Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to nootropics.

Focus Factor is a nootropic (cognitive enhancing) supplement that's used to boost memory and focus. The brand describes their supplement as "Clinically Tested," and "Nutrition for the Brain."

But has Focus Factor been proven to work in research studies? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why is this company marketing a nootropic to kids? And is Focus Factor better or worse than popular nootropics like Cerebra?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Focus Factor and Focus Factor Kids, to give our take on whether or not they're effectively formulated.

We'll share our concerns about the brand's clinical study, and discuss an independent research study that tested the nootropic effects of various popular nootropic supplements, and how Focus Factor performed against its competition.

Key takeaways:

• Questionably high doses of some vitamins in our view
• We consider some herbal active ingredients underdosed
• We do not currently recommend Focus Factor

Focus Factor Original Ingredient Analysis

Focus Factor Original contains 18 vitamins and minerals, shown below:

Multivitamins may improve cognitive function in older adults.

An extensive medical review published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease analyzed data from 10 clinical trials on multivitamin supplementation.

The researchers found that multivitamin use improved free recall memory but not delayed recall memory.

Free recall refers to an immediate response to memorization. If trial participants are instructed to memorize a list of items, and then recall them, that would test free recall.

Delayed recall refers to retrieval of past information. If trial participants are asked to recall what they ate for breakfast for the past week, that would test delayed recall. 

We recommend that consumers of multivitamin supplements get their blood vitamin levels regularly tested to avoid overdose.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported in early 2022 that a supplement company had to recall several of their products because the vitamin additives were causing toxicity in some consumers.

The remaining active ingredients in Focus Factor Original are included in a proprietary (prop) blend, shown below:

This blend has a total dose of 640 milligrams (mg), and contains 16 ingredients, so the average ingredient dose is only 40 mg.

To illustrate what a low average ingredient dose this is, we will select one of the ingredients used and compare its estimated dose to the dose used in relevant medical studies.

Bacopa monnieri extract is an effective nootropic ingredient, but we can't locate a medical study proving it to be effective at a dose as low as 40 mg.

A meta-study on this plant extract reported that it improved overall cognition and speed of attention. However, most of the studies used a dose of 300 mg/day, which is nearly 10x the average ingredient dose in Focus Factor.

Tyrosine is clinically shown to support short-term cognitive enhancement, but the only medical review we could find proving so analyzed studies with a minimum daily dose of 1,600 mg, or 40x the average ingredient dose in Focus Factor's blend, as we documented in our review of Noobru.

Overall, we consider Focus Factor Original somewhat likely to be effective as a nootropic aid, but we have our doubts about the doses used for some of the ingredients in the prop blend.

The good news about this supplement is the inactive ingredients should be safe and non-toxic.

Questionable Clinical Research

Focus Factor claims that the Focus Factor Original supplement is "clinically tested," and while that's technically true, we are not particularly convinced by the research.

Focus Factor’s clinical trial can be accessed at this link.

It's published on a PDF document hosted on the brand's website, and doesn't appear to be published in any peer-reviewed medical journals.

We recommend that consumers disregard all claims of efficacy based on company-funded trials that are not published in peer-reviewed journals.

The potential for bias is too high for the results to have any value in our opinion.

We've reviewed nearly 1,000 consumer products at the time of updating this article, and we have only come across one single company-funded clinical trial (Alpha Brain) that showed negative results.

An independent clinical trial published in the Scientific Reports journal compared the effectiveness of popular nootropic supplements on reducing levels of plaques in the brain associated with memory loss.

Focus Factor finished 13th out of 20 supplements in reducing levels of one of the plaques, and 10th out of 13 in reducing the second plaque.

Focus Factor Original did show some reduction of both of the plaques (and some supplements caused zero reduction), but the efficacy was far lower than the top-performing nootropic supplements in the trial.

Does Focus Factor Cause Side Effects?

The clinical trial on Focus Factor reported on side effects.

