.
• Your focus will improve, so you will be more productive at work.
• It will help you sleep better because your brain needs to rest.
• It will help you to deal with social anxiety.
• You will generally feel more driven.

So, as I said there are some similarities between alcohol and Phenibut, but when you take Phenibut you don’t experience the lack of coordination and concentration. Just the opposite - with Phenibut your mental skills get sharper, you focus better, and you feel super relaxed and calm at the same time.

Want more? Read the following chapter to find out about the Phenibut mechanism of action.

2. How does Phenibut work?

It’s all about the ‘chemistry’ in your brain. Phenibut can really work awesomely in different situations.

Phenibut and GABA

Phenibut is effective at reducing anxiety and increasing sociability. It has a specific nature because it’s an analog of GABA – gamma-aminobutyric acid. GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.

It is a chemical in the brain that controls the impulses between the brain’s nerve cells. GABA makes you feel relaxed as opposed to glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter and makes you feel active.

You can take GABA as a supplement, but that won’t be so effective, because GABA can’t cross the blood-brain barrier. Phenibut can cross it and it binds to GABA receptors which makes it more powerful.

When you intake Phenibut it activates GABA receptors in your brain and you start feeling more relaxed and your anxiety is reduced because your neural activity is reduced.

Phenibut has another powerful effect on the brain – it stimulates dopamine receptors.

Dopamine is an awesome brain chemical that makes you feel good. When you use Phenibut to increase dopamine you will experience feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. Add to that the effects on GABA and you will get a combination of reduced anxiety and a feeling of euphoria.

More on dopamine - the potent neurotransmitter!

This super neurotransmitter is created in different parts of your brain. It is in charge of moving, attention, thinking, mood and motivation. It also bears the name of the seeking chemical - because of it you want to search, desire and want. It increases your arousal but also it makes you goal-directed.

At its core, dopamine has two systems - the liking and the seeking one. It boosts you to take action. The liking system makes you stop because you feel satisfied. But the seeking system is more powerful - it drives you to always want more.

Let’s cover chemistry

Dopamine is produced in two steps. Firstly it changes tyrosine (the amino acid) into dopa and next into dopamine. It is a powerful neurotransmitter which means that it is released by neurons to signal other nerve cells.

Your brain actually has two dopamine pathways. One is that it motivates you to anticipate rewards. When you are in a state of anticipation, the level of dopamine rises.

The other pathway is in charge of motor control like movement for example.

One important fact about dopamine - it is broken down by a set of Enzymes. But when you take Phenibut, this process is inhibited and your mood lifts and you feel a strong euphoria.

One more thing I will tell you in this chapter is:

How do you feel when you take Phenibut?

Well, perhaps the best thing about Phenibut is that when you take it you feel relaxed.

When GABA levels are balanced you feel calm. The problem is that many people claim that when they take GABA as a supplement, they don’t experience the effects. This is because GABA is too large to cross the blood-brain barrier.

If you take GABA supplements and feel the relaxing effect after half an hour, something is wrong. You could have a “leaky” blood-brain barrier, and that is alarming. If GABA can break the barrier so easily, then other stuff can also get through. This stuff could include toxins, food particles or other things from your bloodstream that don’t belong in your brain.

Anyway, when you add Phenibut to your stack it relieves anxiety, you don’t feel so much stress and you feel relaxed.

Phenibut could help you in social situations. You feel less inhibited, you speak freely and you feel more confident. It can also help you sleep better.

Moreover, Phenibut enhances your mood. It possesses anti-depressant (thymoleptic) characteristics and reduces fatigue and irritability. Phenibut is generally used to help with the asthenic-depressive syndrome.

Alcohol has a similar mechanism of effects. But it is a downer, while Phenibut is neither upper nor downer. When you take Phenibut you are calm and focused, but you don’t experience jitters of caffeine or the mind cloudiness of alcohol.

Phenibut’s half-life is 5.3 hours. But you can easily feel the effects throughout the whole day. This is because Phenibut stimulates GABA receptors long after your kidneys have excreted all of it.

There are also reports from athletes who say that Phenibut works for them when they work out. This is because it boosts Human Growth Hormone, and enables you to work out without getting tired quickly, your energy level is higher, recovery time is faster and your muscles don’t go so sore.

Pretty awesome, don’t you think?

Just be careful and don’t go overboard!

It takes 2 to 4 hours before Phenibut kicks in. Never increase the dose or take an additional dose that day, if you think that nothing is happening. Wait at least 24 hours!

3. Chemistry, Chemistry and again Chemistry

I don’t know your opinion on Chemistry, but if you want to fully understand what Phenibut is, we need to talk about it.

Let’s get rocking!

Phenibut is an aromatic amino acid (AAA). This means that it includes an aromatic ring. These kinds of acids absorb ultraviolet light and produce fluorescence. This can be used in quantitative analysis, and it determines the concentration of amino acids in solutions.

