I spent a year thinking I was just tired
Natural Energy
Mental Clarity
4 min read
I spent a year thinking I was just tired
Over the last few years, life has gotten busier: Three kids, three businesses, managing a team, travelling for work.
I’m used to being busy and I used thrive on it. But after having kids, I felt like something had shifted.
I wasn’t struggling to do more, I was struggling to focus on each task. Instead of sitting down to work and going deep, I’d bounce between everything.
Emails. Slack messages. Messaging friends. Back to the doc. Making phone calls. Checking on staff. School forms.
I was trying to get things done but I had this constant haziness in my head.
I knew it wasn’t exhaustion because my kids were a little older and I was getting a good night’s sleep. It felt more like a fog that made everything feel slightly harder than it should be.
I’d reread the same paragraph a few times and sometimes lose my train of thought mid-sentence.
Before kids, I never felt like this. My thinking was fast and decisive.
Now it felt unfocused.
So I tried to fix it with more coffee, water, sleep and even different routines.
They all helped for a bit. Then I’d be right back where I started and I just wanted to feel like myself again.
That’s when I realised that this wasn’t me imagining it, something had definitely changed in my body and I really didn’t want to accept this as my new normal.
So I started looking for answers.
I’m used to being busy and I used thrive on it. But after having kids, I felt like something had shifted.
I wasn’t struggling to do more, I was struggling to focus on each task. Instead of sitting down to work and going deep, I’d bounce between everything.
Emails. Slack messages. Messaging friends. Back to the doc. Making phone calls. Checking on staff. School forms.
I was trying to get things done but I had this constant haziness in my head.
I knew it wasn’t exhaustion because my kids were a little older and I was getting a good night’s sleep. It felt more like a fog that made everything feel slightly harder than it should be.
I’d reread the same paragraph a few times and sometimes lose my train of thought mid-sentence.
Before kids, I never felt like this. My thinking was fast and decisive.
Now it felt unfocused.
So I tried to fix it with more coffee, water, sleep and even different routines.
They all helped for a bit. Then I’d be right back where I started and I just wanted to feel like myself again.
That’s when I realised that this wasn’t me imagining it, something had definitely changed in my body and I really didn’t want to accept this as my new normal.
So I started looking for answers.
The first thing I found was a term that put language around what I'd been feeling: brain fog.
It was less of a medical diagnosis and more of a description. A dulling of processing speed, recall, and mental clarity that can show up even when you've slept fine and you're not particularly stressed. It surfaced in me as a lack of focus at work when juggling multiple things.
The second thing I found was the reason behind it. Two mechanisms came up repeatedly in the research: low acetylcholine availability (the neurotransmitter your brain relies on for focus and memory) and oxidative stress on neurons (which slows processing and disrupts recall).
The fuel your brain runs on is a compound called choline. Most people, especially women, don't get enough of it from diet alone. When choline is low, acetylcholine production drops. And when acetylcholine drops, so does your ability to concentrate, hold a thought, and retrieve the word you're reaching for.
That landed hard for me. Because I'd spent a year blaming my schedule, my sleep, my kids, my screen time. A year of trying to fix the wrong thing. And the actual issue was biochemical. My brain wasn't getting what it needed to do what I was asking it to do.
I went further. I found a compound called Cognizin Citicoline, the most clinically studied form of choline available. It supports the production of phosphatidylcholine, a building block of healthy brain cell membranes. 13 published clinical trials. Research from Harvard Medical School. Studies funded by the US military on cognitive performance under pressure.
Then Bacopa Monnieri, an adaptogenic herb studied for decades for its effects on working memory and processing speed. Then L-Theanine, the compound in green tea linked to calm, sustained focus. Then N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, a bioavailable amino acid your brain uses to produce dopamine and norepinephrine.
Four ingredients. All clinically studied. All targeting different parts of the same problem.
I wasn't reading this casually. I was reading it as a formulator.
The second thing I found was the reason behind it. Two mechanisms came up repeatedly in the research: low acetylcholine availability (the neurotransmitter your brain relies on for focus and memory) and oxidative stress on neurons (which slows processing and disrupts recall).
The fuel your brain runs on is a compound called choline. Most people, especially women, don't get enough of it from diet alone. When choline is low, acetylcholine production drops. And when acetylcholine drops, so does your ability to concentrate, hold a thought, and retrieve the word you're reaching for.
That landed hard for me. Because I'd spent a year blaming my schedule, my sleep, my kids, my screen time. A year of trying to fix the wrong thing. And the actual issue was biochemical. My brain wasn't getting what it needed to do what I was asking it to do.
I went further. I found a compound called Cognizin Citicoline, the most clinically studied form of choline available. It supports the production of phosphatidylcholine, a building block of healthy brain cell membranes. 13 published clinical trials. Research from Harvard Medical School. Studies funded by the US military on cognitive performance under pressure.
Then Bacopa Monnieri, an adaptogenic herb studied for decades for its effects on working memory and processing speed. Then L-Theanine, the compound in green tea linked to calm, sustained focus. Then N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, a bioavailable amino acid your brain uses to produce dopamine and norepinephrine.
Four ingredients. All clinically studied. All targeting different parts of the same problem.
I wasn't reading this casually. I was reading it as a formulator.