Overall, fewer participants taking Focus Factor reported side effects than those taking placebo pills, which suggests that Focus Factor Original is unlikely to cause side effects.

The only side effect reported more in the Focus Factor group was headache, with 6.7% more participants taking Focus Factor reporting this effect.

The FAQs page on Focus Factor's website does not currently mention any side effects.

L-glutamine can cause liver damage when taken at high doses, as documented in a 2020 case report.

This furthers our position that it's unacceptable for this ingredient to be included in a prop blend where the individual ingredient dose isn't listed.

Overall, we do not consider Focus Factor Original likely to cause side effects in healthy adults, but we have our concerns about the glutamine dosage.

Focus Factor Kids Review

Focus Factor sells a nootropic supplement for children called Focus Factor Kids.

Its ingredients are shown below:

We find this to be a highly questionable marketing strategy. 

We haven't come across any medical evidence that children require, or benefit from, nootropics, and we would strongly recommend that parents speak with their pediatrician before giving this supplement to a child.

Phosphatidylcholine is clinically shown to have a nootropic and "antidementia" effect, but we haven't come across any clinical evidence that it's safe or effective in children, nor does the brand currently cite any on their product page.

Bilberry is a fruit included at the incredibly low dose of 3.5 mg, and it may be more beneficial for kids to just eat whole fruits as we discussed in our Hiya Vitamins reviews article on another children's supplement line.

Fructose and sucrose are used as sweeteners, and a 2018 medical review found that fructose consumption can negatively impact brain development. 

Overall, we do not currently recommend Focus Factor Kids, and we haven't come across any clinical evidence that this formulation will benefit children specifically.

Focus Factor vs. Popular Nootropics

Here's how Focus Factor compares to other popular nootropic supplements in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:

Alpha Brain

Alpha Brain has been shown in at least one clinical trial to enhance executive function.

This trial was published in a peer-reviewed journal, which is the gold standard for supplement research.

Alpha Brain wins from a potential efficacy standpoint.

Winner: Alpha Brain

Vyvamind

Vyvamind contains some research-backed active ingredients, although we consider several to be underdosed.

This supplement is free of a synthetic vitamin and mineral blend, so we give it the advantage from a health perspective.

Winner: Vyvamind

Cerebra

Contains research-backed active ingredients and no unhealthy ingredients.

One of the better nootropic formulations we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

Winner: Cerebra

Our Clean Nootropic Picks

Illuminate Labs Ginkgo Biloba Extract is our top herbal nootropic pick.

A medical review published in the Psychopharmacology journal found that ginkgo biloba supplementation improved attention and cognitive performance in healthy, young adults.

Mind Lab Pro by Performance Lab is our top multi-ingredient nootropic pick.

This is the first Illuminate Labs Certified supplement, and has been shown to be effective for short-term cognitive improvements in two clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals.

Focus Factor Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Clinically shown to work
• A third-party clinical trial found it to disaggregate brain plaque
• Focus Factor Original contains some research-backed ingredients
• Focus Factor Original has safe and non-toxic inactive ingredients
• Unlikely to cause side effects
  

Cons:

• One product is marketed to children which is ethically questionable
• Focus Factor Kids contains added, refined sugar
  
• Found to be worse-than-average at disaggregating brain plaque in the independent clinical trial compared to other nootropics
  
• Less healthy than competitors
• Uses prop blends

Conclusion

Focus Factor Original has been shown to be somewhat effective in a brand-funded clinical trial and in an independent clinical trial.

Its inactive ingredients should be safe and non-toxic.

For consumers planning to purchase from this brand, Focus Factor Original is the product we recommend.

We have concerns about both the ethics and the formulation of Focus Factor Kids, as we haven't come across any convincing clinical evidence that children benefit from nootropic supplementation.

Children's brains are still developing, and an abundance of caution should be used with supplementation.

We do not consider Focus Factor Original likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults, although it contains an ingredient shown to cause liver damage at high doses.

We consider Alpha Brain, Vyvamind and Cerebra to be better-formulated nootropic supplements than Focus Factor.