Word: provigil
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Welcome to the brave new world of "cognitive enhancement," a term that typically refers to the use of attention- or memory-boosting prescription drugs, such as Adderall, Ritalin and modafinil (Provigil), along with other performance-raising medications, to improve productivity. College kids have been doing it for years. About 7% of U.S. university students report having taken stimulants "nonmedically" at least once, according to a 2005 study of nearly 11,000 students. On some campuses - primarily private, élite schools - a full quarter of students admit to nonmedical drug use in the past year, mainly in an attempt to improve...
...Provigil, otherwise known as modafinil, was approved to help narcoleptics and shift workers stay awake. Lately it has joined the ranks of Ritalin as a popular performance aid. Some recent studies suggest it may indeed boost attention and mental acuity
...reliable, strong coffee, the voluntarily sleepless have other ways of keeping themselves upright for long stretches. Shannon Gragson, 39, of Princeton, Texas, used to take large doses of Metabolife, the over-the-counter diet supplement, before her doctor prescribed a combination of the antidepressant Prozac and the narcolepsy drug Provigil. Carolyn Moncel, 36, who works as a virtual assistant from her computer in Paris, France, fuels her 16-hour shifts with two or three liters a day of Coca-Cola supplemented by 10-minute naps. Betty Sanders, who has worked the graveyard shift at the Dallas U.S. Postal Service Processing...
Such stories raise a basic question: Is the waking life actually worth living--or does it feel like a miserable, gray limbo of red eyes, dragging limbs and foggy thoughts? My own experience with Provigil, which I took for several weeks a few years ago during a season of heavy deadlines, convinced me that simple wakefulness is no replacement for genuine restedness. After two or three 18-hour days of writing, the quality of my work collapsed even as my fingers kept on typing. Though some switch deep inside my brain was stuck on "on," my soul and spirit...
...Provigil is not a wonder drug that will do away with sleep. It has been shown to be similar to caffeine in effectiveness, with fewer side effects. It’s a stimulant and causes a mild euphoria. It has definite benefits, however, of not producing significant symptoms of withdrawal (something anyone who has been afflicted with caffeine headaches will appreciate). Even in extremely large doses, it has proven not to have life-threatening effects. Provigil is not the cure for sleep...