As a biohacker, I’m always keen to see if a supplement stack lives up to its promise so I bought and shipped from the US to the UK the HVMN Nootrobox supplement containing 4 different elements to give it a go. This is an HVMN Nootrobox review so you’ll know if this one is for you!
In the HVMN Nootrobox, there are 4 items, HVMN Rise, HVMN Kado, HVMN Sprint, and HVMN Yawn.
By the way, as I say, I paid for the product, the shipping, and the customs fees to get them here in the UK, (via The Feed who by the way I think do a really good job shipping internationally and have a great range of high-quality supplements I can’t always get).
So as opposed to the $109.95 the cost to me was actually over $200 all in for a 30-day supply, so I’m definitely not supported or paid by HVMN, so this is my honest experience after using the supplement stack.
HVMN claim “Nootrobox is a system of four nootropic blends designed to provide energy & focus, improve memory, protect your brain and body, and improve sleep quality.”
I’ve done quite a bit of research on what the best supplements are for specific needs, you can read about that here, so my feeling before I started was that if these 4 products deliver on the promise I’m “all in” for the long term as even at $200 a month, I feel it’s more than worth it.
Table of Contents
The four parts of the HVMN nootropic stack are:
Rise
Which is for the brain, claims to support mood, cognitive resilience, reduce stress and anxiety which helps the brain to function better.
Looking at the ingredients of Rise, they are certainly ones that are scientifically shown to have positive effects on the brain, so the initial thought is that it would help.
Kado
Which is what HVMN call a “Daily Omega-3 healthkit” basically it’s designed to support bone and cardiovascular health, it has anti-inflammatory properties and because of the oils potentially good for the brain, so let’s see is the combination of Omega-3, Vitamin D3, K1 & K2 and Astaxanthin, which is a red-pink pigment found in seafood will work for me.
Sprint
This is for energy and focus, it even talks about “flow state” seems quite simple as it contains caffeine, L-Theanine and Ginseng, but if it does what it says then that will be great.
Yawn
The final element of the stack that’s designed to improve sleep quality without being habit-forming.
I can’t say I have trouble falling asleep at the end of the day but if the quality of sleep is better thanks to the Magnesium Glycinate, L-Glycone, L-Theanine and Melatonin in Yawn so I was interested to see how it helps me.
How I measured the effects
Before I started the 30 days of HVMN Nootrobox I made sure I was feeling as normal as possible, long story short I’d been suffering from a sinus infection which has affected my sleep, energy levels, and training, so I thought it was only fair to start off feeling OK, not under the weather.
I also stopped taking some of my more specific supplements for a week before I started the Nootobox stack for two reasons, one I didn’t want to take too much of any one thing but mainly I wanted to be fair to HVMN and be as “normal” as possible.
But I didn’t want to make changes to my training, nutrition, and core basic supplements, so here’s what “normal” looks like for me:
I drink Athletic Greens every morning and take Solgar’s Omnium multi-vitamin in the evening – that didn’t change while taking the HVMN supplements.
From a testing point of view, in order to be not only subjective I use a Polar Vantage V heart rate monitor, so I have sleep as well as training data for factual reference. I also run their Orthostatic test too – so I have what I consider to be a good measure of my training performance and recovery rates.
My trainer Jon also records every rep, set and weight too, so I know if I’m hitting my targets when it comes to cross fit and strength orientated performance.
So you can see I take a Biohacking approach things as much as I realistically can, without being a full-time athlete with access to a sports lab and a team of people.
My normal day involves waking up naturally at about 6 am, even Saturday and Sunday. I’m in my office at 7 to 7.30am, working until 6 or 7 pm Monday to Friday. And then hitting the gym with my personal trainer three times in those 5 days, catching up with family and friends and living my normal very busy life until I go to bed at about 10.30 or 11.
I’m also busy at weekends too, catching up on all the domestic things I haven’t done during the week.
