I wasn't even planning on writing this, but I couldn't find a straight answer anywhere…
I've always had a love/hate relationship with reading. I want to read more - books, long-form articles, dense stuff that actually teaches me something - but after 10 or 15 minutes, my mind just drifts. I either start rereading the same paragraph five times or get tempted to check my phone for absolutely no reason. Super annoying.
I figured it was just a willpower thing, so I tried forcing myself into Pomodoro timers, turning my phone off, even switching to physical books to cut down on screen fatigue. Didn't really help. Then I started trying herbal teas people said were calming but focusing. No noticeable difference. I even messed around with binaural beats and ambient playlists. Cool background noise, but didn't actually help me stay mentally in it.
Anyway, what finally did help - and this was kind of accidental - was experimenting with a few nootropics. I wasn't expecting much, to be honest. I started super simple: a bit of L-theanine and caffeine together. That combo alone gave me a calmer focus, and it was the first time I realized: oh… this is what it feels like to actually stay engaged with a book for more than 20 minutes!
After that I added a few more things to the mix. Lion's mane for longer-term focus and mental clarity, and citicoline, which someone in a forum thread recommended for mental stamina and for helping with long reading sessions. Once I found the right balance, I noticed I could sit down and read for a solid hour or more without drifting off or feeling mentally drained.
I don't want to make this sound like some big revelation or push anything on anyone, but if you've been struggling with reading fatigue or short attention spans during deep reading sessions, this route might be worth exploring.
Oh, and for what it's worth, after a bunch of trial and error I ended up just sticking with Mind Lab Pro, since it has most of the stuff I was using separately and felt pretty clean. Not saying it'll work for everyone, but it's made long reading way less of a struggle for me.