Phenibut is synthetic, which means that it is made by the reaction of other compounds.

Another characteristic of Phenibut is that it is a chiral molecule. This means that it can’t be superposed on its mirror image even if it is rotated, translated or changed in a different way. It exists in two stereoisomers that are the same when looked at in the mirror. So, they are different as right-handed and left-handed. Both of them have the same properties regarding chemistry, but they react differently with other chiral compounds. They have the same physical characteristics but they have opposite optical activities.

That’s why Phenibut has two potential configurations – (R) and (S)-enantiomers.

What’s the molecular formula of Phenibut?

It is as follows:

C₁₀H₁₃NO₂

When we break down the formula we see that it has

• 10 Carbon atoms
• 13 Hydrogen atoms
• And Nitrogen Dioxide

According to its chemical structure, Phenibut is called Beta-Phenyl-Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid.

It is butyric acid because it has 4 atoms of Carbon in its basic chain.

Want to find out more?

Okay, let’s look at the ratio-structural formula of Phenibut.

As you can see, it has a phenyl ring which makes Phenibut specifically the analog of GABA. The ring is substituted at the beta-position. This means that without the ring it becomes GABA or aminobutyric acid.

Why is the phenyl ring so valuable?

The phenyl ring is super important because it allows Phenibut to cross the blood-brain barrier.

When scientists incorporated a phenyl ring into the GABA molecule, they expected that the entry of the molecule would be improved. They proved that Phenibut penetrated the blood-brain barrier much better than GABA. Afterward, other scientists observed the effects of â-phenyl derivatives of GABA on stimulated firing cerebral neurons on cats. The derivatives reduced the firing rate of the neurons. Baclofen was the most powerful compound, but only 0.7 times as strong as GABA. The action of derivatives lasted shorter than that of GABA.

Also here is where qualitative differences between GABA and Phenibut were observed. Phenibut doesn’t possess anticonvulsant activity, while GABA does.

This study also compared the pharmacological effects of phenyl derivatives of GABA. It was demonstrated that within the three derivatives, Phenibut had the strongest sedative and hypothermic characteristics. Phenibut was also the strongest in stimulating the activity of anticonvulsants. Phenibut's hypothermic effect was independent of the way of administration. This means that Phenibut affects the central nervous system directly.

Anyway, in plain words, Phenibut can easily cross the blood-brain barrier because on beta carbon atoms the hydrogen atom is substituted with the phenyl group (the ring). This phenyl ring becomes the chiral center and optical isomer. This characteristic allows it to bond to a receptor.

This means that when you take Phenibut your brain cells feel relaxed and you reduce anxiety, and you don’t cloud your mind.

Phenibut is related to other analogs of GABA such as baclofen 4-fluorophenibut tolibut , pregabalin, gabapentin, and GABOB.

The only difference from baclofen is that it has a hydrogen atom instead of a chlorine atom at the para position of the phenyl ring.

A glutamate-derivative analog of Phenibut is glufimet.

What is the role of the carboxyl group?

In another study, pharmacological effects of methyl- and ethyl esters of Phenibut were tested. Both esters had similar pharmacological effects as Phenibut. Ethyl ester showed a more powerful effect in lowering motor activity, decreasing temperature and enhancing anesthetics than Phenibut itself. Both esters didn’t have anticonvulsant activity - the same as Phenibut.

The length of the carbon chain between amino and carboxyl groups is also significant.

When amino acids have a longer carbon chain than GABA they have a strong excitatory action. On the other hand, those with shorter chains act as depressants and are stronger than GABA. In other words, the cationic charge controls the inhibitory effects and the anionic charge determines the excitatory effects.

Hope you understand the chemical structure of Phenibut and the mechanism of its action more, now that you read this chapter. But the story doesn’t end here. In the following chapter, you will find out about the Phenibut’s actual usage.

4. Problems associated with low levels of GABA

You definitely don’t want to be in a state where your GABA level is low. Let’s talk about it in more detail.

First, we will start off with the research that investigated how using GABA can bring relaxation and immunity while people are under stress. The researchers tested the effect of GABA on brain waves in 13 healthy individuals.

Brain waves were measured with an electroencephalogram (EEG). The subjects took water, GABA or L-Theanine, and then were subjected to measuring. When compared to water and L-Theanine, GABA greatly increased Alpha waves and lowered Beta waves. This happened 60 minutes after administration.

So, the conclusion is that GABA stimulates relaxation and lowers anxiety. And you can successfully increase brain levels of GABA with Phenibut.

What about the problems of low levels of GABA?

Well, this is definitely not good. A lot of serious issues are connected to low levels of GABA. Some of them are developing anxiety, stress, PTSD, insomnia and panic attacks. Other health problems include muscle spasms, convulsion, epilepsy, hypertension and Tourette’s Syndrome.

