Nootropic Supplements For Children: What Are The Benefits And Risks?

Nowadays, there seems to be a supplement for just about anything for kids and adults alike. One of those supplements is known as nootropics or brain food. As its name implies, nootropics are nutritional supplements which claim to be able to enhance the brain’s function and performance.

Today, you’re going to find two general types of nootropics: prescription and over-the-counter. Particularly for parents, it can easily spark interest in them to give nootropics to their children because of its purported benefits.

But, are nootropics really as good as they’re said to be? Yes, and as long as your child’s paediatrician recommends it for them too. This article can help you decide about nootropics with a list of benefits and risks.

The Benefits

1. It May Help The Brain Process Information Faster

One of the reasons parents are most interested in nootropics is that it’s good for the brain. Proponents of nootropics will opine that it may help the brain process information faster for better brain function. This is attributed to Bacopa monnieri, a traditional Indian herb.

Even many years before the popularity of nootropics, this herb is known for its ability to cause the branches of the dendrites or the nerve cells to grow faster. However, the results aren’t instant, with a waiting period of, at least, four to six weeks of consistent use.

2. It May Be A Good Memory Booster

Apart from its potential ability to help your child process information faster, Nootropics are also known to possibly be a good memory booster. This is good news to hear, particularly for parents of school-aged children, who certainly need good memory. After all, Wholistic Research recommends that everyone should work on brain health.  

This benefit is brought about by the nootropic compound also known as citicoline. It’s said to have the ability to protect the integrity of the nerve membranes. Moreover, it may also be able to modulate the level of neurotransmitters in the brain, like glutamate, acetylcholine, and dopamine.

3. It May Reduce Damage To The Brain After A Brain Injury

This third benefit is for parents who, unfortunately, have children who have gone through a traumatic accident causing brain injury. This can happen because of a sudden jolt to the body or a violent blow. Mild brain injuries can be healed, but severe brain injuries need more serious hospital care.

Doctors are going to recommend many different treatment forms to patients, to help them recover faster. Nootropics are one of those, given as supplements, supposedly to help reduce brain damage due to a brain injury.

The Risks

1. It May Cause Headaches

Headaches in children are normal, as they can happen once in a while. But you wouldn’t want to contribute to increased onset of headaches because of taking nootropics. Depending on the severity of the headache, it may bring severe discomfort in children.

If your child is taking nootropics, and you notice them developing headaches frequently, inform your paediatrician about it. That way, you can also check for certain whether or not the nootropic intake is, indeed, the cause of the headache. Typically, headaches can be managed with over-the-counter paracetamol medicine that your child is accustomed to taking. 

2. It May Result In Insomnia

Insomnia is a type of sleep problem most commonly experienced by adults. But children can suffer from it too. This becomes evident in their inability to go to sleep immediately at night yet still wake up extra early. There are two types of insomnia that a child may generally experience:

• Short-term insomnia,also known as acute insomnia, lasting only a few days or weeks;
• Long-term insomnia,which happens when your child has trouble sleeping, at least, three times a week, lasting for a month or longer.

Because of its power to boost energy or keep kids alert and awake, one of the unexpected effects of nootropics may also be that this state of alertness can last even through the night. Remember that children need to reach their age-recommended number of hours of sleep, for optimum development and physical health.

Conclusion

While it’s normal for parents to want the best for their children, this should also be approached with caution. Before following what everyone else is doing and offering young children all sorts of means to good health, always take a balanced perspective. Do your research first, and find out what the benefits could be, along with the risks. The best thing you can do is to have the benefits outweigh the cons. With the advice of your doctor and the guide above, parents should now be feeling more confident about making a wiser decision on whether or not to give their children nootropics.