CogniSurge review: bacopa, lion's mane and shilajit in a daily focus formula

This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Click here to buy

Bacopa and lion's mane. If you've spent any time reading about natural nootropics, those two names come up again and again, and CogniSurge puts both of them in the same bottle.

CogniSurge is made by Nutraville. The label promises "sharp focus and clean energy" and calls the formula "powered by nature-based nootropics." According to the company, it's based on a carefully guarded recipe of ingredients that can be hard to source, and it's designed to support memory and overall brain health.

The herbs

The FAQ says there are nine natural ingredients. The five named on the page are:

• Bacopa monnieri

• Lion's mane mushroom

• Gotu kola

• Schisandra

• Shilajit

I'll start with bacopa, because it's the one I find most impressive. It's a small creeping plant from India's wetlands with centuries of use in Ayurveda, and it's been tested in a good number of randomized human trials on memory recall. It's a slow-and-steady herb. People who like it usually say they noticed the difference over weeks.

Lion's mane is that shaggy white mushroom that looks a bit like a pom-pom. It's become hugely popular for focus and mental clarity, and there are small human studies on it.

Gotu kola is a leafy plant used in both Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese practice, often linked to calm thinking. Schisandra is a tart red berry from northeast Asia, known in Chinese tradition as the "five flavor fruit," and it's traditionally taken for stress and stamina. Shilajit is a mineral-rich resin that seeps out of rocks in the Himalayas, prized for energy.

Shilajit is one I'd always buy from a brand that cares about sourcing, because the quality of raw resin varies a lot from supplier to supplier.

Taken together, it's a well-chosen group. You get memory herbs, a mushroom, a calming leaf, an adaptogen berry and an energy resin.

Daily use

The company recommends two capsules a day. Easy to remember, easy to fit around breakfast. Some people like to take bacopa with food because it can be a little hard on an empty stomach, so breakfast is a good time anyway.

Pricing

The package options on the page are:

• 2 bottles: $49 each, $98 total

• 4 bottles: $39 each, $156 total

• 6 bottles: $29 each, $174 total

These are some of the friendliest prices I've seen on a ClickBank brain formula. At $29 a bottle on the six-pack, you're paying around a dollar a day. Shipping is free on four bottles or more. Your final total shows on the checkout page before you pay.

Who it's made for

CogniSurge is aimed at adults who want to keep their memory sharp and their energy steady through the workday without leaning on another cup of coffee. Students cramming for exams, people juggling a demanding job and anyone who's noticed names slipping away a bit more often lately could all find something to like here. Because the formula leans on adaptogens like schisandra and shilajit as well as memory herbs, it also suits people whose foggy days tend to go hand in hand with stress.

The guarantee is a full year

CogniSurge comes with a 365-day money-back guarantee. That's a whole year to see whether it suits you, which is about as generous as this category gets. The FAQ mentions returning what you haven't used, so hang on to your bottles until you're sure.

One sensible step

Bacopa, schisandra and gotu kola can interact with some medications, so if you take a prescription, particularly for thyroid, mood, seizures or blood thinning, run it by your doctor first. Bacopa can also cause nausea or loose stools, and gotu kola can cause drowsiness and has rare reports of liver problems. Bacopa can also cause nausea or loose stools, and gotu kola can cause drowsiness and has rare reports of liver problems. The company suggests the same.

So, should you try it?

If you want the best-known natural brain herbs in one capsule, at a low per-bottle price and with a full year to decide, CogniSurge makes a strong case for itself. Bacopa rewards patience, so give it a couple of months as part of your routine with good sleep and a bit of daily exercise.

A label note: the page says nine ingredients but names five, and no doses are listed. Bacopa trials typically used around 300 mg a day of a standardized extract for 8 to 12 weeks, and lion's mane studies mostly used a gram or more, so there's no way to compare. The two price tables on the page also disagree, so check the total at checkout.

A year is a long time to make up your mind, so why not start now? Today's CogniSurge bundles are listed on the brand's own site.

Click here to buy