Some physical problems also appear like wrinkles and dry skin, poor digestion, flatulence, constipation and bloating.

All in all, when GABA and other neurotransmitters are in balance, you feel energetic, productive and motivated. While you are not working for example you feel relaxed and calm.

On the other hand, when your GABA levels are low you are always worried, your thoughts are racing, you are always late and have problems with organization.

In order to quickly feel a little better, people with low GABA levels turn to drugs, alcohol and food rich in carbohydrates (comfort food).

How can Phenibut help?

It works as a rescuer. Since Phenibut is an analog of GABA, and it has a phenyl ring, it can easily cross the blood-brain barrier. It crosses it much more easily than when you take GABA as a supplement.

You need a balanced level of GABA because it’s an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This means that when you increase the levels of GABA with Phenibut you keep glutamate under control.

GABA and glutamate must be in balance if you want to be cognitively healthy. GABA relaxes you and Glutamate stimulates you to be attentive, to stay awake and to learn.

When these two neurotransmitters are imbalanced, serious health issues can arise like, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, poor cognition and memory, depression and anxiety.

So, when you add Phenibut to your nootropic stack, you can balance GABA and glutamate. The result is you feel relaxed, you don’t feel anxiety or stress. What’s even more important, you get a healthy night’s sleep.

5. What is Phenibut used for?

As a pharmaceutical drug, Phenibut can be used in treating different disorders and conditions.

Let’s cover how Phenibut works here.

Treating anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion that provokes inner turmoil and it is often followed by nervousness like pacing back and forth, somatic problems, and rumination. People who experience anxiety dread events they are expecting to happen.

People feel worried and unfocused and they overreact to a problem that is usually only subjectively seen as threatening.

They feel muscular tension and fatigue, they can’t bread, they feel tightness in their abdomen and they have problems concentrating.

This unpleasant emotion is related to fear. However, fear actually represents a response to a real threat, while anxiety is felt when expecting future events that seem dreadful.

Even though doctors consider anxiety as a normal response if it goes too far and lasts too long it is diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder lasts for 6 or more months, it is persistent and really leaves consequences to people’s minds and bodies. Some people will even start avoiding situations that provoke anxiety – it can simply be going out of the house.

Psychopharmacological treatment generally works well in the case of anxiety disorder. These drugs can be selective serotonin or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. They work as blockers of the reuptake of neurotransmitters and increase their availability. Other drugs provoke an anxiolytic response by balancing GABA and boosting its receptor binding.

Phenibut to the rescue!

So, Phenibut really works great in treating this condition. It behaves as a GABA-mimetic, primarily at GABA(B) and, to some extent, at GABA(A) receptors. When you intake Phenibut it activates GABA receptors in your brain and you start feeling more relaxed and your anxiety is reduced because your neural activity is reduced.

How can Phenibut help you sleep better?

We all know that fighting against depression, stressful life, anxiety, going through hormonal changes in menopause isn’t easy. These conditions can really interfere with your sleep quality, and if you don’t sleep well, you can’t function well. The poor quality of sleep can even lead to insomnia.

Melatonin plays a crucial role in having a good night’s sleep and can be a beneficial supplement for sleep improvement, sometimes it can’t help if the situation is serious. You might need pharmaceutical sleep aid for getting more sedated and induce sleep.

If you don’t sleep well for a longer period of time, you can develop difficulties in cognitive processing which in turn opens the way to even more anxiety and prolongs sleep disturbances.

When you use Phenibut consciously, it promotes quality and healthy sleep patterns. It is an awesome supplement that can help you bring back your natural sleep patterns. It can help you sleep better and longer. Phenibut can really improve your quality of life because you will be able to fall asleep, maintain a longer period of rejuvenated deep sleep, and feel great in the morning.

How can Phenibut help you sleep better?

First and foremost it collaborates with the parts of your brain that regulate feelings of calmness and relaxation. More precisely, the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate influence your ability to have a good night’s sleep and rest in general. Alcohol can also influence you to feel more relaxed but it results in nasty hangovers.

So, different chemical substances influence your brain but not in the same ways. As I said, both Phenibut and alcohol do interact with GABA receptors, but they do it completely differently. Phenibut doesn’t provoke that feeling of disbalance as alcohol does, but it really helps you to calm down, fall asleep and rest.

Phenibut can help reduce fatigue

When it comes to fatigue and feeling absolutely tired like you can’t go on anymore, Phenibut can help you here because it reduces fatigue by 30 to 50%. There were some clinical trials that involved people with poor brain blood flow and chronic tiredness. These trials actually proved that Phenibut reduced mental fatigue and boosted motivation. It was all about the fact that when you increase your cognitive functions you decrease mental fatigue.

In another study that involved children with anxiety and emotional fatigue, Phenibut reduced emotional problems in almost 70% of cases.

