Generally speaking, a stimulant is any agent that excites the central nervous system (CNS). Most people immediately associate them with methamphetamines or pharmaceuticals like add or adhd medications, but stimulants go far beyond amphetamine-like substances and synthetic drugs. There are also many naturally-derived stimulants that are so ubiquitous, in fact, that they can be found in just about anyone's kitchen. Moreover, they seem to have been fundamental in every society in one form or another throughout human history.
The most common stimulants come from plants, such as coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa and tobacco, but these are just a few. Foods themselves can be energy stimulants. Did you know more people are addicted to sugar, coffee and tobacco than any other substances or drugs in history. We love our stimulants!!
The use of stimulants, then, is simply the effort to optimize physical and mental performance in order to ensure survival success. Humans do what we can to increase our chances of positive outcomes in any important endeavor, whether it be creative or destructive. It's part of our species' survival mechanism. The stimulant is just another tool. It is argued by some anthropologists that the CNS stimulant was more carefully utilized in the past where life and death was concerned, and that today it has somewhat taken hold of us. But there are still very smart and effective ways to use modern stimulants to safely improve performance. We have a whole history of experience and experiment to draw from.
Why is the stimulant so prevalent throughout human history?
The social role of stimulants is not just to provide physical energy or mental fuel, and is probably more significant than most people imagine. All drug use is culturally dependent and has its use contexts. Stimulant use has oft been ritualized and as such performs very specific social functions beyond just gratification or reward, such as joining a social group, confirming social bonds, or reinforcing social status.
Stimulants play a key role in a plethora of everyday activities throughout history. Ancient and modern hunters consume, chew or drink stimulant plants to maintain energy for long days of pursuit. African tribesman chew quat for long days of hunting, and in Yemen, where it's called kat, around 85% of adults use it regularly! Workers use stimulants to get through the day in every area of the world. In South America, people have been chewing coca leaves for over 8000 years. North American natives have been chewing calamus leaves for centuries. One European site dating to over 60,000 years contained a Neanderthal man buried with ephedra plants (amongst others,) which is still a commonly used stimulant today. Some scientists argue that we have adapted over the ages to metabolize these plants and that we have a "deep-time" relationship with them. Coffee and tea are so fundamental to our lives, they have literally risen beyond even staple commodity to the level of currency. It is important to remember that stimulants have traditionally served a multitude of socially constructive purposes: medicinal, psychological, recreational, spiritual, -- even for making better warriors.
There is a reason they continue to play a key role and will always do so.
One needs only to look at the proliferation of coffee and coffee shops in the US to see how central the stimulant has become to daily life. In order to gauge how fundamental they are to life, try an experiment: abstain from all stimulants (coffee, tea, sugar, soda, energy drinks, etc,) for a week. Observe any mental or physical changes. Now pay attention to how doing so sets you apart socially from your environment. You may be very surprised.
Stimulants affect everybody's life, one way or another. Who wants to start the day without their beloved cup o' joe or a spot o' tea? And what would we do without that candy bar or cola to help us through the afternoon? We've got drinks and shots and sprays and gums and a dozen other ways to partake, and there's no doubt they can be a positive part of daily life. Used intelligently and judiciously, they can enhance our awareness, engage our senses, and boost our natural vitality. They can actually improve quality of experience as well as performance. But there are good and bad choices out there, so it's important to choose the right way to get an energy boost.
It seems germane to mention here that this is central to why we decided to spend years researching stimulants. We were looking for the perfectly balanced stimulant out of all this considerable data. We drew from cultural uses across the planet and went back through time to see what worked for societies historically. We read all the studies of individual stimulants, explored the traditional-use methods, and then used that data to choose ideal plants and compounds, testing them all for novel interactions and synergies. For instance, the combination of caffeine with niacin and bioperine has been shown in studies to "elicit metabolic adaptations to enhance exercise performance as well as resting energy expenditure" (NIH 2009 Jul 13. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-6-15.) Bioperine actually significantly enhances the effects of several other ingredients (synergism quotient value of 1.824), improving the resulting effect. The challenge for us was to create just the right balance in order to maximize performance without adversely affecting health or causing a crash later. Humans have already embraced the stimulant, so why not create the perfect natural stimulant that has the benefits without the risks. We hope you will check it out and read our reviews.
If it's not a ritual choice, like a coffee with friends or such, and just for enhancement, then an energy supplement can be an excellent approach to boosting your daily energy levels and preventing mid-day fatigue or lethargy, helping you be more alert, and functioning at high levels when needed. It is ultimately convenient, has no calories, no sugar, no fats, can be precision controlled for effect, and can be balanced with other nutrients to do more for your body than just get it amped up.
So next time you reach for your favorite pick-me-up, spare a thought for the critical role the stimulant plays in our daily world.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. 4 Organics takes no responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider.
Fascinating read. Thanks.