The Science
The research behind every capsule
CTRL isn't a hopeful blend. Every active earns its place in published human research. Below: what each one does, the strongest finding, and a link to the paper so you can check it yourself.
Shop CTRL →L-Tyrosine 450 mg
The raw material your brain turns into dopamine. When stress and overstimulation burn through your supply faster than food can replace it, tyrosine restocks the line.
Your brain builds dopamine from tyrosine in three steps. CTRL delivers step one.
Tyrosine → L-DOPA → dopamine & norepinephrine.
A 2015 review of human trials found tyrosine sharpens cognition exactly when the brain is under stress or heavy load, the moment your dopamine runs low.
The landmark review
Across controlled studies, tyrosine restored working memory and mental flexibility under pressure versus placebo, with the biggest gains when dopamine was running low.
View study on PubMedHow it works: the precursor effect
A single dose improved cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch tasks fast, by topping up the precursor your brain needs to keep making dopamine.
View study on PubMedL-Theanine 200 mg
The reason CTRL feels calm, not wired. L-Theanine shifts your brain into relaxed focus and quiets the jittery urge to scroll. No sedation, no crash.
At 200 mg, the exact dose in CTRL, alpha brain waves climb.
Relative alpha-band EEG activity, single 200 mg dose (Nobre, Rao & Owen, 2008).
Alpha waves are your brain's calm, ready state, the one meditators train for. The 200 mg dose lifts them with zero drowsiness.
Calm without sedation, at our exact dose
L-Theanine significantly raised alpha activity, which the authors say "relaxes the mind without inducing drowsiness." Strongest at the 200 mg dose CTRL uses.
View study on PubMedStress & cognition over 4 weeks
Four weeks of L-Theanine eased stress and improved cognition, including verbal fluency, versus placebo in healthy adults.
View study on PubMedMagnesium Bisglycinate 120 mg
Magnesium bound to glycine for gentle, high absorption that's easy on your stomach. It quiets an overexcited nervous system and holds the calm baseline everything else is built on.
Magnesium turns down the overexcitation that keeps a stressed brain from settling.
Magnesium modulates NMDA-receptor signalling and the body's stress response.
A 2017 review found magnesium eased subjective anxiety in people prone to it, in line with its role in the stress response.
Magnesium & the stress response
Reviewing controlled studies, the authors found magnesium eased subjective anxiety in vulnerable groups.
View study on PubMedWhy bisglycinate
Bound to glycine, magnesium bisglycinate absorbs well and stays gentle, skipping the laxative effect of cheap oxide forms.
View research on PubMedSix actives. One capsule. No stimulants.
Shop CTRL →Rhodiola Rosea 200 mg · 3% / 1%
An adaptogenic root standardised to 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside. Where tyrosine builds dopamine, Rhodiola makes it last and eases the fatigue stress leaves behind.
In a placebo-controlled trial, standardised Rhodiola cut stress fatigue and sharpened attention.
Anti-fatigue & attention improvement over 28 days (Olsson, von Schéele & Panossian, 2009).
Over four weeks of daily use, the Rhodiola group felt less fatigue and focused better than placebo.
Stress-related fatigue & attention
Standardised Rhodiola (SHR-5) significantly reduced fatigue and improved attention in stressed adults, with a calmer morning cortisol response.
View study on PubMedHow it protects dopamine
Lab studies show Rhodiola slows monoamine oxidase, the enzyme that breaks dopamine down, so the dopamine you make lasts longer.
View research on PubMedVitamin D3 1000 IU
Not just a bone vitamin. D3 works at the gene level to support dopamine production and mood, so your gains build and hold instead of fading by afternoon.
Vitamin D receptors sit on the same brain regions that make and use dopamine
Vitamin D supports tyrosine hydroxylase, a rate limiting step in dopamine synthesis.
A meta-analysis of thousands of people tied low vitamin D to higher rates of low mood, underlining its role in healthy brain function.
Vitamin D status & mood
Across studies, lower vitamin D tracked with higher rates of depression, supporting a link between healthy D levels and mood.
View study on PubMedD3 in the dopamine system
Vitamin D helps regulate the genes and enzymes behind dopamine, which is why it works as a foundation, not a quick hit.
View research on PubMedVitamin B6 · P-5-P 5 mg
The small ingredient that powers the big ones. CTRL uses pre-activated P-5-P, the exact cofactor your enzymes need to finish turning tyrosine into dopamine.
P-5-P is the spark plug for the enzyme that turns the dopamine precursor into dopamine
P-5-P is the required cofactor for aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase (AADC).
Every neurotransmitter step here, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, runs on B6. The active P-5-P form skips a conversion your body would do itself.
B6 as a neurotransmitter cofactor
Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is the essential cofactor for the enzyme that makes dopamine and serotonin, so active B6 is a prerequisite for the whole pathway.
View research on PubMedWhy the active form
Standard B6 must be converted by the liver first. CTRL uses P-5-P directly, so it's ready the moment it's absorbed.
View research on PubMedRebuild, protect, and use your own dopamine.
Precursor, cofactor, protector, and calm, dosed to work together. No stimulants, no caffeine, no crash. Just the chemistry your brain runs on.
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