Performance Lab® Caffeine 2 Review

If you routinely stop at Starbucks^® for a Grande, or the corner store for an energy drink to avoid that mid-afternoon crash – this Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 review is for you.

We love caffeine because it provides a boost in alertness, concentration, better athletic performance, and less physical and mental fatigue.

And this love affair with caffeine now goes far beyond getting your dose from a cup of coffee. You’ll find it in carbonated sodas, energy drinks and shots, fruit-flavored drinks, and in many pre-formulated nootropic energy stacks.

But the problem with most of these caffeine-delivery methods is they contain megadoses of caffeine. Resulting in feelings of jitteriness and ending in long-term exhaustion.

Supplement manufacturers noticed and added L-Theanine to caffeine to produce a more balanced stimulant experience. You get the cognitive benefits of caffeine with the calming effects of L-Theanine.

The problem with this stimulant solution is it’s not complete. And some of the side effects of using caffeine as a nootropic are not addressed.

Performance Lab^® saw an opportunity. And redesigned this most basic of stimulant nootropic stacks.

Resulting in the most advanced caffeine + L-Theanine formula around. A stimulant stack that works.

This is my Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 review …

My Stimulant Supplement Stack Criteria

Caffeine on its own is an effective nootropic. It’s an adenosine antagonist which prevents us from getting sleepy.[i]

But this action also influences acetylcholine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin and boosts the use of dopamine. Which provides a stimulant effect.[ii]

Regular use of caffeine on the other hand ends up depleting these critical neurotransmitters. Stimulating your adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. Raising blood pressure and depleting water-soluble B-Vitamins.

To safely get and experience all the benefits caffeine has to offer as a nootropic, I need something to counterbalance these negatives.

This nootropic stimulant stack needs to:

• Replace the dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine affected by caffeine use
• Replace the B-Vitamins lost due to caffeine’s diuretic effect
• Maintain normal blood pressure and heart rate
• Increase Alpha brain waves suppressed by caffeine
• Use the same amount and ratio of L-Theanine + caffeine as the most successful human clinical studies
• Be natural and legal, safe to use every day
• Use verifiable and pure compounds, no synthetics

I’ve used coffee and green tea for the caffeine, and L-Theanine as a natural stimulant for years.

And naturally, I have been aware of various pre-formulated caffeine + L-Theanine stacks offered by several supplement manufacturers.

But not a single company produced a stimulant stack using quality ingredients in the same ratio and amounts as I knew worked. Both from personal experience and the data supplied by human clinical studies.

Until now …

Discovering Performance Lab^®

I use a lot of nootropic supplements every day. The list has grown as I learn more about how my body and brain work. And research has revealed what it takes for me to perform at the levels I want to live life.

But there came a point when I wondered if there was some way I could consolidate my daily supplement regimen. And take fewer capsules to maintain the way I feel and perform.

Then I discovered a new supplement line created and produced by the same people who make my favorite pre-formulated nootropic stack; Mind Lab Pro^®.

Who Makes Performance Lab^®?

Performance Lab^® is a new line of supplements and sister company to Mind Lab Pro^®.

I’ve been using Mind Lab Pro for over 5 years and have come to trust the company. And the quality of their supplements.

Performance Lab^® is based in the U.K. and manufactures all their supplements in the USA.

Performance Lab^® NutriGenesis Multi is the foundation of their new supplement line.

The company’s multivitamin for men and women supplies the essential vitamins and minerals required for overall health. Nutrients that may be missing from your diet.

Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 extends the benefits of the universal cognitive enhancer I use – Mind Lab Pro^®.

Mind Lab Pro supports brain energy from a cellular level, boosts neurotransmitters, increases blood flow and brain waves, provides neuroprotection and helps neuronal regeneration.

Adding Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 to Mind Lab Pro provides a boost in energized alertness right when I need it most. It’s a clean, clear focus that feels pure. And avoids the need for a coffee or energy drink.

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Performance Lab^® Caffeine  2 Ingredients

 

Natural Caffeine 50 mg (from Coffea Robusta seeds)

Caffeine used in moderation helps improve reaction time, alertness, memory and mood.

Adenosine levels rise during the day as a byproduct of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is produced by your mitochondria and used as cellular fuel. As an inhibitory neurotransmitter, increases in adenosine decreases your wakefulness state. Eventually leading to sleep.

Caffeine acts by blocking adenosine receptor subtypes A₁ and A_2A which in turn increases wakefulness. Instead of becoming sleepy, you are more alert.[iii]

This action on adenosine also influences acetylcholine, epinephrine, serotonin and boosts the use of dopamine. Providing the stimulant effect experienced when consuming caffeine.[iv]

But caffeine stimulation also puts demands on your endocrine system and blood flow.

When caffeine boosts norepinephrine and epinephrine it activates your adrenal glands which in turn release the stress hormone cortisol.[v]

And the diuretic effects of caffeine consumption increase the excretion of water-soluble B-Vitamins.[vi] Which are required for neurotransmitter synthesis, myelin synthesis, gene expression and cellular metabolism.

The genius of this stack and what makes it superior to any other caffeine + L-Theanine stack I’ve found is how it counterbalances the negative effects of caffeine.

Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 uses the rest of the ingredients in this stack to support the use of caffeine as a stimulant while reducing its side effects.

L-Theanine 100 mg

L-Theanine is an amino acid found in green tea that increases Alpha brain waves (8-14 Hz). Increased Alpha waves promote alert relaxation.[vii] This alert calmness is associated with super-learning, flow states and joy.

