My brother was recently telling me about it. He said that it's been proven to be a great benefit to people needing more energy and people lacking in concentration. Said, it's sort of a wonder drug helping to make the driven, even more productive.
Any truth to this via your experiences? I've linked the Wikipedia article.
That consistent sleep, tho. People seem to really underestimate how nice sleep is, and how easy it is to fuck it up. Myself included. I asked my doctor if I might have ADHD because I was always unable to focus and felt lazy and lethargic. His response was "no you dumb-ass go see a Sleep Doctor." Actually I think I've talked about this before, but whatevs. One night at the Children's Hospital later:"Yeah, so you have, like, CRIPPLING sleep apnea. And your sinuses are straight ruined right now. How do you even breath? You should probably go fix that." One CPAP, 45 min on an elliptical every day, and a few sinus rinses later, and I was sleeping like a baby and waking up like I could take on the world - no medication required. The more I read about how people sleep, the more I realized that we generally don't do a very good job of it.
Praise god for decent doctors. Fuck the diagnose-and-dash ADHD trend. How many children have been fucked up permanently because they're told when they're seven that -- because kids aren't meant to be in a box all day and thus can't always pay attention in school, holy shit -- they have a 'disorder' and time to get on the pills, welcome to adulthood! Fuck you! Ha!I asked my doctor if I might have ADHD because I was always unable to focus and felt lazy and lethargic. His response was "no you dumb-ass go see a Sleep Doctor."
My brothers suggestion to those interested was to eat healthily and exercise and then, if interested try it. This seems a reasonable approach, but yeah... You're right.
You have a brother? Why do I not know this? Is he hubski-peeking (like your BOSS)? Is his name theoldergreen or theyoungergreen? sheesh. Does it matter? No of course not, but it's nice knowing that katakowsj is mk's bro. I tried to get my sister on, but had no luck.
My brother is rarely, if ever on Hubski. He is two years younger than me and lives and works in DC. As such, a few hubskiers met him and his wife via the DC meet up. He's a good guy and is great with my kids, which is nice to see.
I have and would say the effects are kinda subtle. Really all I noticed was that it allowed me to sleep about an hour or 2 less a night and still feel completely rested the next day. I simply didn't feel tired at until later than usual and woke up on time feeling rested. Its hard to say if it removed the need for that sleep or it simply improved the quality of my sleep. For me that is not enough of a benefit to take a drug with unclear long term effects.
Forgot to say, Modafinil seems to be /r/nootropic's drug of choice for "executive functions" (Warnings included in link, this comment is provided "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED)
One of my housemates in undergrad would buy it batches and deal it to people. I never tried it myself though. He said it just allowed him to be more focussed on what he was doing, without getting distracted. Though he also said that this had a downside. If he did become engaged with something unproductive it would be much harder to then start working again. It sounded a bit like a tunnel-vision of concentration. A bit of a double-edge sword in that way. In terms of any health effects, the only thing that would crop up were headaches I think. Though one of my friends who took it irresponsibly ended up puking blood. Obviously I can't say for 100% that correlation equals causation here. But that's what happened. At the end of the year said housemate got the grades he desired. Though I'm sure he could've got them without the drug if he really wanted to.
_wage is right, they do give this shit to kids. I have a homie who is on Modafinil and says he feels like he's a god when he takes enough. He sorta just vibrates in place nowadays but he's definitely more content, motivated and kinda driven. He also says he feels more aggressive. Does your brother notice this? He got it for ADHD-ish stuff I think, and anxiety. I'd rather take a nap and go for a jog, and as a kid, please don't give it to kids.
edit: he has also taken adderall and other ADHD-specific meds, and says this one "improves physical functionality more than just mentally."
I haven't tried it, but I've read a lot about it. I wondered if it might help 'the grog'. That kinda general cognitive dysfunction that makes you seem sleepy and non-alert all day. Everything I read seems to be pointing at it pretty excitedly. One headline even said "Why you are suffering from a Modafinil deficit." There hasn't been much study into the long term effects though. Gotta be careful when it comes to pharmaceuticals. I have shift-work sleep disorder and might be able to get a prescription, though, so I'll report back if I ever decide to.
Please do report back. My brother read your comment:
He said, "yes it does." I wondered if it might help 'the grog'. That kinda general cognitive dysfunction that makes you seem sleepy and non-alert all day