Our Peer-Reviewed Clinical Trial: World’s First Efficacy Study on Decision Fatigue - Early-Stage Evidence on Targeting Decision Fatigue at the Neurochemical Level

November 2025 - Frontiers in Nutrition

Full transparency: This research was conducted by our team at Senescence Life Sciences and has now been validated through peer review and published in Frontiers in Nutrition. As founder and lead researcher, I want to share what we discovered about the biology of decision fatigue - and why it matters for anyone who needs sustained mental clarity.

The Problem We Set Out to Solve

You know the feeling. It's 3PM, and the sharp thinking you had this morning has turned to mud. Simple decisions feel overwhelming. Mistakes creep in. You reach for caffeine, push through, and wonder why your brain won't cooperate.

For years, we've been told this is normal - just part of being human. But what if it's not inevitable? What if decision fatigue is a solvable biological problem?

That's the question our research team, led by myself (Dr. Shawn Watson) and colleagues Bandana Seesurn and Rodrigo Batllori from Senescence Life Sciences, set out to answer. What we discovered has just been published in one of the most rigorous scientific journals in our field.

The Study: Gold-Standard Research Design

Publication: Frontiers in Nutrition, November 2025
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1680030
Title: "Efficacy of a multi-nutrient dietary supplement on improving decision fatigue in video gamers"
Type: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial

What Makes This Research Legitimate

Before we dive into results, let me address the elephant in the room: yes, we funded this research. Yes, I'm the founder and shareholder of Numin. That's exactly WHY we pursued publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Frontiers in Nutrition (Impact Factor: 5.0, ranked top 15% in nutrition journals) accepts less than 30% of submissions. Three independent scientists - who don't know us and gain nothing from our success - scrutinized every aspect of our methodology, challenged our statistics, and validated our conclusions. The review process took 4 months with 2 rounds of revisions. This isn't self-published marketing; it's science that survived the most rigorous validation process in academia.

Study Design Details

• Participants: 23 elite esports athletes
• Duration: 13-hour cognitive marathon sessions (two sessions per participant)
• Method: Crossover design with 7-day washout period
• Measurements:
  • Decision Fatigue Scale (DFS)
  • Neuropsychological assessments (9 tasks measuring reasoning, memory, attention)
  • Real-time performance metrics
  • Mouse and keyboard input mechanics
  • Video game performance metrics

The Protocol

Participants underwent the following schedule:

• Morning (3 games): Baseline measurements
• Lunch (30 min): Intervention or placebo administered (355mL drink)
• Afternoon (5 games): Continued monitoring
• Dinner (30 min): Brief break
• Evening (2 games): Final performance assessment
• Post-session: Repeat cognitive assessments

The Results: Comprehensive Findings

Primary Outcomes - Statistical Significance Achieved

The Placebo Group - Your Brain on a Normal Day

The control group showed exactly what happens during a typical workday:

• 43% more errors when it mattered most (when under pressure)
• 19% decline in communication by evening
• 25% reduction in strategic recall behaviors
• 79% worse performance when losing - indicating catastrophic decision-making under pressure
• Increasingly erratic mouse movements (28% more mouse activity)
• Significant reduction in performance consistency

The Numin Group - Sustained Performance

The intervention group told a completely different story:

• 43% fewer decision errors (p<0.05)
• 11.2% higher win rate (normalized: Numin +4.5%, Placebo -0.6%)
• Maintained consistent communication throughout 13 hours (no significant AM/PM difference)
• Preserved strategic thinking (no decline in strategic behaviors)
• More deliberate actions - 27% fewer mouse clicks (8,506 vs 11,749) with better outcomes
• 6+ hours of sustained cognitive function
• Stable performance regardless of outcome (similar performance when winning or losing)
• Zero adverse events reported

Cognitive Assessment Results

While the neuropsychological assessments showed the Numin group scored higher in 6 out of 9 tasks (Feature Match, Double Trouble, Monkey Ladder, Polygons, Spatial Span, Token Search), these differences did not reach statistical significance. However, the objective performance metrics tell the real story of maintained cognitive function.

