Semax intranasal 10-week log — cognitive and mood tracking
41 posts
Been meaning to run a proper Semax log for a while. I'm a software engineer, desk job, high cognitive load. Lately I've been struggling with sustained focus on harder problems — I can do 30 minutes then lose thread.
Goal: see if Semax moves my subjective focus/mood numbers in a repeatable way, and whether it survives a washout.
Baseline tracking (2 weeks pre-cycle):
- Focus self-score 1-10, same time each day (11am): 6.2 avg
- Mood 1-10 (11am): 6.8 avg
- Task-switching frustration 1-10: 6.0 avg
- Sleep quality 1-10: 7.1 avg
- Anki retention on a tough deck: 82%
Stack:
- Semax intranasal, 1mg/day AM, 10 weeks
- No other new variables, no changes to caffeine/sleep/exercise
Will post every 2 weeks.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
13 Replies
34 posts
Semax is the one that gives me a legitimate 'clicked into gear' feeling. Selank is more about anxiety for me.
41 posts
Week 2: focus 7.4 avg, mood 7.3 avg, task-switch 5.1, sleep 7.0, Anki 85%. Noticeably easier to sit down and get into a flow state in the morning.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
16 posts
Good that you have a 2-week baseline. Placebo is strong on cognitive compounds.
41 posts
Week 4: focus 7.6, mood 7.4, task-switch 4.8, sleep 7.2, Anki 87%. Holding the improvement. Friends noticing I seem 'on' in the morning more than before.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
18 posts
The stressful-week dip is common. Semax doesn't override the rest of your life, it just raises the baseline a bit.
41 posts
Week 6: focus 7.3, mood 7.2, task-switch 5.2, Anki 85%. Slight regression this week, I think because work was unusually stressful. Hard to separate signal.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
41 posts
Week 8: focus 7.7, mood 7.3, task-switch 4.5, Anki 88%. Back to the trend. Started testing whether dosing late afternoon messes with sleep — no, but I also noticed a late dose does nothing as far as I can tell.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
41 posts
Week 10 final + washout plan: focus 7.5, mood 7.3, task-switch 4.7, Anki 87%. Dropping to nothing now for 2 weeks and will re-test to see if it sticks.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
23 posts
41 posts
Washout week 1: focus 7.0, mood 6.9, task-switch 5.5, Anki 84%. Noticeable slip already.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
41 posts
Washout week 2: focus 6.6, mood 6.9, task-switch 5.8, Anki 83%. Back to near-baseline on focus and Anki, mood held a bit.
Conclusion: for me, Semax produced a modest but clearly positive bump on focus and retention that did NOT survive washout. Mood was a smaller effect. Going to resume at 1mg/day as a workday tool, skip weekends.
- Semax · 600 mcg · AM intranasal · intranasal
- Selank · 250 mcg · as needed · intranasal
33 posts
Gold standard on the cognitive side. Adding to the example list.
- MOTS-c · 10 mg · weekly · sub-Q
- 5-Amino-1MQ · 100 mg · daily AM · oral
71 posts
I'll give it to you — this is about as well-designed a self-trial as you can do on a cognitive compound without a blinded placebo. Nicely done.