How Uridine Benefits Cognition, Sleep, Pain Management, and More

Posted by Nootropics Depot on 2nd Aug 2019

How Uridine Benefits Cognition, Sleep, Pain Management, and More

Uridine is a fascinating little compound that is naturally present throughout our body and plays an important role in various areas of human health. Uridine arguably plays the most important role in cognitive health where it helps support brain tissue health while also promoting both mood and memory. However, Uridine supplementation in the form of Uridine Monophosphate or Triacetyluridine can produce many other positive benefits which even extend to improving sleep quality and managing aches and pains! Below are the four main Uridine benefits that we will be discussing throughout this article.

Top Four Uridine Benefits

Uridine may support cognitive function
Uridine may promote a positive mood
Uridine may support sleep quality
Uridine may support pain management

To properly explain these great Uridine benefits, we need to first explain a little bit more in depth what exactly Uridine is and what makes it such a fascinating compound.

What Is Uridine?

Uridine is one of five nucleosides that are present in our body, and like the other nucleosides, can be used as a building block for RNA and DNA.Uridine, like some of the other nucleosides such as adenosine, has many other functions throughout the body and brain and this is where the focus lies with Uridine supplements. Supplemented Uridine, in bioavailable forms such as Uridine Monophosphate or Triacetyluridine, can have significant positive effects on overall health. This is in stark contrast to Uridine that is found in dietary sources such as yeast based foods which contain significant amounts of Uridine in the form of RNA. It has been found that dietary RNA-based Uridine is not absorbed and utilized well by the body. Luckily, we now have the option to boost Uridine levels by supplementing with a bioavailable Uridine supplement like Uridine monophosphate or Triacetyluridine.

Uridine Monophosphate Infographic

A Uridine Supplement May Support Cognitive Function

It has been found that Uridine plays an important role in maintaining brain tissue and modulating acetylcholine levels. Both of these processes play a major role in overall cognitive function. By positively affecting them with a Uridine supplement, we can support optimal cognitive health.

A Uridine supplement, will help maintain brain tissue by boosting the synthesis of one of the main components of brain tissue: phospholipids. Phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine make up large amounts of brain tissue and other tissue in the nervous system such as our spinal cord. By boosting the synthesis of these phospholipids, especially phosphatidylethanolamine, Uridine can help maintain healthy and strong brain tissue which can help to protect our brains and boost overall brain function!

The next most important brain-related Uridine benefit is its ability to activate a very special brain receptor called the P2Y2 receptors. This receptor is not often discussed and is not a very popular nootropic receptor target. However, out of all of the receptors in the brain, this may be one of the most important targets for cognitive enhancement. The P2Y2 plays a wide modulating role in the brain and can increase acetylcholine levels, in addition to enhancing neuroplasticity via nerve growth factor (NGF). Enhanced acetylcholine levels, go hand in hand with NGF-induced neuroplasticity to help boost cognitive function (especially memory) which makes a Uridine supplement a fantastic natural nootropic!

Now you may have heard of Uridine being combined with a fish oil high in DHA and a choline source such as Alpha GPC. This is commonly done to help promote the phospholipid synthesis enhancing effects of Uridine. The combination of a Uridine supplement with a DHA fish oil supplement and a choline supplement such as our Alpha GPC, may help to significantly boost overall cognitive health. There are many people who swear by the simple combination of Uridine, DHA fish oil and a choline supplement. There are a select few studies that have specifically looked at the Uridine, DHA fish oil and choline stack that show positive results for cognitive health.

A Uridine Supplement May Promote a Positive Mood

As an extension of the above section regarding how a Uridine supplement may help promote cognitive health, the increases in overall cognitive health may also help boost mood. It has been shown that low mood is linked to decreased brain neuroplasticity and decreased phospholipid levels. By taking a Uridine supplement, especially together with a DHA fish oil, we can help improve phospholipid levels thereby restoring healthy levels of neuroplasticity.

These mood-restoring effects of Uridine makes it a very interesting candidate for a daily, natural nootropic as it is fairly well known at this point in time that optimal cognitive function depends heavily on a positive mood. With a Uridine supplement, we can support both a positive mood in addition to a boost in cognitive function. In our opinion, this makes Uridine a versatile and valuable natural nootropic.

