Modafinil is one of the potent psychostimulants with a wakefulness-promoting effect. It is specially designed for shift workers who fall asleep during their shifts and patients who suffer from narcolepsy or sleep apnea. It has been commercialized as a powerful waking drug since 2003.
The drug is a racemic compound and its waking effect has a longer duration. It has a cousin called armodafinil, which is also used as a waking drug. However, the pharmacological profile of modafinil is different from other strong psychostimulants, such as Adderall, Ritalin, and even cocaine.
Unlike Adderall and Ritalin, modafinil has been less associated with side effects like excess locomotor activities, anxiousness, jitteriness, or withdrawal effects. Not only does the drug have a waking effect but also is known for its memory-enhancing and mood-brightening effects. Off-label, the drug has been used to treats disease-related fatigue, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, cognitive impairment, jet lag, among others.
Modafinil is a clinically proven nootropic and smart drug. It is effective at treating narcolepsy, a neurological disorder in which patients have excessive daytime sleepiness. It has particularly been found that orexin, a brain chemical, has some role to play in causing narcolepsy [32]. Inhibition of orexin has been associated with narcolepsy. And modafinil may activate orexin neurons, but the exact mechanism is unknown. By activating orexin neurons, the drug may induce wakefulness.
As far as safety is concerned, modafinil over the counter is generally tolerated, with fewer reported cases of side effects. The drug also improves task performance. In fact, it has been found more effective than Adderall. Modafinil may be used as a lifestyle drug without any restrictions for patients with narcolepsy.
The drug’s efficacy has been so potent that even the U.S. military has shown interest in using modafinil for improving alertness and helping war or battle fatigue. When used in people with disease-related fatigue, the drug has been found to generate synergy by increasing mental energy. Modafinil can also be used as a combat-capability-boosting drug – thanks to its wakefulness-promoting, mood-brightening, and fatigue-alleviating effects.
Modafinil over the counter or off-label use has clearly increased because of its mood-brightening and memory-boosting effects, and of course, the waking effect. More and more people are using this smart drug to enhance memory, learning, concentration, focus, attention, alertness, and cognition. People who wish to work late or want to concentrate for a longer duration can use this nootropic drug.
Typically, the demand for Modafinil Nootropic has been high among those who work in competitive environments, such as school students, executives, and athletes. If you are not narcoleptic but want to use modafinil over the counter for staying alert and attentive, enhancing your cognition, or brightening your moods, you can use it after having a word with your doctor.
Studies have been conducted on the drug’s psycho-neuro-immunological effects, which have elucidated its immune-modulating effects in regards to communication between the central nervous system and the immune system.
Researchers continue to examine the drug’s exact mechanism because modafinil may cause addiction if used longer than recommended. Plus, its wakefulness-promoting effects have not been fully elucidated.