Stay on the safe side!

In the end, I just must remind you to start slow and use the lowest effective dose. Everyone is an individual, so everyone has different physiology. Don’t rush with increasing the dose if you don’t feel the desired effects right away. Just pay attention to how your body reacts to the lowest safe dose, and start from there.

Phenibut can be used to treat insomnia

This fact is based on a study that actually involved using Gabadone (a combination of GABA and 5-hydroxytryptophan) and a placebo. A random 18 patients with sleep disorders took part in this research. There were two groups - one received the placebo and the other Gabadone. There was a huge difference between these two groups. The results showed that the group that took Gabadone was able to fall asleep faster, have a better quality of sleep and stay asleep longer. The placebo group was less successful.

Some people claim that when they take Phenibut to improve their sleep, they report similar effects as Gabadone.

How about helping with depression?

Depression represents aversion to activity and low mood. It is a serious condition because it can affect people’s behavior, motivation, thoughts, feelings. People with depression lose interest in everything or they lose the feeling of pleasure. It may include feelings of sadness, difficulty in concentration and thinking, decrease or increase in appetite and sleeping time. Also, people with depression may feel dejected, hopeless and sometimes can have suicidal thoughts.

So, Phenibut comes to the rescue here once more.

As I’ve already mentioned it is an analog of GABA, and it has a phenyl ring. It can easily cross the blood-brain barrier. It crosses it much more easily than when you take GABA as a supplement.

You need a balanced level of GABA in order to lower the feeling of depression. This means that when you increase the levels of GABA with Phenibut you keep glutamate under control.

GABA and glutamate must be in balance if you want to be cognitively healthy. GABA relaxes you and Glutamate stimulates you to be attentive, to stay awake and to learn. When they are unbalanced you may suffer from depression.

So, when you add Phenibut to your nootropic stack, you can balance GABA and glutamate. The result is you feel relaxed, you don’t feel depressed so much.

Phenibut can help with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

This is a mental disorder that develops due to exposure to a traumatic event. These events are threats to a person’s life. People who suffer from PTSD may experience disturbing thoughts, dreams or feelings that are related to the traumatic event. Also, they may have mental or physical distress, they alter the ways they feel or think and they increase the flight-or-fight response. These symptoms won’t disappear so easily. People with PTSD are at high risk of intentionally harming themselves or committing suicide.

In the case of PTSD, Phenibut can help the same way as it helps relieve depression or anxiety. Since people with PTSD are in a high state of nervousness and under a huge level of stress, their GABA levels are pretty low.

So by taking Phenibut they increase the levels of GABA with Phenibut you keep glutamate under control.

So, when they add Phenibut to their nootropic stack, they can balance GABA and glutamate. The result is they can feel more relaxed, and even more importantly, they can have a good night's sleep.

Phenibut can help relieve stress when stammering

This is a speech disorder where the flow of speech is disturbed. These disturbances are involuntary repetitions and prolongations of syllables, words, phrases or just sounds. They can also be in the form of involuntary silent pauses or blocks. People who have this disorder tend to hesitate or pause before they speak. Usually, it’s the repetition that represents the main concern of people who stammer.

Stammering can severely impact people’s functioning and emotional state. They are usually scared of having to enunciate specific consonants or vowels, or they fear being caught stammering in social situations. So, they develop anxiety, shame, low self-esteem and stress. They also feel as if they lose control while they speak.

Stress and acute nervousness are not the cause of stammering. But they can trigger it. If untreated, people can develop anxiety and chronic stress and nervousness.

Helping with anxiety and stress connected to stammering with Phenibut can be effective if done with the proper dose. Again, Phenibut keeps GABA and glutamate under control and balanced. GABA relaxes people who stammer and helps them to lower their anxiety levels. If they feel less under stress they can continue with their everyday life more easily.

Can Phenibut improve ADHD?

The basic characteristic of Phenibut that could help with ADHD is that it improves attention.

How do we know this?

Well, there was a clinical trial conducted that showed that Phenibut increased attention, improved cognition and self-control. It also improved memory. There were 50 children with ADHD who participated in this trial. The research lasted for a month, and after that month all these cognitive abilities that I mentioned were improved. A dosage between 500 to 700 mg a day was used.

However, one month is not enough to evaluate ADHD effects, so longer studies need to be done in order to be sure that beneficial effects can be sustained.

6. Phenibut - the number one nootropic

As I mentioned before Phenibut can be used as a cognitive enhancer, again because of its effects on the central nervous system.

Do you want to improve your learning capacities?

Read the following facts.

Nootropics - colloquially called smart drugs and cognitive enhancers, are supplements that are claimed to improve cognitive functions, executive functions, memory, motivation, creativity in healthy people.