A Uridine Supplement May Support Sleep Quality

What good is a healthy and strong brain when we are constantly tired? Even though there are many supplements out there that can improve overall brain health, ensuring good restorative sleep is often neglected. This is because ensuring high-quality sleep can be somewhat of a tricky ordeal. We live in such a high demand world where getting a good night of sleep isn’t always a realistic opportunity. To make matters worse, a vast majority of cognitive enhancers and natural nootropics have stimulating effects. These stimulating natural nootropics help counteract tiredness from poor sleep and a busy schedule. However, they can also make it hard to get high-quality sleep if these stimulating, natural nootropics are taken too late in the day. With this in mind, every natural nootropic that can also help improve sleep quality, puts it in our highest tier category of natural nootropics! Uridine supplements are held in high regard by us as they help support sleep quality when taken around an hour before bed.

When we come across natural nootropics that also enhance sleep quality, we like to refer to them as supplements that can support memory “overnight." This makes it a great choice for people with busy schedules that may not have enough time to take their natural nootropics in the morning before heading out to work or school. Instead, a Uridine supplement can be taken before bed in order to get higher quality sleep.

A Uridine Supplement May Support Pain Management

In addition to boosting cognitive function, mood and sleep, a Uridine supplement may even help regulate pain! In our opinion, this makes Uridine an incredibly versatile supplement. A Uridine supplement appears to be especially effective at helping manage nerve-related discomfort. This appears to be a feature that is shared by other supplements which interact with nerve growth factor (NGF). So, the NGF-modulating effects of Uridine are likely where the pain regulating effects of Uridine come from.

That being said, the evidence of Uridine supplements acting as pain regulators is still somewhat thin. This is mostly due to the fact that Uridine has not been studied much by itself as a stand-alone pain-regulator, but rather has been studied as a modulator of other pain-regulators. Most notably, Uridine has been studied as a modulator of Vitamin B12 which is well known as a pain regulator, Vitamin B12 pain-regulation effects appears to be significantly more pronounced when supplemented alongside a Uridine supplement. This is interesting, as vitamin B12 can also have mood-elevating and cognition-enhancing effects. This made us ponder whether the cognition-enhancing effects of both compounds are boosted by co-supplementing both a Uridine and vitamin B12 supplement?

Conveniently, Natrium Health offers a highly-effective Vitamin B12 supplement and thus we set out to test this out in a very non-scientific way. We simply took a Uridine supplement one day, a B12 supplement the other day, and then on the third day both a Uridine supplement and a vitamin B12 supplement. Going by our own anecdotal and subjective report from this test, we found that the combination of a Uridine supplement and a Vitamin B12 supplement was much more energizing than either supplement alone!

Which Uridine Supplement Should I Take?

As can be seen throughout this article, Uridine is a fascinating compound with lots of highly beneficial effects. Whether you are looking to support your brain health, improve sleep quality or even help regulate pain, Uridine has you covered! So which of the two Uridine supplements that we carry should you take?

The Benefits of Uridine Monophosphate

Uridine Monophosphate is the most basic, but also most well researched form, of Uridine. Uridine Monophosphate is readily absorbed and utilized in our body due to the fact that it is phosphorylated. Phosphorylated Uridine is able to exert the highest amount of beneficial effects in the body. It is also the main form of Uridine that is continuously produced by our body, making it the most “natural” form of Uridine supplementation. To reap even more Uridine benefits from this Uridine Monophosphate, it can be dissolved under the tongue for sublingual administration. The taste is mild and a little bit salty. In fact, Uridine Monophosphate dissolves very readily, making it ideal for sublingual use. Sublingual Uridine Monophosphate will take effect much quicker than oral Uridine Monophosphate and also appears to have stronger effects when compared to orally supplemented Uridine Monophosphate.

The Benefits of Triacetyluridine (TAU)

Triacetyluridine, also known as TAU, is a little bit more of an "advanced" Uridine supplement. It is absorbed much more readily than Uridine Monophosphate, allowing for much lower dosing. This makes it ideal for individuals looking purely for an oral Uridine supplement in a small dose. Other than enhanced oral-bioavailability, the effects of TAU and Uridine Monophosphate are very similar. If you are looking to just integrate a simple and small dose of Uridine to your supplement regimen, without a desire to experiment with sublingual administration, then our Triacetyluridine would be a great choice!

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