Cognitive performance under acute stress

Marketing category for supplements positioned to support memory, attention and reaction time during sleep deprivation, exams and emotional load. Not a clinical diagnosis. Evidence for most products is limited to small military trials and short experiments.

1 drug

Also known as: Acute stress cognitive support, Sleep deprivation cognition

Marketing claims without evidence base

The drug is promoted for these uses outside international guidelines. Each entry below is analyzed against AEMPS, FDA, EMA, Cochrane and major RCTs.

DL-tyrosineNot recommended · Conditionally essential amino acid, precursor of catecholamines and thyroid hormonesL-tyrosine is marketed as a supplement that supports memory and attention under sleep deprivation and stress. The evidence base is limited to military studies: Deijen and colleagues in 1999 showed cognitive test improvement in cadets after a week of intense training on 2 g/day. Civilian RCTs failed to reproduce the effect reliably, with small short trials. EFSA did not confirm in 2011 the health claim that tyrosine contributes to catecholamine synthesis and performance. If memory and concentration trouble the patient, start with sleep hygiene, ferritin, B12 and thyroid hormone checks, discuss the request with a doctor and consider a second opinion before taking tyrosine on your own.

How to read tiers A–F

Evidence tiers belong to the drug-indication pair, not to the drug as a whole: the same substance can be A for one condition and F for another.

AStrong evidence – first or second line in international guidelines
BRecommended in selected cases
CStudy data contradict each other
DBenefit not proven, no documented harm
FDocumented harm, or risk without benefit