Let’s describe these cognitive functions in details

Cognitive skills

Also called cognitive functions, cognitive capacities or cognitive abilities, are connected to brain skills, needed for learning, manipulation of information, and reasoning. They represent the mechanism of how people learn, remember, solve problems and pay attention. So, they are in the range of perception, memory, attention, learning, and decision making.

Executive functions

Referred to as cognitive control, they represent the set of cognitive processes which are needed for the cognitive control of behavior. This means that you use these processes to behave in a way that will accomplish your chosen goals.

Executive functions are a part of processes such as attentional control, inhibitory control, cognitive inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.

Motivation

It’s a reason we take action. The very word is derived from the word motive-need that requires satisfaction.

Motivation is one of the biggest reasons we move forward. It is responsible for our need to master an instrument or sport.

Who has the best results of using Phenibut?

Well, of course, students are in number one place. In one study 35% of college students claim to use stimulants for enhancement of academic performance rather than as a recreational drug.

I must point out here that in order to use these stimulants you must be healthy. That’s an imperative!

Working memory has a limited capacity and holds information temporarily. It’s important for reasoning, decision-making and behavior.

Also, it improves memory consolidation which improves information recollection.

Memory consolidation is a process that stabilizes a memory after its initial acquisition.

One more thing it boosts task saliency (motivation to perform a task) and performance on time-consuming tasks that need a high degree of effort.

Motivational salience is a cognitive process in a form of attention that motivates you to go towards or away from a specific object, event or outcome. It pushes you to achieve a certain goal, spend time and energy in order to do it, and also how much risk you are willing to take while working towards that goal.

Phenibut is actually GABA with a phenyl ring and this ring allows Phenibut to reach the receptors in your brain. It then boosts your mental activities and clears your thoughts.

How do you take Phenibut?

Since Phenibut is a powerful nootropic, you need to start with the lowest effective dose and pay attention to how you react to it. If you are a first-timer then a dose of 250 mg is a safe starting point.

Phenibut can easily build up in your body so never take the next dose until a reasonable time in between. When you take Phenibut it kicks in after around 45 minutes and its peak is around two hours after you consummated it.

Avoid taking Phenibut every day and avoid increasing the dose. Its effects can last from 48 to 72 hours, so take it every 3 days. Use it in cycles to avoid building up a tolerance. If you take 250 mg of Phenibut and don’t feel the effects then this is a good sign to cycle it off for two weeks.

Stick to the recommendations and you are good to go.

7. Don’t disregard the dosage notes

Since Phenibut is a potent Nootropic, you need to be cautious about the dosage especially if you are just starting to use it.

Read the following chapter, to find out how to properly use Phenibut.

What is the recommended dosage?

When you start using Phenibut, do it with caution. There are several factors you should consider.

Your age, your body weight, your general health, and your other health issues.

Well if you are a beginner, the daily dosage is between 200 and 300 mg. This dosage is used for calming effects and relaxation. It needs about 2 to 4 hours to start kicking in.

If you are more experienced with using Phenibut, the dosage could be between 1 and one and a half grams per dose.

VERY IMPORTANT: Use it 3 times a week the most.

Don’t go over that. You can quickly build up a tolerance to this Nootropic, so taking a smaller dosage is highly recommended. It is even advised to use Phenibut just once or twice a week. This way there are usually no side effects or hangovers the next day.

Never overlook the recommended dosage, because Phenibut can be really addictive for some people. You don’t want to deal with withdrawal, because it can get really unpleasant.

Never go overboard with Phenibut. Use it in cycles - 3 to 4 days a week, and then take a break for a few days. Or use it just once a week.

WORD OF ADVICE: Never combine Phenibut with alcohol or benzodiazepines.

In order to see how your body reacts to Phenibut start with a low safe dose. Everybody reacts differently, so pay attention to any changes or effects you are experiencing. You can feel effects more intensely than others so stay alert.

What’s the max dose?

You don’t want to go beyond the maximum dose of 1000 mg or 2000 mg a day. Use it responsibly. Phenibut or other similar products that stimulate GABA can cause lowered responses to the signals from CNS. So if you take too much you can experience low breathing and heart rate, sweating or dizziness.

• If you are a first-timer, use the smallest dose (250 mg)
• Don’t take more than 1500 mg in one day.
• Don’t take it more than three times a week.

How can you take Phenibut?

Phenibut can be taken in powder or capsules. The powder is water soluble so mix it with water and take it on an empty stomach. If you take it with food the effects will be delayed. Wait at least 45 minutes before you eat. This way you will allow Phenibut to work properly.

When you mix it with warm water the crystals will dissolve much faster and enter your bloodstream quickly.

You can also take it sublingually. This means that you put it under your tongue and it absorbs and enters your bloodstream much faster.

If the dose you are taking doesn’t work anymore and you start thinking that maybe it’s time to increase it -DON’T! This means that you are becoming tolerant of it so stop using it for a week or two.

