135+ Ways To Increase Verbal Fluency, Fluidity, and Recall (And What To Avoid)
By Jacob Gordon, INHC, FMT-CThis article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, MyBioHack earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. We only link products we research and stand behind.
Talking can be hard sometimes.
That's why there's science to help you increase your ability to speak well.
Check out the sweet list below to increase verbal fluency!
Basics
Have you ever had trouble continuing or finishing your sentence?
Do you easily get stuck on words, like saying things such as "um" and "uh"?
Well now for only 10 easy payments of $19.95, you can have your very own speech bot and speak like a genius!
What You Should Know About Verbal Fluency
Verbal fluency is generally divided into two – category fluency (CF) and letter fluency (LF). R
Each assess language functions (vocabulary size, naming), speed of response, mental organization, search strategies and long-term memory. R
Women perform better at verbal fluency tests than men. R
Education is correlated with better verbal fluency. R
IQ is usually not. R
Verbal fluency seems to get worse with age, while there is increased inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. R R
Lack of confidence and Autism Spectrum Disorders can also contribute to verbal fluency. R
Verbal fluency is positively associated with induced positive mood and correlated with the right temporal love, left frontal cortex, the left parahippocampal gyrus, the arcuate fasciculus, and the hippocampus (fornix). R R R R R R R
Design fluency is positively associated with induced negative mood and correlated with both the right and left frontal cortexes. R R
Decreased verbal fluency been shown in patients that have lesions in the frontal and temporal lobes. R
Verbal fluency can act as a possible predictor for psychosis. R
Many psychologists think that when you try to recall a word, you create a spreading network of semantic associations. R
A lot of what holds us back on speech is too much activation of the brain, especially in the amygdala. R
Fear is controlled by the amygdala. R
Among other genes, both COMT and DAOA (SNP rs746187), (the gene that helps activate of D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO), which degrades the gliotransmitter D-serine, a potent activator of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) type glutamate receptors), play a major role in cognitive function and verbal fluency. R R
What Increases Verbal Fluency
Working on behavior and mindset are the two biggest things one can do.
Supplements are good for short-term.
Lifestyle And Diseases
- Being Blind R
- Brain Training (such as Cogpack) R R R R
- Change Your Thoughts
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Confidence
- Daily Crosswords and Word Puzzles R R
- Decrease Anxiety (and overthinking)
- Dual-N-Back R
- Exercise (and physical activity - increasing irisin) R R R
- Free Writing
- Good Sleep R R
- Improv Classes
- Increasing myelination R
- Ketogenic Diet R R
- Learn Another Language
- Meditation R
- Music R R R
- NoFap (for guys)
- Reading Out Loud (and just reading in general)
- Speech-Giving Classes (like Toastmasters)
- Speech Therapy
- Taking a nap R
- Treadmill walking R
- Videochatting R
- Williams syndrome R
- Yoga R
Supplements And Foods
- Acetyl-L-Carnitine R
- Alcohol (acutely) R
- Alpha-GPC
- Apoaequorin R
- Artichoke Extract
- Ashwaganda
- Bacopa R
- CDP Choline R
- Chocolate and Cocoa R
- Coffee (Caffeine) R
- DAOA R
- DMAE
- Fish Oil (Krill Oil) R
- Folate R
- Forskolin
- GABA R
- Galantamine R
- Ginseng (Panax)
- Glucose R
- Glutamine
- Gynostemma (Jiaogulan)
- Huperzine A
- Inositol
- Lemon Balm
- Lutein R
- Luteolin
- Mucuna
- NADH (and Niacinamide) R
- Quercertin
- Rhodiola Rosea
- Sulbutiamine
- Theanine
- Tyrosine
- Uridine
- Vitamin B12 R
Hormones
- Cortisol (enhancement by blocking other glucocorticoids) R
- DHEA R