In terms of exercise I run a few miles and do a series of exhausting hill or step sprints early on Sunday morning with some friends (we also sneak in a cooked breakfast after the 60 to 90 minutes of running – it gets quite competitive so we need that reward) and I work in the office for a few hours too.
Let me first break down my thoughts and experiences on the individual items briefly and then I can summarise the full stack too.
HVMN Rise Review
It’s quick and easy to take but I didn’t experience any noticeable improvements in memory function or mental resilience and as I’m somebody who doesn’t have an anxiety problem and I deal with stress pretty well, these were not factors that I saw improvements in either.
Rating: 3 / 5
HVMN Kado Review
It’s an easy supplement to take, but over 30 days I didn’t see any noticeable improvements in memory performance, my cardiovascular health was no better or worse based on measurements taken and in terms of anti-inflammatory results, again I couldn’t see any changes.
Rating: 3 / 5
At this point, as taking Rise and Kado together in the morning is what I did it’s worth noting that one thing I did notice was that I tended to feel slight bloating which suppressed my appetite too and once I’d stopped taking these for a few days things returned to normal.
I’d also say that maybe these need to be taken for a much longer period of time than just 30 days, but that’s not something I’ve done so I can’t comment further, it’s just a feeling I have on these types of products generally.
HVMN Sprint Review
I liked this supplement and actually modified how I used it across the 30 days, finding it worked will when taken mid-afternoon and about 3 hours before a gym workout too.
Rating: 4 / 5
To start with there was a noticeable focus, clarity and energy improvement about 30 minutes after taking HVMN Sprint.
I also found that using it, not quite as a pre-workout as it doesn’t have the same “kick” as some of those, but in a similar and maybe more sophisticated way, it was a good way to boost my body. I also found it helped get my mindset right when hitting the gym for a heavy session, which they always are.
If there were one part of this stack I’d look at keeping its Sprint.
HVMN Yawn Review
I didn’t find my sleep was any better and I didn’t fall asleep faster when taking HVMN Yawn, and my Polar heart rate monitor’s sleep statistics back this feeling up too.
Rating: 2 / 5
I’m not somebody who’s really struggled to fall asleep and generally my sleep is OK, so I wasn’t expecting this to change and my sleep making it significantly deeper, less fragmented or easier. But I have to say I was a bit disappointed not to see any difference in this area as sleep’s such an important part of Biohacking.
HVMN Nootrobox As A Stack
I wasn’t as impressed as I hope I’d be with these supplements, especially as they look fantastic. If you have specific deficiencies then HVMN’s Nootrobox or individual elements may work really well for you, but if not maybe a more
I started out by each and every day making a note of how I felt with times I took each item and specific notes on how I felt. In reality after about 10 days the results and my notes, in terms of how I felt and how scientific results correlated, were consistent across the whole 30 days, so I didn’t feel it was worth sharing the day-by-day information.
I’m happy I’ve given this supplement stack a fair chance to show what it can do in a 30 day period, although I’m not sure from a nootropics point of view, 30 days is enough of a test, but HVMN sell a 30 day supply so that’s what I’ve tested.
So in summary, I would say that the HVMN stack of supplements is really easy to take, which is great, although I think they could provide a better guide as to the best way to take them as that packaging looks fantastic but the supporting information is lacking unless you visit their website.
Another good thing is that, apart fr
In Co nclusion
In terms of will I keep taking them, the answer’s probably “No” as here in the UK it’s not so easy to get them and there are other options that I think will be better for me as they are more suited to my needs.
But if I was able to easily get Sprint in the UK I may well take that longer-term as I’m not a big fan of the really strong pre-workout supplements I’ve tried as they can impact my sleep because I tend to train most days at around 6 pm, relax and recover straight after, and get to sleep by 11 if I can.
Will HVMN’s Nootrobox work for you? I don’t know your specific situation, but maybe it will and if you look at what’s in each part and compare it to what’s scientifically proven, details of which I’ve put in this article for you, it could be an easy and convenient way to supplement.
I hope you found this helpful.