If you overuse Phenibut then you must taper the dose over time. It’s not a good idea to stop using it abruptly, because you might experience some nasty withdrawal symptoms.

8. Phenibut Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics

Do you want to find out how Phenibut acts? Read the following chapter.

Okay, first let’s describe these two actions.

Pharmacodynamics represents the response of your body to some drug. It deals with the relationship between the drug concentration while at action and the results of the action.

Pharmacokinetics is, when we describe it in plain words, what your body actually does to the medicine.

Combined together, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics explain the correlation between the dosage and reaction, for example how the drug affects your body.

So let’s return to explaining how Phenibut acts.

It acts as a full agonist of the beta-GABA receptor. A Full agonist means that it binds to and activates a receptor and it maximally responds to what an agonist can elicit at the receptor. (S)-Phenibut has a low affinity for the GABA receptor. Therefore it can be used at higher dosages. Since it has low-affinity binding it involves less attractive force. (R)-Phenibut has a high affinity for the GABA receptor and therefore it is the active enantiomer of the GABA. When it is in high concentration, Phenibut acts as an agonist of the GABA.

Phenibut binds to and blocks alpha2beta subunit that contains VDCCS voltage-gated calcium channel blocker). Therefore it’s a gabapentinoid. (S) -phenibut and (R)-phenibut have a similar affinity when performing this action. They both don’t bind significantly to the GABAbeta receptor. The real mechanism of action of Phenibut is as a subunit-containing VDCCs. This also explains the difference between Phenibut and baclofen. The latter has minor activity as a gabapentinoid.

Next, let’s cover

Pharmacokinetics

There isn’t much information about the clinical pharmacokinetics of Phenibut. It is well-absorbed, and distributes widely throughout the body and easily crosses the barriers in the blood and the brain. A dose of 0.1% of Phenibut penetrates the brain, more easily in young people than the older ones. In research that included healthy volunteers, a single 250mg of the dose was administered. This research showed that Phenibut’s elimination half-life was 5.3 hours. The drug was largely excreted in the urine.

9. Stacking Phenibut with other nootropics

We all have days that are super stressful. I’m sure you know what I mean. So, if you want to find out how you can boost the benefits of Phenibut with other compounds read the following chapter.

From the introduction, you can already guess that stacking means using two or more nootropic supplements together.

Phenibut can be added to stacks to lower anxiety on nerve-racking days, but it can also be added to enhance other benefits.

Phenibut and Adrafinil stack

This could be one of the most effective and dynamic stacks because it can last throughout the whole day.

You can use this stack when you wake up after a good night's sleep. Adrafinil works great when you are well-rested. When you combine these two nootropics you get an awesome blend of boosted productivity and focus and a sweet feeling of relaxation.

Both nootropics are water-soluble. Take Phenibut first, because it needs more time to kick in.

Phenibut and Pramiracetam stack

This stack doesn’t last as long as others but it is just as potent. This combination is awesome for boosting your cognitive functions and having an awesome feeling of well-being.

If you have to study a lot, or you are on a close deadline with your work, this stack will particularly live up to your expectations. You will get better memory retention, substantial motivation, increased energy and a feeling of relaxation. You might even be more talkative.

When it comes to dosing, Phenibut is water soluble and you take it on an empty stomach. But Pramiracetam is fat-soluble so you need to take it with food. So first you take Phenibut and add Pramiracetam after breakfast (3 hours after you have taken Phenibut).

Phenibut and Aniracetam stack

With this stack, you will have the WOW effect! It is absolutely perfect if you want to boost the creative part of your brain and turn to some deep thinking.

These nootropics work together in creating a calm feeling so if you are looking for maximizing this effect, this stack is the winner.

Perhaps you won’t get so stimulated as you would with other stacks, but you will experience great creativity, good focus, good working memory, and you will be more sociable and talkative.

As I already mentioned Phenibut is water soluble and you need to take it on an empty stomach. Aniracetam is fat-soluble so you take it with food, 2 hours after you have taken Phenibut.

Phenibut and Caffeine stack

Okay, maybe this stack doesn’t look like a nootropic stack, because when you think about Caffeine you imagine coffee or energy drinks, but caffeine can be used as a nootropic as well.

If you are a beginner with Phenibut stacks, this one is then the best for you. It’s great because Caffeine can help you stay awake and focused. Also if you tend to get caffeine jitters, Phenibut works against it and makes you feel relaxed. Also, Phenibut can kick in faster when you take it with Caffeine.

You can use these two nootropics at the same time.

Phenibut Stack for Motivation

If you are feeling a bit unmotivated and lethargic you can try this Phenibut stack to retrieve motivation and focus:

Phenylpiracetam — this is a strong stimulant that helps you stay focused and energized,

Sulbutiamine — This is a mild enhancer of energy + Phenibut to enhance your mood.

It’s best to take this stack with food and definitely not near your bedtime - take it 10 hours before you want to go to sleep.

