Work more concentrated and longer without getting tired – that’s what performance-enhancing pills promise. But brain doping is dangerous. The artificial learning frenzy is not free from doing harm that has hardly been researched to date.
Modafinil won’t work wonders. Doctors advise against its consumption. The tenor: no power to the pills! Who swallows the stuff with today’s knowledge is stupid. The pills do not make them smarter anyway, nor did they improve the intelligence quotient. You cannot remove all boundaries and work 24 hours a day. Especially not over a long period.
Why Modafinil?
Exams mean stress. And even though the majority of students and parents prefer a performance-oriented school system in surveys such as the Info Education Barometer, not everyone feels up to this pressure. Education is also characterized by exams.
Modafinil for studying is popular. Study, the consumption of prescription-only so-called neuro-enhancers increased in all countries. On average, the number of consumers increased from 4.9 percent at the beginning of the century to 13.7 percent now, which almost tripled. The USA has the highest proportion of brain doping (approx. 30 percent), while Switzerland and Portugal mark the lower end of the scale with approx. 1.5 percent.
The researchers suspect that the reason for the increase is primarily the growing number of ADHD diagnoses, because a prescription for Modafinil is often issued for ADHD. It has been revealed that the more such stimulants are put into circulation, the more abuse there is. Through small deals at the school playground, for example, the tablets come from the hands of those who need them for medical reasons to those who use them as doping agents for the brain. Almost half (48 percent) of the respondents said they had access to drugs through friends. Ten percent bought them through dealers or the Internet. Six percent obtained the tablets from family members. Four percent said they had misused their prescriptions.
Unlike other drugs, Modafinil appears to be less addictive. Most consumers only use the pills in the examination phases, i.e. once or twice a year.
Using Modafinil for Studying
Many are more familiar with doping in the field of professional businesses. Shockingly, the mind presently likewise needs dope when learning or a short time thereafter in professional life. In certain businesses, certain medications are not uncommon. They are taken to survive long working hours and career pressure.
However, everyone who studies at the university knows how much learning stress the degree or state examination brings with it. The day-to-day study is accompanied above all by the feeling of not being able to do anything and not having learned enough.
Even if you have more time to learn, the amount of learning material is hardly manageable. Understandably, this puts many students under pressure.
Modafinil Strengths
Modafinil is approved for the treatment of:
- excessive, pathological daytime fatigue
- narcolepsy with and without cataplexy
- an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome that persists despite adequate nCPAP therapy
- a chronic shift worker syndrome, if sleep hygiene measures have not led to a sufficient improvement.
A prescription for other diseases (e.g. chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or depression) is off-label and is usually not reimbursed by health insurance companies. In February 2007, the manufacturer was officially warned by the US drug agency FDA for illegal advertising for the use of Modafinil in other than the approved indications.
The actual effect of the nootropics available today is often misunderstood, as is the self-inflicted damage. There are hardly any empirical data about the long-term consequences of Modafinil vs Adderall studying intake. The effect of Adderall, whose active ingredient methylphenidate stimulates the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine – colloquially also known as the happiness hormone – has been scientifically proven only in people who suffer from ADHD.
According to the researchers, further studies are now necessary, which should also take into account the effectiveness of the drugs on increasing cognitive performance. Certain professional groups such as surgeons could benefit from taking Modafinil, but for them, the side effects ranging from loss of appetite to suicidal thoughts outweigh the benefits.
How to Take Modafinil to Study
Most of us know the typical tricks that exist for effective learning. We have heard them many times yet never implemented them. 
Even if one or the other roll their eyes now: the general tips may be very simple; however, that does not mean that they cannot be effective. Instead of spending the energy on procuring prescription drugs illegally, it pays to think in the long perspective and start a written exam accordingly. In law education, in particular, there is not just one exam, but several consecutive exams that have to be passed. The same automatically applies to the state examination. To get this “exam marathon” under control, care should be taken to ensure healthy eating and adequate sleep during the exam period and well in advance.
Modafinil Dosage for Studying
When you’re ready to study, it’s time to take Modafinil. Note that it takes around an hour for the med to produce effects. Consequently, the Modafinil dosage for studying is relative.
That is the reason why it is taken shortly before the bell rings. You, at that point, have leeway to begin working. The prescribed portion for learning is 200 mg. This is the most widespread type of intake. A few people discover this too invigorating and cut the dosage in half.
Modafinil for Focus and Concentration
One speaks of neuro-enhancement or brain doping when taking psychoactive substances to increase cognitive abilities. The ingested substances are mostly used outside of their actual area of application, which is why illegal drug abuse often plays a role when taking neuro-enhancers.
The ethical side of brain doping also raises further questions: Is it justifiable to increase your performance by misusing medicines if other people in the same situation do not want to or cannot do so? Where does our society strive for constant performance improvement? In the field of neuro-enhancement, there is continuous research, and the mode of action of known neuro-enhancers is increasingly being questioned.
Among other things, it is for these reasons that certain substances are used to increase concentration. As such, the substances should enable the concentration phase to be extended. For example, taking caffeine pills is common to study through the night. Often, however, the use of drugs happens very spontaneously under enormous time pressure, because – for whatever reason – you did not start learning in time.
How to Get a Prescription for Modafinil
Therefore, the EMA recommends the use of Modafinil only against severe narcolepsy. Side effects and addiction potential are too serious.
Like other stimulating substances, Modafinil intervenes directly in the dopamine levels in the brain. Therefore, physical and psychological addiction can easily occur.
How Much is Modafinil?
It seems to be a l
ucrative market for manufacturers. Generic Modafinil is available as Modalert ($ 1.00 per pill), Modvigil ($ 1.2 per pill) or Nuvigil ($ 1.5 per pill).
The company Cephalon, which launched Provigil – as Vigil is called in the USA – on the market, was criticized a few years ago for aggressive advertising campaigns. In brochures, it asked doctors to prescribe the remedy when patients complain about a lack of energy. Cephalon still advertises on the American Provigil website with a free trial offer (“Free Trial Coupon”) for seven days.