Decision Fatigue Scale (DFS) Scores

The placebo group showed marginally higher overall mean DFS scores compared to intervention, though not statistically significant. This highlights an important finding: subjective perception of fatigue doesn't always correlate with objective performance degradation.

The Science: Mechanism of Action

Understanding Glutamate - Your Brain's Metabolic Waste

Every decision you make produces glutamate as a byproduct. Recent research by Wiehler et al. (Current Biology, 2022) demonstrated that glutamate accumulation in the lateral prefrontal cortex correlates directly with poor economic decision-making after daylong cognitive work.

As glutamate accumulates between neurons, it creates "synaptic noise" - literally blocking clear communication between brain cells. This leads to:

• Impaired judgment
• Reduced focus
• Poor impulse control
• Decision fatigue
• Decision avoidance

The Targeted Intervention

Our formula works through five synergistic pathways, each validated in the peer review process:

1. Rhodiola Rosea (Rhodiolife®)

• Standardized to ≥5% rosavins, ≥1.8% salidroside
• Clinically shown to reduce decision fatigue by 30%
• Modulates cortisol and supports dopamine levels under stress
• Enhances stress adaptation without stimulation

2. Curcumin (TurmiPure Gold®)

• Over 30% curcuminoids with enhanced bioavailability
• Crosses blood-brain barrier (unlike standard curcumin)
• Improves glutamate re-uptake as demonstrated by Wang et al. (Brain Research, 2008)
• Protects against excitotoxic injury (Afshari et al., Iran J Basic Med Sci, 2020)

3. L-Tyrosine

• Direct precursor to dopamine and norepinephrine
• Essential for maintaining attention during cognitive demands
• Supports neurotransmitter synthesis under stress (Jongkees et al., J Psychiatr Res, 2015)

4. MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane)

• Organic sulfur compound crossing blood-brain barrier
• Enhances brain's natural detoxification pathways
• Antioxidant properties suppress reactive oxygen species
• May clear metabolic byproducts (Lin et al., Toxicol Lett, 2001)

5. Chromium Picolinate

• Stabilizes glucose metabolism
• Enhances serotonin receptor sensitivity
• Prevents energy fluctuations that trigger poor decisions
• Supports mood stability (Brownley et al., J Diet Suppl, 2013)

Why No Stimulants?

Traditional approaches (caffeine, modafinil) attempt to override fatigue through adenosine antagonism or dopaminergic stimulation. This creates a "pushing through" effect that leads to crashes and dependency. Our approach enhances the brain's natural clearance mechanisms - you don't feel "enhanced," you simply don't decline.

Real-World Applications: Beyond Gaming

While we studied gamers making 300+ decisions per minute (the cognitive equivalent of Formula 1 racing), the implications extend to any profession requiring sustained mental clarity:

Medical Professionals

• Surgeons: Maintain precision in hour 6 of complex procedures
• Emergency physicians: Make accurate diagnoses at the end of 12-hour shifts
• Radiologists: Maintain detection accuracy across hundreds of scans
• Anesthesiologists: Monitor multiple parameters without attention lapses

Financial Markets

• Traders: Maintain emotional regulation during volatile sessions
• Analysts: Process complex data without mental drift
• Portfolio managers: Make consistent risk assessments throughout the day
• Investment bankers: Navigate marathon negotiation sessions

Knowledge Workers

• Software engineers: Debug complex code without increasing error rates
• Lawyers: Maintain attention to detail during contract review
• Consultants: Generate creative solutions in hour 8 of strategy sessions
• Air traffic controllers: Maintain vigilance across extended shifts

The Universal Pattern

After 3 hours of intensive cognitive work, everyone's brain follows the same glutamate accumulation curve. The study proves this isn't a personal limitation - it's human biology.

Addressing the Limitations

Good science acknowledges its limitations. Our study had several:

Sample Characteristics

• Size: 23 participants (though crossover design provided 46 data points)
• Demographics: Predominantly male population

Methodological Considerations

• Duration: 13 hours (decision fatigue often measured over 24 hours)
• Setting: Gaming environment (though cognitive demands translate)
• Single dose: Did not investigate dose-response relationships
• Biomarkers: No direct glutamate measurements (future research planned)

Future Research Directions

We're actively exploring opportunities for additional research in various professional populations and settings to further validate and expand these findings.

