How to Improve Focus (with My Favorite Coffee Alternatives, Nootropics, and More)

Y’all know how much I love coffee.

Sometimes I need a little something different, though–a coffee alternative, a different kind of coffee from the norm, or something to add to (or beside) my coffee (like nootropics).

This post contains affiliate links.

My Favorite Coffee Alternatives, Nootropics, and More

Let’s dive right in, shall we? If you’re already looking for tips to focus better, I shouldn’t sit here and bore you with a long story about how I felt like I was losing my mind, trekking through a concentration and memory wasteland until… 😉

So here are my top picks for improving my ability to sit and concentrate.

Four Sigmatic’s Coffee with Lion’s Mane (or Coffee Latte)

I usually drink regular coffee (shout out to the amazing Trade Coffee that keeps me well-stocked with fresh, delicious beans from all over the world!) in the mornings because my husband makes a whole pot of it.

While I might add something to my morning routine that helps wake me up, like a shot of ACV, B.LXR (more on that soon), or CBD (wow, this is starting to read like a vision test), I’m usually pretty boring when it comes to coffee alternatives these days.

However, when I want a boost in the afternoon, I like to just rip open a packet of instant coffee with lion’s mane mushrooms from Four Sigmatic and heat up a mug of water in the microwave. I usually don’t want to spend the time grinding beans, getting the water, and making a single cup of coffee in the coffee maker, as fun as the new Ninja one is.

The lion’s mane coffee has less caffeine than the average cup of coffee, so it’s less likely to keep you up all night (I’m not that caffeine-sensitive, but I know a lot of people will appreciate this). The lion’s mane mushroom is added specifically for a boost in productivity and focus, morning or afternoon.

Following my link above will save you a little cash (10 percent), but if you prefer to shop on Amazon, you can get Four Sigmatic coffee there too.

Adaptogen Coffee Mix as an Alternative

If it’s stress that’s making it hard to concentrate, you may want to try their Adaptogen Coffee Mix, either instead of Lion’s Mane or mixed with it (I’d start with half a packet of each if mixing). They totally revamped it and I haven’t tried it so I can’t vouch for the flavor or the effects, but it is supposed to help with occasional stress.

You can get this one on Amazon too. 🙂

Beekeeper’s Naturals B.LXR Brain Fuel with Royal Jelly

The Beekeeper’s Naturals B.LXR is kind of new to me and I’ll be honest: I’m not the biggest fan of the flavor. It’s kind of good, but kind of has a menthol thing going on or something? I do not add this to my coffee.

I drink part of a vial on its own (you get six in a box and I try to make them last, so I don’t use the whole thing at once).

The main ingredients are: royal jelly, bacopa monnieri, and ginkgo biloba.

This stuff is a natural nootropic for focus and memory. If you’re allergic to bees, royal jelly, or bee products, don’t try it without talking to a doctor first.

You can save 20 percent with my affiliate link.

Matcha (Mushroom or Not)

Matcha is another one of my favorite coffee alternatives. This gives you caffeine (again, not as much as regular coffee) but it also has L-theanine, which keeps you from feeling jittery and unable to focus (ever drink coffee to focus and then realize you overdid it and made the inability to concentrate even worse? I have. It usually happens when I’m drinking iced coffee because I drink it faster.

Four Sigmatic has a matcha option, but I also really enjoy regular, quality matcha. Make sure you check the ingredients for added sugar if you’re shopping for powdered matcha. I like to put matcha and milk or a milk alternative into a shaker cup with my sweetener of choice at the time, shake it, then pour it over ice.

Soul CBD

Soul CBD might seem like a weird thing to add here. CBD oil, in general, tends to make a lot of people feel more relaxed, even sleepy. Some have had that effect on me (usually while trying to work out the right dose). This one is the opposite.

I wouldn’t take a dropper of it (well, half a dropper because that’s the dose that works best for me) in the morning instead of my coffee because I enjoy my morning coffee ritual, but I have noticed that I get a boost from it and can work well for several more hours if I take it in the afternoon. No extra coffee required (but sometimes enjoyed).

I wonder if this is because a lot of my exhaustion comes from anxiety. If the CBD oil is soothing the anxiety, maybe that’s why I buoy back up shortly after I take it.

There have been other CBD oils I’ve liked, but this one is my favorite right now. The orange flavor is out of this world. Tastes like candy. Nothing off-putting about it, which isn’t something I can say about any of the other ones I’ve tried.

Please check with your doctor before you try any supplements, including CBD oil. And if you’re already on medication for anxiety and/or depression, please don’t try to swap them out for CBD oil without a medical professional’s guidance.

Water

Yeah, I know, it’s boring. So boring, it’s easy to forget. Drink up, though. Being well-hydrated keeps you from feeling quite so tired all the time. I can definitely tell when I’ve been slacking, but I don’t always realize why, or that it’s such an easy fix.

I like to add lemon juice. If I think I’m dehydrated from workouts, I’ll add a little salt to it, too. I call it salty lemonade and chug it.

What Are Nootropics?

I’ve mentioned them here a few times, but what are nootropics?

Nootropics are cognitive enhancers, basically, that may help with memory, creativity, focus, etc. As this Healthline article demonstrates, there’s quite a range of them out there. I don’t venture out far into nootropic territory, personally.

Caffeine, L-theanine, and a couple of herbs that are on the list are about as far as I go. Some are medications, which you’d need to talk to your doctor about anyway (and for more serious concerns than what I’m really discussing here, like ADHD).

Royal Jelly Benefits

Healthline just has all the answers today, including why you might want to consider using royal jelly. So what are the benefits of royal jelly? They could include:

• Nutrients, like B vitamins that could perk you up
• Antioxidants/anti-inflammatory effects (good for brain function)
• Lowered blood pressure
• Reduction in oxidative stress
• Anti-aging effects on your body and mind

L-theanine Benefits

L-theanine, which is an amino acid, shows up in the matcha (and green tea in general). It helps you focus but it doesn’t hype you up. In fact, it can help improve your sleep if you suffer from anxiety.

If anxiety is the major roadblock to your ability to concentrate, L-theanine could be the way to go. Definitely don’t go the plain black coffee route. This is the coffee alternative that still has some caffeine but also has something to counteract caffeine’s potentially annoying effects.

Medical News Today shares information about a study that found increased cognitive performance to be linked with the consumption of L-theanine. When L-theanine and caffeine work together, there’s an increase in alertness and number skills; even without the caffeine, L-theanine can help with attention and reaction times.

CBD Oil Benefits

I’ve talked plenty about the benefits of using CBD oil for anxiety. The benefits go well beyond helping with focus, though it can do that too.

What I Avoid When I Need to Focus

Just as there are things you can add to your day to help with focus, there are some things you can leave out of your regular diet (or at least skip for a while before you really need to be at 100 percent brainpower). Here are some things I try to avoid:

• Most coffee creamers (look for the fewest ingredients possible if you can’t drink your coffee black, and the more you easily recognize, the better)
• Sugar
• Refined carbs
• Artificial sweeteners

Which Coffee Alternative Is for You?

My recommendation is to just start with the coffee alternative or new kind of coffee that sounds the most appealing to you.

If you crave the flavor of coffee in the afternoon as much as you need the boost from the caffeine, try the mushroom coffee.

Need something that’ll help you stay focused without caffeine, or at least with the calming effects of another component of it? Try one of the other options.

Let me know which coffee alternative (or just different kind of coffee) sounds best to you. Will you try any of them? Have you already tried some of them?