A while back, 5 of us, all with experience building consumer brands, partnered with a team of pharmaceutical scientists at a certified lab in France. We set out to build supplements that were actually formulated around clinical research, at real doses, specifically for women's health. That became Staje.
When I started going through this myself, the research I was finding on brain fog and choline deficiency gave me more than an explanation. It became the formulation brief for our first product.
We built Clarity around those four ingredients, at the doses used in the clinical studies, manufactured at the same GMP-certified pharmaceutical-grade facility in France. No fillers pretending to be actives. No proprietary blends hiding the real amounts. Just the ingredients, at the doses that the research says matter.
I started taking it before it had a name.
The first thing I noticed was subtle. A calmer quality to my focus. Not wired, not caffeinated. Just present. The kind of focus where you sit down to work and you actually work, without that low-level resistance.
By week 4, the fog had mostly lifted. I could hold a thought through an interruption. The word I needed was there when I reached for it. I stopped re-reading paragraphs. I stopped assuming I was just tired.
By week 12, I'd stopped thinking about it entirely. Which is the whole point. Clarity isn't something you feel hitting. It's the absence of the friction you'd gotten used to.
I built this because I needed it. And because I kept meeting women who described the exact same thing I was going through.
We aren’t just tired. We just need the right fuel.
If any of that sounds familiar, this is what I made for it.
When I started going through this myself, the research I was finding on brain fog and choline deficiency gave me more than an explanation. It became the formulation brief for our first product.
We built Clarity around those four ingredients, at the doses used in the clinical studies, manufactured at the same GMP-certified pharmaceutical-grade facility in France. No fillers pretending to be actives. No proprietary blends hiding the real amounts. Just the ingredients, at the doses that the research says matter.
I started taking it before it had a name.
The first thing I noticed was subtle. A calmer quality to my focus. Not wired, not caffeinated. Just present. The kind of focus where you sit down to work and you actually work, without that low-level resistance.
By week 4, the fog had mostly lifted. I could hold a thought through an interruption. The word I needed was there when I reached for it. I stopped re-reading paragraphs. I stopped assuming I was just tired.
By week 12, I'd stopped thinking about it entirely. Which is the whole point. Clarity isn't something you feel hitting. It's the absence of the friction you'd gotten used to.
I built this because I needed it. And because I kept meeting women who described the exact same thing I was going through.
We aren’t just tired. We just need the right fuel.
If any of that sounds familiar, this is what I made for it.
60 capsules. 30-day supply. Stimulant-free. Made in France.
90-day money-back guarantee. If it's not working, we'll make it right.
Anaita Sarkar is the co-founder of Staje and the founder of Hero Packaging. She lives in Sydney with her three kids and too many browser tabs open.
90-day money-back guarantee. If it's not working, we'll make it right.
Anaita Sarkar is the co-founder of Staje and the founder of Hero Packaging. She lives in Sydney with her three kids and too many browser tabs open.
What Real People Are Saying
The decision to prioritize your health today determines your energy for tomorrow. By simplifying your routine and focusing on what your cells actually need, you can stay ahead of the game. Join thousands of others who are refusing to slow down or settle for feeling tired every day.
You guys were NOT lying about Clarity & clearing brain fog. AMAZING. I am hooked, could not believe how quick it worked.
I had Clarity this morning and redone 2 of my Klaviyo flows — that's 7 whole emails and I HATE doing it. Been procrastinating for weeks but got it done.
HIGHLY Recommend! Took this on a Thursday afternoon mid-slump. Foggy, low energy, couldn't keep a thought straight. An hour in the fog started lifting and focus kicked in. By two hours I felt completely different. Energy up, mood up, actually getting things done.
The science behind MonoPure targets your energy levels at the source. By helping your cells work better, it provides a steady stream of natural energy without any jitters. Our special process ensures these ingredients actually get absorbed so you can feel a real difference in your daily life.
A New Standard In Purity That Actually Gets Absorbed
Here's the truth about supplements: most of the time you don't know if they're working. Not because the ingredients are wrong, but because they never make it where they need to go. They break down too early, absorb poorly, or release all at once and fade fast. So we built something different. The patented beadlet technology that we use doesn't just protect clinical actives, it delivers them exactly when and where your body can use them best. That means results you can actually feel from day one, and transformations that build over time.
This is the science behind every capsule. The tech that turns ingredients into impact. Welcome backstage.
This is the science behind every capsule. The tech that turns ingredients into impact. Welcome backstage.
Inside the beadlet
Each beadlet is a tiny, semi-permeable capsule designed to protect, preserve, and release active ingredients with precision.
Unlike traditional powder capsules that dump everything at once (and lose potency in your stomach acid), our beadlets shield actives through gastric breakdown and deliver them exactly where absorption happens best.
The result? Up to 96% protection compared to just 80% with powder, and a controlled release that works immediately, builds gradually, and keeps performing for up to 8 hours. One beadlet capsule can deliver what five traditional powder capsules can't.
Each beadlet is a tiny, semi-permeable capsule designed to protect, preserve, and release active ingredients with precision.
Unlike traditional powder capsules that dump everything at once (and lose potency in your stomach acid), our beadlets shield actives through gastric breakdown and deliver them exactly where absorption happens best.
The result? Up to 96% protection compared to just 80% with powder, and a controlled release that works immediately, builds gradually, and keeps performing for up to 8 hours. One beadlet capsule can deliver what five traditional powder capsules can't.