- Estrogen R R
- Intranasal Insulin R
- Intranasal vasopressin R
- Melatonin R
- Oxytocin R
- Testosterone R
Drugs And Chemicals
- Adrafinil
- Amphetamines (but chronic use can decrease verbal fluency) R R R
- Aniracetam R
- Arecoline R
- Blonanserin R
- Bromantane
- Bromocriptine R
- Carbenoxolone (licorice root) R
- Centrophenoxine
- Cerebrolysin
- Clozapine R
- Colouracetam
- Erythropoietin R
- Etanercept R
- Fampridine R
- Fasoracetam
- Dihexa
- Donepezil R
- Haloperidol R
- Idebenone
- Lamotrigine R
- Levetiracetam R
- Levodopa (L-Dopa) R
- MDMA (acute improves, but chronic intake makes verbal fluency worse) R R R R
- Memantine R
- Methylphenidate
- Modafinil R
- Naloxone R
- Nicotine (Gum) R
- Noopept R
- NSI-189
- Olanzapine R
- Oxiracetam
- PBT-2 R
- Piracetam R
- Piribedil (minimal) R
- Peptide 6
- Peptide 21
- Phenibut
- Phenylpiracetam
- Physostigmine R
- PRL 8-53
- Propranolol R
- Risperidone R
- Scopolamine R
- Semax
- Selank
- Selegiline R
- SRIs and SSRIs R R
- Sunifiram
- Tiagabine R
- Tianeptine
- Unifiram
- Zoloft (Sertraline)
Devices
- Electroconvulsive therapy (needs to be chronic, acute will show decreased verbal fluency) R R
- HRV Training
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers R
- Neurofeedback R
- tDCS R
- Thalamic deep brain stimulation R
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation - Use code "LHE" for 15% off R
- Vestibular stimulation R
Other
- Inhibiting HSD1 R
- Oxygenation R
- Subtemporal amygdalohippocampectomy R
- Withdrawal of carbamazepine and valproate R
What Decreases Verbal Fluency
Lifestyle And Diseases
- ADHD R
- Alcohol abuse (long term) R R
- Alzheimer's Disease R
- Amnesia R
- Bad Sleep (sleepwalking/sleep terrors) R R
- Being Underweight or Overweight R R
- Bipolar Disorder R
- Birth Control (changes during cycle) R
- Chronic Pain R
- Cirrhosis R
- Cochlear implants R
- Concussions (and head injuries) R
- Depression R
- Down Syndrome R
- Epilepsy R
- HIV R
- Hypogonadism R
- Hypothyroidism R
- Inflammation R R
- Insulin Resistance R
- Internet Addiction R
- Low Bone Mineral Density R
- Low DHEA R
- Menopause R
- Multiple Sclerosis R
- NAFLD R
- Parkinson's Disease R
- PTSD R
- Schizophrenia R
- Sleep Apnea R
- Social Anxiety
- Stress R
- Stroke R
- Traumatic Brain Injuries R
Drugs And Chemicals
Other
My Favorite Stack For Verbal Fluency
I don't need to take everything together to get verbal fluency.
- BH4
- Brain Gain
- Bright Light Device
- Cannabidiol
- Intranasal Insulin
- Oxygen Concentrator
- Super Coffee
- Sulforaphane/Broccoli Sprouts
- Theanine
- Tyrosine
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation - Use code "LHE" for 15% off
The lifestyle choices I do are:
- Brain Training (also use apps)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Exercise (specifically HIST)
- Making Music
- Making Videos
- Improv Classes
- Increasing My Confidence (and Knowing What I'm Talking About)
- Reading Out Loud
- Speaking to 5 New and Random People Per Day
- Study Vocabulary (apps and reading the dictionary/thesaurus)
- Talking To Myself In The Mirror
- Treadmill walking
Obviously talking more in public and changing your mindset really helps me.
It is really about building my confidence so I don't have to rely on my reward system (dopamine receptors) and fear (increasing GABA and reducing amygdala activation).
I've also found that inhibiting histone deacetylation really helps social anxiety.
Read more about this in my article on fear extinction.
More Research
Jacob Gordon
INHC, FMT-C
Board Certified Health Coach
I spent years battling unexplained chronic illness before discovering biohacking, epigenetics, and functional medicine. Now I share that research at MyBioHack to help others find their own answers.
Book a ConsultationRelated Protocols & Supplements
Deep-dive chapters and recommended supplements for this topic
Quercetin
500mg 2x/day
Vitamin D3 + K2
5000 IU + 200mcg/day
Magnesium Glycinate
400mg at bedtime