Phenibut Stack for Increased Cognitive Performance

If you want to boost your mental clarity, cognitive functions and focus, try this Phenibut stack:

Modafinil — this supplement increases your focus and motivation, Creatine — it will boost your cognitive performance and
Phenibut — It will enhance your mood and cognitive abilities.

Since both Phenibut and Noopept are water-soluble nootropics you should take them on an empty stomach.

SUPER IMPORTANT - Do not use this stack more than once a week!

This way you will avoid building up a tolerance and having bad side effects.

Phenibut Stack for Athletic Recovery

If you are an athlete, say bodybuilder, try this stack to boost your muscle recovery and decrease the soreness of your muscles:

• L-Theanine — This is an amino acid that fuels protein production and grows your muscles
• Creatine — it increases the energy that you need to get your muscles to work super hard
• 3 mg Omega 3 — this is an important dietary supplement you need to take to have healthy muscles and to recover faster, and
• Phenibut - it is important to sleep well in order to recover properly.

VERY IMPORTANT: Don’t use this stack more than once a week!

Even though it’s awesome for recovery, this stack can easily turn you into an addict, if you don’t use it properly.

Phenibut Stack for Memory

If you need help with boosting your memory, energy and focus but, at the same time with reducing anxiety, try this stack:

• Phenibut — it will lower stress and anxiety and
• Noopept - it will improve memory and the ability to recall. It also decreases stress jitters.

Even though this Phenibut stack is awesome for boosting your memory, I must point out that you mustn’t use it beyond the approved dose. Use it if you have an important exam or you need to cram in at the last minute.

Always pay attention to your reaction to nootropic stacks

Just be aware that Phenibut isn’t for everybody. You really need to be careful when you use it and never go overboard with the dose. It is very easy to build up a tolerance so you must use it in cycles and never increase the dose. Try it out at even smaller dosages than recommended, just to see how you will react to it.

These stacks are normally considered as safe, as long as you use the right dosage. You are specifically advised not to use too much Phenibut.

So, if you do stick to recommendations Phenibut can really work for you awesomely. It is great for boosting memory, decreasing the feeling of anxiety and stress, and can help you sleep better. From muscle recovery to cognitive-enhancing - Phenibut works like a charm.

10. How is Phenibut relevant to bodybuilders?

Yes, you heard it right - Phenibut contributes to effective bodybuilding. Are you interested in how? Read the following chapter.

First, what makes Phenibut super interesting to bodybuilders is that it can increase human growth hormone.

Now, what is that you might ask?

Human growth hormone or somatotropin is a peptide hormone that encourages growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in people. It is super important for our development.

How does human growth hormone Function?

When we talk about its effects on your body tissues, growth hormone has anabolic characteristics - it is responsible for building up. It functions by interacting with particular receptors on the surface of cells.

So, it is responsible for increasing heights, but it also has other effects on our bodies.

Height appears to be stimulated by at least two mechanisms.

Apart from being responsible for boosting height, the other effects that growth hormone has on our bodies are:

It increases calcium maintenance and increases minerals in our bones.

It boosts muscle mass and protein synthesis, encourages lipolysis and stimulates the immune system. It is also responsible for the growth of all internal organs, except the brain. It also lowers liver uptake of glucose and much more.

Phenibut stimulates the growth hormone

So, as I said, Phenibut increases the secretion of growth hormone in the resting and post-exercise periods. GABA supplements increase resting growth hormone by more than 300%. It increases post-exercise growth hormone by more than 170%. Baclofen, which is similar to Phenibut, can also increase growth hormone.

Phenibut helps you to train more intensely

Secondly, Phenibut is anti-hypoxic, which means that it can boost your tolerance to metabolic stress and you can train more intensely. Phenibut works for you awesomely because when you train hard your muscles can’t get enough oxygen at one point and they become hypoxic. This metabolic stress provokes muscle hypertrophy. So if you take Phenibut you can avoid this unpleasant condition.

Phenibut also boosts your cell energy potential, and this can allow you to train even harder.

What is the right dosage of Phenibut for working out?

Some users claim that taking up to 3 grams of Phenibut is a maximum dose and it doesn’t provoke any psychological side effects.

But don’t take it every day. You should stick to this.

Don’t think that more is better because in the case of Phenibut it definitely is not. It’s the same with other supplements. Let’s take Caffeine for example. People overestimate the dosage of the protein they need a day and they develop an addiction to Caffeine. Phenibut feels awesome when you take it, but it is not harmless. So don’t take higher amounts than recommended. The best option is to take Phenibut in cycles and avoid building up a tolerance to it.

If you take 3 grams of Phenibut every day for a longer period of time, you will build a strong tolerance to it. It only takes 10 days to get addicted. So, if you are for example 1.78 m tall and weigh 80 kg, if you take 1.2 grams of Phenibut every day, you will develop a tolerance pretty quickly. So, stay on the safe side - don’t use it every day.

