To bolster its star ingredient’s benefits, the brand drew upon lion’s mane, an adaptogen central to Moon Juice’s assortment that’s known to support not just mental stamina and alertness, but overall mood as well. Then there’s ceremonial-grade matcha, L-theanine, and polyphenols. “L-theanine promotes alpha wave brain activity, reducing stress while enhancing attentional control,” Coppola says. “When paired with low-dose caffeine, it improves sustained attention, task-switching, and working memory without the jitter common to higher caffeine sources. Magnesium supports neuronal stability, sleep quality, and synaptic efficiency, while lion’s mane may encourage nerve growth factor (NGF) expression. Together, this stack targets multiple pathways: synaptic resilience (magnesium), potential neurotrophic support (lion’s mane), and attentional calm (matcha/L-theanine).” All in all, Coppola believes these ingredients work synergistically to provide balanced cognitive support for stress resilience, focus, and neuroplasticity.
Taking the supplement is quite simple. It’s a finely milled powder that blends well into hot or cold water (or milk, if you want something that’s more like a latte). One teaspoon is all you need. The flavor profile is similar to that of matcha: a little earthy, a little sweet, and more subtle than some of the brand’s other fruit-forward bestsellers. If you’re like me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how quickly this works. Within about 30 minutes, I felt ready to work. I breezed through emails, wrote a story quicker than usual, and felt an unexpected sharpness overall. It was the kind of brain optimization I didn’t know I needed—an effect that lasted for a few hours. If I wanted to extend this mental stamina, I could take the supplement again; Moon Juice recommends using it one to two times per day.
“We want you to feel like a genius!” Bacon says. “As always the mission is to lead with curiosity and help women get active in their health. Cognitive decline is not inevitable. The investments we start to make in our 20s, 30s, and 40s can help us stay well and present for longer.”