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What is the difference between Qualia Mind and Qualia Focus?

Qualia Mind & Qualia Focus are both fast-acting, research-backed nootropics designed to support a range of important cognitive skills, including alertness, motivation, attention (e.g., focus, concentration), and memory.* We believe that Qualia Focus delivers exceptional value and stands on its own as a great nootropic; however, it does not offer the premium nootropic experience of Qualia Mind. 

While Qualia Mind and Qualia Focus are designed to support some of the same cognitive areas, Qualia Mind was formulated to also support a wide range of additional cognitive skills, such as executive functions, emotional resilience, and skills within an area called social cognition. And, Qualia Mind was designed to offer more robust support for processes and functions involved with attention, accuracy, and focus in stressful environments and demanding situations.*

So, at a high level, Qualia Mind (1) is formulated to supply a much broader range of brain essential nutrition, (2) more holistically supports a wider range of cognitive skills, and (3) offers more robust support in areas involved in neuroplasticity, long-term brain health, and stress resilience. We believe Qualia Mind can do this because it has (1) a larger number of ingredients—Qualia Mind has 28 ingredients, while Qualia Focus has 14, (2) the recommended number of capsules to take is far more (7 for Qualia Mind and only 2 for Qualia Focus), and (3) Qualia Mind’s higher price allowed us to include a combination of quite a few high cost ingredients that won’t be found together in nootropic doses in products at the Qualia Focus price point (such as DHA, PQQ, Cognizin® Citicoline, Alpha-GPC, Phosphatidylserine, Uridine, and Rhodiola rosea).*

Because of the combination of capsule count and price, while both products have similar cores—the powerful nootropic pairing of theanine and caffeine, Celastrus paniculatus seed extract (the “intellect tree”), nootropic and adaptogen herbs for memory and stress support, and B-vitamins—there’s quite a bit of difference between the two products. This starts with what we use to supply caffeine, which is arguably the favorite ingredient among neurohackers for supporting alertness, energy, processing speed, reaction times, and motivation. Qualia Focus uses anhydrous caffeine (which is the most studied and commonly used type of caffeine among neurohackers and athletes), while Qualia Mind uses a more premium Organic Coffeeberry® Whole Coffee Fruit Extract as a source of caffeine, because it also provides brain-supportive antioxidants and polyphenols. Another difference is that, while you’ll see most of the same B vitamins in both products, Qualia Mind can supply higher amounts of them because of the extra capsules—doses of B vitamins that Neurohacker Collective has studied effects at “nootropic doses”—while Qualia Focus supplies B vitamin doses that are closer to the recommended daily intake.*

Both Qualia Mind and Focus include herbs and nootropics designed to support functions like acetylcholine neurotransmission, neuroplasticity, and synaptogenesis, which are important for promoting cognitive skills such as focus, learning, and memory. But Qualia Mind offers far more support in these areas. It has the two nootropic forms of choline (e.g., Cognizin® Citicoline and Alpha-Glycerylphosphorylcholine [alpha-GPC]), the Ayurvedic herb Bacopa monnieri, and Huperzia serrata Leaf Extract to offer more support for acetylcholine neurotransmission. Qualia Mind also contains more support for synaptogenesis and neuroplasticity—these are critical functions for learning and memory—with the inclusion of the the neurohacking combination of Artichoke Leaf Extract and Coleus forskohlii Root Extract, as well as taurine.* 

While both Qualia Focus and Qualia Mind are formulated to support dopamine signaling—critical for motivation and learning—Qualia Mind offers much more support, especially when it comes to helping to build dopamine neurotransmitter molecules, by including three different dopamine precursors (N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, DL-Phenylalanine, and Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens) Seed Extract) that are not included in Qualia Focus.*

We also designed Qualia Mind to be a go to product when it comes to supporting healthy brain aging. Because of this, Qualia Mind places more emphasis on a number of areas that are important to enhance long-term brain health, including mitochondrial support (which is why it has Pyrroloquinoline Quinone [PQQ] and Acetyl-L-Carnitine), nerve cell membrane fluidity and health (which is why Qualia Mind contains Phosphatidylserine, DHA, and Uridine), and neuroprotection. It’s also an upgrade when it comes to stress support, with ingredients like DHA, Phosphatidylserine, and Rhodiola rosea.* 

Which one should you buy? If you can afford it, Qualia Mind is our most comprehensive and premium product. If cost is an issue, Qualia Focus is a powerful product and we're delighted to be able to offer it as an option.

NOTE: Qualia Mind and Qualia Focus are not intended to stack together. 


*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease.

More Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Qualia cost so much?

Most ingredients have many different forms of varying quality and potency. In every case, we chose the absolute highest grade form of each ingredient for Qualia.  

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Should I take Qualia Mind with food?

Qualia Mind can be taken with or without food. However, some people prefer to take nootropic-containing products, such as Qualia Mind, away from food, because they feel like they notice the subjective response faster when it’s not combined with food.

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Medical Disclaimer

*For Qualia Mind and Qualia Focus

This product contains chemicals that should not be taken by people on MAO inhibitors, SSRIs, or any other psychiatric medicines.

It should not be taken by people with psychiatric or neurologic disorders, high blood pressure, heart conditions, endocrine disorders, cancer, phenylketonuria (PKU), or people on immunosuppressive therapy.

It should not be taken by pregnant or nursing mothers, or children under 18.

If any undesired side effects are noticed, it should be discontinued immediately, and proper medical help sought if needed.

No claim is made of this product being used to treat or cure any medical diagnosis or condition.

As with all dietary supplements, consult with your physician before taking any new supplements.

Please review our terms and conditions and privacy policy for additional information.

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Is Qualia a scam or snake oil?

The supplement industry is indeed the “Wild West” and there are a lot of snake oil salesmen out there with false claims and no ethical standards. Part of what inspired the creation of Neurohacker Collective was in response to this exact problem.

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Is it okay to split the dose of Qualia Mind between different meals?

Yes. If you want to take several capsules of Qualia Mind with breakfast and several more with lunch that would be fine. But, because Qualia Mind contains caffeine, we don’t recommend taking it with dinner.

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Can I take Qualia Mind in addition to Qualia Life?

Yes. Qualia Mind was designed to complement Qualia Life.

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Is it okay to drink alcohol with Qualia Mind?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans cautions against mixing alcohol with caffeine. The reason for the caution is that when alcohol is mixed with caffeine, the caffeine can mask the effects of alcohol, making drinkers feel more alert than they would otherwise. The CDC's Alcohol and Caffeine Fact Sheet gives more information on their concerns. Since Qualia Mind contains caffeine, we recommend it not be taken immediately before or at the same time as alcohol is consumed.

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How soon will I notice some nootropic benefits from Qualia Mind?

Several ingredients in Qualia Mind—caffeine, L-theanine, velvet bean seed extract, as examples—are fast-acting nootropics.

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How much caffeine is in Qualia Mind?

A seven capsule serving size of Qualia Mind contains 90 mg of caffeine (there’s about 13 mg of caffeine per capsule) from an organic Coffeeberry® whole coffee fruit extract. This 90 mg amount of caffeine is found in about an 8 ounce cup of coffee.

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What are the ingredients in Qualia Mind?

For the full list of the ingredients in Qualia Mind, please review our formulation section

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