The final thoughts are that Phenibut can really help you if you feel anxious or you are under a lot of stress. How many benefits of Phenibut you will actually experience, largely depends on your personality and the situation you are in. If you are naturally a calm person or you are not under a lot of stress you might even feel nothing when you take Phenibut. But, if you still do decide to try it, stay aware of the dosage you are taking.

11. Clinical studies on GABA and Phenibut

There were several studies that involved using GABA as a supplement. The studies that involved Phenibut are scarce. Are you interested in what scientists have to say?

Let's cover the studies that were conducted in the past.

What’s GABA’s story?

Well, it was identified as a neurotransmitter a few decades ago. Most research on GABA included its mechanisms of action and chemicals and drugs that affect its action. Perhaps scientists are reluctant to perform research on GABA as a supplement because it can’t cross the blood-brain barrier.

What’s Phenibut’s story?

First, let’s cover the history of it

Phenibut was synthesized at the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Institute in Russia. First, it was called phenigamma. In 1964, the first review on Phenibut pharmacology was published. Phenibut pharmacological properties and their effects on GABAa and GABAb, benzodiazepine and dopaminergic receptors were compared with pharmacological properties of piracetam and diazepam.

What is the story of Russian cosmonauts?

This story actually gave Phenibut the attribute of a Russian wonder drug. The story is very popular but whether it’s true or not it’s not certain. Maybe it’s just a legend. Nevertheless, it brought a lot of attention to Phenibut and the way people interpret it.

So, according to the story, there were some technical problems in the Russian space program back in the 1970s. More precisely, the US-Russian joint space mission had these problems. Astronauts couldn’t repair the docking mechanism of their spacecraft. So, they gave in to the last resort, took Phenibut and rested. After a while, the powerful combo of Phenibut and resting made astronauts think more clearly. In the end, they came up with a solution and solved the problem. So Phenibut came to the rescue.

Clinical studies that involved Phenibut and Baclofen

First, let’s talk about using Phenibut.

Healthy volunteers participated in this study. They orally ingested a single dose of 250 mg of Phenibut. Its half-life was 5.3 hours and 65% of the dose was unchanged in the urine.

In double-blind studies with placebo-controlled groups neurotic and psychotic patients took part. A double-blind study is a type of clinical study where neither the researcher nor the participants know what kind of treatment they are receiving. The interventions are relieved at the end of the study. This way the results are less biased.

Anyway, the patients took a dose of 0.5 g, three times per day during one or two weeks periods of time. The results showed that Phenibut activated cognitive functions, improved physical strength, reduced asthenia and fatigue and motivating activity.

The effects of Baclofen were studied in a placebo control group and a group that took it from 2.5 to 3 mg per day. The results showed that it reduced the severity of panic attacks. The very effects were like those of benzodiazepines, but much weaker compared to the effects of imipramine. When Baclofen and imipramine were combined, the effects were much stronger.

Baclofen was more potent than placebo and as effective as benzodiazepines when taken by alcoholics who have secondary affective disorders. The researchers used clinical psychological tests when they were observing the effectiveness of drugs. There were no complications or side effects - at least they were not reported.

Baclofen was also successful in helping with withdrawal syndromes of opiates and alcohol.

Let’s go back to Phenibut

It is largely used in Russia for treatments of various neurological and psychiatric disorders. In Russia, it is listed as a nootropic and tranquilizer. It enhances intellectual function and memory. It is widely used in the treatment of neuroses which is characterized by anxiety.

In elderly patients, Phenibut works better than neuroleptics and tranquilizers. It has been reported that Phenibut is effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, asthenic depression, and vestibular disorders.

It has been claimed that Phenibut is successful in treating neurotic disorders in children, and also in treating different types of hyperactivity and organic brain syndrome.

Phenibut has also been efficient when helping with speech disorders in preschool children. It is useful in patients with epilepsy because of its tranquilizing effects.

Phenibut appears to be weaker than benzodiazepines when we talk about tranquilizers. But, it also doesn’t lower the performance and keeps fatigue and irritability under control. Unlike benzodiazepines which greatly decrease performance.

So again in a nutshell Phenibut benefits are:

• It relieves stress and anxiety
• It lowers social anxiety
• It boosts memory functions
• It makes you feel calm and relaxed
• It boosts your communication skills
• It helps you perform better at exams
• It helps with insomnia and restlessness
• It helps you sleep better
• It leads to boosted secretion of growth hormones
• It increases REM phase
• It improves your reaction time in social interactions.

So, there you have it. As you can see Phenibut can offer a lot of benefits, but it must be used carefully and within reason.

That’s it, guys. That's all I have to say about Phenibut today.

Now let’s turn it over to you. What do you think about my new guide on Phenibut?

Let me know your comments.