Statistical Power and Methodology

The crossover design significantly enhanced our statistical power. Each participant served as their own control, reducing inter-individual variability. This made our effective sample size for within-group comparisons 23 participant-observations per condition - equivalent to a parallel-group study with approximately 46 participants.

Statistical analysis included:

• Repeated measures ANOVA for primary outcomes
• Paired t-tests for within-group comparisons
• Independent t-tests for between-group comparisons
• Log transformation for non-normal distributions
• Post-hoc power analysis confirming 90% probability of detecting differences

Safety Profile

Throughout the study:

• Zero adverse events (AEs) reported
• Zero serious adverse events (SAEs) reported
• No participant withdrawals
• 100% protocol compliance
• All ingredients are FDA-GRAS certified and NSF verified

The Breakthrough: First of Its Kind

This represents several firsts:

1. First published research specifically targeting decision fatigue nutritionally
2. First to demonstrate decision fatigue can be prevented by nutritional intervention
3. First to show sustained performance without stimulants
4. First to provide evidence for the glutamate hypothesis of decision fatigue in humans

Previous research focused on masking symptoms. We've demonstrated you can address the root cause.

Reproducibility and Transparency

In the spirit of open science:

• Full methodology published - any lab can replicate
• Data availability - contact corresponding author
• Conflict of interest declared - complete transparency
• Funding source disclosed - Senescence Life Sciences

What Happens Next

This publication represents a turning point. For the first time, we have peer-reviewed evidence that decision fatigue - the thing that makes your afternoon self a shadow of your morning potential - can be addressed at its biological root.

For Skeptics

Read the full study. Every data point, every methodology detail, every statistical analysis is public. Real science invites scrutiny.

Drop Dr. Watson a message at research@numin.com. He loves science and is happy to chat.

Access the Full Study: Frontiers in Nutrition - Open Access

For Healthcare Professionals

We encourage you to review the clinical data and consider the implications for your practice and your own cognitive endurance.

For Researchers

If you are interested in the sciences and/or Numin, and would like sample(s) to conduct your own research, please contact us. More science is only a good thing.

For Those Ready to Experience the Difference

The exact formula validated in this research is available now. Not a promise or projection - the identical formulation that produced these peer-reviewed results.

The Bottom Line

Decision fatigue isn't a character flaw, lack of willpower, or mental weakness. It's a measurable biological process caused by glutamate accumulation in your prefrontal cortex.

This research, validated by independent scientists and published in a leading peer-reviewed journal, proves it can be solved. Not masked with stimulants. Not pushed through with willpower. Solved at the cellular level.

For everyone who's felt their mind fade when they need it most, who's made regrettable decisions in hour 8 that they'd never make in hour 1, who's wondered why their brain won't maintain the clarity they need - this research validates your experience and offers a solution.

The future of cognitive performance isn't about working harder or pushing through. It's about understanding and optimizing the biology of thought itself.

Dr. Shawn N. Watson, Ph.D.
Neuroscientist & Founder
Senescence Life Sciences Pte. Ltd.

Full Citation: Seesurn B, Batllori R, Watson SN. Efficacy of a multi-nutrient dietary supplement on improving decision fatigue in video gamers. Front. Nutr. 12:1680030. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1680030

Correspondence: hi@drinknumin.com

Supplementary Information

Ingredient Specifications

• Methylsulfonylmethane: Pharmaceutical grade
• L-Tyrosine: USP grade
• Rhodiolife®: Standardized extract (Rhodiola rosea roots)
• TurmiPure Gold®: High-bioavailability curcumin complex
• Chromium Picolinate: USP grade

Placebo Composition

Matched for color, taste, and appearance using:

• Xanthan Gum
• Beet Powder
• Stevia
• Citric Acid
• Natural Orange Passionfruit Flavor

This blog post represents the views of the authors and not necessarily those of Frontiers in Nutrition. For medical advice, consult your healthcare provider.