Word: provigil
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...Enter Provigil. It’s a small, white and slightly oblong pill that has fewer side effects than caffeine, is safe even in large doses, and has not yet been shown to be any more addictive than your bottomless cup of coffee from Toscanini’s. Army helicopter pilots who have taken the drug were able to stay up for 40 hours, sleep for eight hours, and then stay up for another 40 hours without losing the ability to perform complex tasks. Although the military often experiments with ways to keep soldiers awake, the rest of us need...
...League campuses as a substitute for sleep. This worry is misplaced, however. If current trends play out, sleep is just the latest human behavior that will pass from normal, to problematic to disease. One day, when sleep becomes a treatable condition like cavities in your teeth or ear infections, Provigil may be heralded as a forerunner of wonder-drugs that free us from the tyranny of the pillow...
...Provigil has not made a splash on the Harvard campus. Multiple inquiries to local dealers turned up no sign of the drug. Dexadrin (speed) and adderall (various amphetamines) are freely available, but the dealers have not even heard to Provigil. However, this lack of interest from the black market may be Provigil’s great advantage. Many people who take Provigil now do so not to treat narcolepsy (the only condition for which the drug has been approved) but for other, “off-label” conditions such as simple jet-lag. Doctors, not dealers, are currently...
...have a sleep disorder that is rooted in biology, a drug like Provigil might make a difference. For the rest of us, it's the last thing we need...
What doctors do know is that burning the midnight oil is bad for your health. Sleep is the body's great restorer. It helps ensure the proper working of the brain, balances the emotions and maintains the immune system. Despite news reports last week suggesting that Provigil might make sleep unnecessary, even Cephalon execs don't go that far. "Provigil is not a substitute for sleep," insists Matthew Miller, senior director of pharmacology. "That's the last thing I want to see happen...