L-Theanine boosts the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and GABA in your brain. As well as increasing Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).[viii]

Helping to relieve the stress of excess cortisol, improving memory, boosting mood and increasing cognitive function.

A study done at Unilever in the UK looked at the combined effects of L-Theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. 27 volunteers participated in the study.

They compared 50 mg of caffeine with and without 100 mg of L-Theanine. The same dosage used in Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2.

The research team took measurements for word recognition, rapid visual information processing, critical flicker fusion threshold, attention switching and mood.

The researchers concluded, “L-Theanine and caffeine in combination are beneficial for improving performance on cognitively demanding tasks”.[ix]

L-Tyrosine 250 mg

Caffeine works by inhibiting adenosine which naturally increases during your day. Suppressing feelings of sleepiness and fatigue also initiates a cascade of excitatory neurotransmitters.

Caffeine’s stimulant effect is produced in part by increases in the release of the catecholamines dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine.

This demand on increased catecholamines can result in attention problems, mood imbalances, energy crashes and long-term feelings of exhaustion.

The addition of L-Tyrosine in this formula helps replace the neurotransmitters that are impacted by caffeine. Resulting in better working memory, quicker thinking even under pressure, a boost in multitasking performance, stress resistance and no crash.

NutriGenesis^® B-Complex

Caffeine consumption causes a diuretic effect which accelerates the excretion of important water-soluble B-Vitamins. And a rise in homocysteine which causes brain fog and memory problems.

Studies show reductions in Vitamin B₂ (Riboflavin), Vitamin B₆ (Pyridoxine, P-5-P), Vitamin B₉ (Folate), and Vitamin B₁₂ (methylcobalamin).[x]

Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 counterbalances this vitamin depletion caused by caffeine by including bioidentical NutriGenesis^® Vitamins B₂, B₆, B₉ and B₁₂.

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Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 Dosage

Recommended dosage of Performance Lab^® Caffeine+ is 1-capsule as needed for stimulation.

You can safely use up to 5-capsules per 24-hour period.

How Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 Works in Real Life

The combination of supplements in Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 quickly provides a feeling of pure alert stimulation. Without the jitters normally associated with caffeine use.

Users report feeling more energized with less fatigue within minutes of using Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2. Thinking is clearer and quicker.

Many report increased mental performance, better memory, and mood.

Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 is Good Value

You may have found like me that nootropic supplements can put a real dent in your monthly budget. Even getting your stimulant effects from a daily Red Bull^® or Starbucks^® daily can be expensive.

Using Performance Lab’s Caffeine 2 supplement as an alternative may save you some money.

For example, here are some of the prices you’d pay for the ingredients in this stack if you purchased them as individual supplements.

Natural Caffeine 50 mg – This one is difficult to estimate because so many different things can be used as a source of caffeine. A 24-pack of 8.4 Oz. Red Bull is about $34 on Amazon. It’s more if you buy the cans individually from a local store.

A coffee from Starbucks can run up to $5 or more for a single cup. That’s $150 per month.

And trying to find a ‘natural caffeine’ supplement is next to impossible because most on the market come in minimum 250 mg of caffeine capsules. Far too high in my opinion for a single, safe dose of caffeine.

L-Theanine 100 mg – a high quality L-Theanine  supplement on Amazon sells from $10 – $25 per bottle for a month supply.

L-Tyrosine 250 mg – Several trustworthy supplement companies offer L-Tyrosine in 500 mg veggie capsules from $10 – $25 per bottle. But unfortunately most major supplement manufacturers insists on including unwanted other toxic ingredients such as “magnesium stearate” and/or “silicon dioxide” in each of their capsules.

B-Complex – One of the very few bio-identical B-Complex supplements is sold by Life Extension. It’s a quality bio-active formula at $12 for a month supply.

As you can see, it’s difficult to come up with a direct comparison cost for a combination of individual supplements to match that in the Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 stack.

The caffeine component in this stimulant stack is the wild card. Which puts the cost of a comparison Caffeine 2 stack from about $50 all the way up to $200 per month depending on your caffeine source.

Performance Lab^® sells the Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 supplement bottle of 30 capsules for only $44.

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Pros & Cons of Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2

Most caffeine + L-Theanine supplements on the market are just that – caffeine stacked with L-Theanine. With no consideration for how caffeine works in your body and brain.

And dosages are generally too high for both caffeine and L-Theanine.

This stimulant stack by Performance Lab^® is brilliant in my opinion. It’s clear the design of this stack is well-thought out. With every angle covered to ensure you get the most of stacking caffeine with L-Theanine.

Performance Lab^® Caffeine 2 provides a cleaner, calmer stimulant action than any other stim supplement on the market. And is a far better choice than an energy drink or coffee.

Now, let’s look at what I think are the pros and cons of this premium stimulant supplement.

Pros

• Full disclosure on the amount of each ingredient
• High quality and tested ingredients including their own patented NutriGenesis^® bio-identical B-Vitamins
• Precisely measured dosages of each ingredient backed by science
• No added ingredients
• No World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned substances
• Vegan-friendly NutriCaps^® capsules
• Tested prior to encapsulation for allergens, GMOs, microbes, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and other contaminants
• Tested again to confirm potency, purity, and activity after encapsulation
• Competitively priced
• Empty bottle, money-back guarantee (less shipping)
• 24/7 customer support

Cons

• Only available on their website

I honestly can’t think of any other cons for this stimulant supplement. It works for me and I truly hope it works as well for you.