The Focus Stack
Evidence-led biohacking

Sharper focus,
one layer at a time.

Supplements, sleep, environment and habits, ranked by what the research actually supports. No miracle pills. Just small, proven edges that add up.

Start here Supplement Index
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Featured The Pouch Era: why supplements are leaving the capsule behind
The stack

Build it from the bottom up.

Most people start with supplements. The research says start with sleep. Here's the order that gives the biggest return.

  1. 01 Sleep Nothing else works properly without it.
  2. 02 Light & movement Morning daylight, a walk, a stretch.
  3. 03 Environment & friction Fresh air, a clear desk, the phone elsewhere.
  4. 04 Caffeine + L‑theanine The best-studied focus stack there is.
  5. 05 Everything else Creatine, adaptogens, sound, cold, breath.
Explore

Topics

All topics

Focus & Habits

4

Deep work, friction design and the routines that make concentration the default.

Supplements

4

What works, what might, and what is mostly marketing, graded by evidence.

Pouches

2

The format reshaping how supplements are taken, from nicotine to L-theanine.

Sleep

1

The foundation every other hack sits on. Light, timing, temperature.

Body

3

Movement, breath, cold and fuel: fast levers for a clearer head.

Environment

2

Air, light, sound and the room you work in.
Matcha being whisked in a bowl
Deep dive

The Pouch Era

Nicotine pouches taught a generation a better way to take something functional: no water, no wait, a hit of flavour. Now L-theanine, caffeine and other supplements are moving into the same format, without the nicotine. Here's the science behind the shift, and why L-theanine might be the perfect fit.

Read the article
Supplement Index

Graded by evidence,
not by hype.

See all 14
A

Caffeine

Alertness, attention, reaction time

40 to 200 mg per serving; no more than 400 mg a day B

L-theanine

Calm focus; smoothing out caffeine

100 to 200 mg, often paired 1:1 to 2:1 with caffeine B

Creatine monohydrate

Mental stamina, especially when sleep-deprived; memory in vegetarians

3 to 5 g a day, every day B

Bacopa monnieri

Memory (with daily use)

300 mg standardised extract a day, with food C

Ashwagandha

Stress and sleep

300 to 600 mg root extract a day D

Lion's mane

Cognition (claimed)

Varies widely by product
Latest

From the journal

All articles
Focus & Habits

Friction Design: Make Distraction Harder Than the Work

Willpower is a terrible focus strategy. Here's how to engineer your phone, browser and desk so the easiest thing to do is the thing you meant to do.

8 min read
Focus & Habits

The Focus Stack Protocol: A 90-Minute Deep-Work Block

Every layer (room, fuel, sound and the rules of the session) combined into one repeatable block. Run it, then tune it to you.

6 min read
Supplements

Caffeine, Done Right: Dose, Timing and the Afternoon Cut-Off

The world's favourite focus drug is also the most misused. How much actually helps, when to drink it, the myths to drop, and how to keep it from wrecking your sleep.

8 min read
Supplements

Caffeine + L‑Theanine: The Best-Studied Focus Stack

Coffee brings the push, L-theanine takes the edge off. The key trials, the doses they used and how to build the stack yourself.

8 min read
Supplements

Creatine for Your Brain: The Gym Supplement Hiding a Cognitive Upside

Creatine is one of the safest, cheapest and most studied supplements on earth. The evidence for its brain benefits is real, but it helps some people far more than others.

7 min read
Sleep

Sleep Is the Stack: The Biohack Every Other Hack Depends On

No supplement outperforms a good night's sleep. What short sleep really does to focus, and the simple levers (light, timing, temperature) that fix most of it.

9 min read
Protocol

A 90-minute deep-work block, start to finish.

Room, fuel, sound and the rules for the block itself, all in one repeatable session.

Get the protocol
Coffee being poured over a filter