NASA's Genius Study: What It Means for Your Focus

NASA set out to find what makes a genius, and what they discovered was not a shortage of raw talent. It was evidence that most people had their genius systematically removed from them over time.

The NASA Study That Changed How We Think About Creativity

In the 1960s, NASA commissioned psychologist George Land to solve a specific problem: how do you identify people with genuinely exceptional creative and problem-solving ability before you hire them?

Land designed a creativity test that measured divergent thinking, the capacity to generate multiple novel solutions to a single problem. He ran it on 1,600 children aged five. The results were extraordinary: 98% of those children scored at genius level.

Land followed the same cohort over time. By age 10, only 30% still qualified. By 15, just 12%. By adulthood, 2%.

This was not a study about genetics or innate intelligence. The same people, tested repeatedly, showed a steep and consistent decline. Land's conclusion was blunt: uncreative thinking is learned. School conditions children to produce one correct answer rather than many possible ones, and that habit of convergent thinking becomes the default setting for adult cognition.

You were not born without creative capacity. It was trained out of you.

Why This Matters More for High Performers

For founders, professionals and athletes, the stakes of this are high. Divergent thinking is not a soft skill. It is the cognitive process behind novel strategy, rapid problem-solving and the kind of thinking that produces competitive advantage.

The irony is that the environments high performers tend to inhabit, high pressure, high stimulation, always-on, are precisely the conditions most likely to suppress it further.

3 Evidence-Backed Ways to Reclaim It

1. Schedule Boredom Deliberately

Block twenty minutes daily with no phone, no podcast and no input of any kind. Walk, stare at the ceiling, make tea. The rule is simple: produce nothing useful during this window.

The reason this works is neurological. The brain's default mode network, the system responsible for imagination, novel connection-making and insight, only activates fully when you stop feeding it stimulation. Constant input keeps that system suppressed. Your best ideas arrive in the shower because that is one of the few moments of genuine cognitive rest in your day.

2. Morning Pages, Done Differently

Three handwritten pages first thing, before screens, before coffee if you can manage it. Do not try to write well. Write the shopping list, write that you have nothing to say, write the dream you half-remember.

Julia Cameron introduced this practice in The Artist's Way as a way to drain mental static before it can clog the day. Writing by hand forces a slower processing speed than typing, which keeps the inner critic slightly behind the pen and gives actual ideas a running start.

3. Impose a Real Constraint

Pick one absurd rule and apply it for a week. Only write dialogue. Only use three colours. Only solve the problem using objects in the room.

Constraints feel like they should reduce output. They reliably do the opposite. When options are unlimited, the brain defaults to familiar patterns because familiar is efficient. A genuine constraint forces it off the well-worn path. Twyla Tharp documents exactly this in The Creative Habit.

The Biochemical Layer Most Productivity Advice Ignores

The three practices above address behaviour. But if your neurochemistry is working against you, the ceiling on your results is lower than it needs to be.

Two ingredients stand out here, and both are central to CONKA's formulation), which holds UK patent GB2620279.

Rhodiola Rosea acts as an adaptogen by modulating the HPA axis and regulating cortisol release. Chronic stress suppresses divergent thinking directly. By reducing the cortisol load on the brain, Rhodiola creates the physiological conditions in which creative cognition can actually function. Research has used standardised extract at 200mg to 600mg daily (3% rosavins, 1% salidroside), including the Shevtsov et al. (2003) trials.

Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha GPC) works as a direct choline precursor, raising acetylcholine availability in the brain. Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter most directly involved in sustained attention and working memory, both of which creative problem-solving draws on heavily. Clinical trials reviewed by Traini et al. (2013) used doses of 300mg to 600mg per day.

These are not general wellness claims. These are specific mechanisms with specific research behind them.

CONKA's clinical trials, run in partnership with Durham University and Cambridge University across 914 cognitive tests, have demonstrated an 18.1% performance advantage over caffeine. The formulation is Informed Sport certified, batch-tested and used by over 50 elite sports clubs including NFL teams, England Rugby and Premier League clubs.

If you want the best focus energy supplements to be backed by something more than a label claim, the mechanism matters. Understanding how supplements for focus and concentration actually work at a neurochemical level is the difference between buying a product and making an informed decision.

The CONKA ingredients page) breaks down every compound in the formulation and the evidence behind each one.

Frequently Asked Questions

• question: "Why do adults lose creativity as they age?"

answer: "George Land's NASA study found creativity declines due to learned convergent thinking, not biology. School and professional environments train people to seek single correct answers rather than multiple possibilities. This suppresses divergent thinking over time, but structured practice and the right neurochemical environment can partially reverse it."

• question: "What does the default mode network do?"

answer: "The default mode network is the brain's imagination and insight system. It activates during periods of mental rest and is responsible for novel connection-making, creative problem-solving and forward thinking. Constant stimulation and screen exposure suppress this network, which is why unstructured downtime often generates better ideas than focused work sessions."

• question: "What are the best focus energy supplements for high performers?"

answer: "The most evidence-supported options target specific cognitive mechanisms rather than general energy. Rhodiola Rosea modulates cortisol via the HPA axis, Alpha GPC raises acetylcholine for sustained attention, and Ginkgo Biloba supports cerebral blood flow. Formulations with clinical trial data and third-party certification are significantly more reliable than uncertified alternatives."

• question: "How do supplements for focus and concentration actually work?"

answer: "Effective supplements for focus and concentration act on specific neurotransmitter systems or stress hormones rather than providing general stimulation. Alpha GPC increases acetylcholine, which drives attention and working memory. Rhodiola Rosea reduces cortisol-driven cognitive suppression. The mechanism matters more than the marketing claim on the label."

• question: "What is Rhodiola Rosea good for cognitively?"

answer: "Rhodiola Rosea modulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to regulate cortisol output under stress. This reduces mental fatigue and the suppression of divergent thinking that chronic stress causes. Human trials including Shevtsov et al. (2003) used standardised extract at 200mg to 600mg daily with measurable effects on cognitive performance."