Podcast: The Royal Wedding Drinking Game

With the Royal wedding just around the corner, thousands of Facebook users will have the chance to really get involved with celebrations in the most typically British of ways- with a right Royal knees up!

Maddy Watkins and Josh Saunders have more on the Royal Wedding Drinking Game.

The Royal Wedding Drinking Game Podcast

Disclaimer: We do not promote irresponsible drinking

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Q&A: how clever is it to be messing with 'smart drugs'?

Smart drugs, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, intelligence enhances are the guises for the collective drug category that is nootropics. In a society of competition and a 'dog eat dog' mentality people flail beneath the mounding pressure for them to succeed in gaining that promotion at work or scoring high in an academic exam many turn to nootropics. But how smart is it to be using this type of drug?

What are they?

Nootropics alters the brain's access to neurochemicals, by either enhancing its the blood flow and supply of oxygen to the brain or stimulating nerve growth which shields the effects of aging. This helps to improve mental functions such as awareness, cognition and memory.

What different types are there?

1) Drugs: these take the form of capsules often used to treat other illness such as narcolepsy, ADHD and others, which have been found to act as a cognitive enhancer A person account can be read in ‘Smart drugs’: journalist tells of his dalliance with drugs

2) Nutritional supplements: pills which can be used to top-up on brain foods that the person doesn't consume such as Omega 3 etc. A personal account can be read in 'Smart Drugs': supplementing students

3) Herbs: natural solutions which aid in alertness and focusing the mind, including tea, caffeine and herbal remedies.

How do they work?

At any one time the mind is performing one task, for example while at work there would be a section dedicated to dealing with the current situation at hand, alongside this other tasks are being performed, which also use part of the brains concentration, these can be processing memories, creative thinking, subconscious thoughts and a range of varying tasks. By taking a nootropic these others tasks are stopped and all of the brains functioning power is channeled into creating the task at hand.

Who are they available to?

For the majority of these 'smart drugs' everyone and anyone can gain access to them either with a credit/debit card online, supplement stores or via prescription from your doctor.

What are the side-effects of them?

Although there has been no research into the long-term effects for someone taking nootropics over a prolonged period of time due to it not falling into the remits of the United Kingdom's Department of Health and the US' Food and Drug administration, some common side-effects that have been noted include deprivation of creative thought, weight loss through lack of appetite. Also other more dangerous symptoms have been suggested to have stemmed from taking nootopics (although have not been directly linked) including organ failure and Alzheimer's disease.

Why some people are against it?

Due to there being very little research into the long-term effects of taking these drugs some people feel suspicious of the shroud of mystery which accompanies nootropics. Others consider the taking nootropics to be the equivalent of athletes taking steroids believing it gives people an unfair advantage over their competitors in exams, job interviewees etc, and due to the price there is a fear that over time the price will be hiked up only allowing the financially privileged members of society to use the pills.

For two real life out accounts of nootropic users check out: 'Smart drugs': journalist tells of his dalliance with drugs & 'Smart drugs': supplementing students

Please note: Anyone who is considering taking any form of nootropics should consult a doctor prior to taking medication.

(A large thank you to the owners of the photographs, no copyright intended)

'Smart drugs': supplementing students

Unnamed 16-year-old student talks about her experience with nootropics as the pressure to succeed builds

Now more than ever before students are faced with rising levels of stress, tortured by exams that they are constantly reminded can affect the rest of their lives it is no wonder that some students feel they need something else to give them an edge to allow them to keep up and flourish ahead of their classmates. With the examination period fast approaching I was shocked to discover that a 16-year-old friend of mine had been taking supplements in order to stay ahead of the competition and pass her AS levels, although wishing to remain anonymous she agreed to speak to me about her experience with nootropics.

Note: Nootropics, better known as 'smart drugs', enhance the way in which the brain is able to process and apply information by directing all of its efforts towards desired tasks, more can be read about nootropics in Q&A: how clever is it to be messing with 'smart drugs'?

It was in a stress management lecture at college when the girl from the West Midlands was made aware of nootropics, where they were informed of brain foods and Omega 3 tablets and advised that if they did not already consume some of the brain foods which include asparagus, fish etc that it may help their mental agility.

The next day during her lunch hour, with the words of the lecturer still fresh in her mind and the thought of a pending exam later that day, she visited her local Holland and Barrett store which was less than half a mile away from her college. In the store she found many different brands, ranging in price before settling on a £7.50 container which contained 60 tablets to be taken four times a day.

"There was a lot of pressure, mainly from myself, to do well in the exams and worries for my exams in general contributed a great deal to me trying supplements"

Upon leaving the store she took her first supplement capsule, but to her surprise didn't notice much of a difference. Four days in and there still wasn't much of noticeable impact, by that time her friends who she had confided in expressed their concerns that she was taking nootropics and insisted she stopped. "None of my friends had tried them, but I was looking for a way to get ahead and do the best that I could do," she admitted.

She wasn't sure if the drugs would have more an affect on her if taken for a longer time, believing that is maybe a placebo. But added that she would probably still be taking the supplements if her friends hadn't told her of their worries over the long-term effects of taking supplements.

For another account of nootropics see: 'Smart drugs': journalist tells of his dalliance with drugs

Please note: Anyone who is considering taking any form of nootropics should consult a doctor prior to taking medication.

(A large thank you to the owners of the photographs, no copyright intended)

'Smart drugs': journalist's dalliance with drugs

Johann Hari freelance online journalist and columnist records his candid experience with nootropics in the Huffington Post

Note: Nootropics, better known as 'smart drugs', enhance the way in which the brain is able to process and apply information by directing all of its efforts towards desired tasks, more can be read about nootropics in Q&A: how clever is it to be messing with 'smart drugs'?

Inundated by a flood of foreign assignments Johann was tempted by nootropics after discovering a report documenting the rise in American students taking Provigil and intrigued by the description of the capsules being "Viagra for the brain." Within a short while one he had tracked down and ordered a batch and a week later the package had arrived, the pills were ordinary looking - small and white. Within a few hours of taking his first dose he found himself able to "read a book for six to seven hours at a time without looking up."

Provigil is a product of the analeptic drug Modafinil and is traditionally used to treat sleeping disorders such as narcolepsy and insomnia. The drug allows the brain to focus the majority of its energy into dealing with the task in front of it, compared with normal, where only a fraction of the brain is dedicated to working through tasks and the rest deals with processing memories and subconscious thoughts. Johann found he had the most productive few weeks of his life, firing out articles that he had longed to write for months in less than a few hours and with an unrelenting passion to write more.

"I inhale books and exhale articles effortlessly"

It wasn't until the third week that he noticed the side-effect of a severe lack of creativity in his life, "You are running on the imaginative store you built up before Provigil, and whizzing through it efficiently, but you aren't inventing anything new." He also noticed his appetite diminishing as his flat filled with uneaten food,"I would feel stuffed half-way through my normal meals, and push the food away unfinished."

After coming off Provigil he found that his brain returned back to its original slower "stop-start state" and that his imagination recovered once more "my creative impulses came back. I was more spontaneous again."

Despite the changes he experienced Johann still keeps a box of his 'seductive temptress' Provigil in his bathroom cabinet but now only allows himself to take the drug once or twice per month to combat exhaustion on long days.

For another account of nootropics see 'Smart drugs': supplementing students

Please note: Anyone who is considering taking any form of nootropics should consult a doctor prior to taking medication.

(A large thank you to the owners of the photographs, no copyright intended)