A Lifetime of No Sleep

Can a super drug unlock the world of limitless conscience? Perhaps it goes by the name of “Modafinil”

By: Lindsay Addawoo

It seems as though the producers of hit movie Limitless might have been on to something. As it turns out, a real life version of NZT-48 may actually exist. This super drug boasts the ability to allow its users to sleep a mere two hours a day, while increasing attention to detail. Essentially, it is an increase in daily productivity. What is this magical drug you might ask?

It goes by the name of “Modafinil”.

Modafinil; a drug that is now more commonly known by the brand-name “Provigil” in US was originally created in France to treat people with sleeping disorders such as narcolepsy and extreme insomnia. It is believed to have been developed in 1986, was soon considered a “great French discovery” that helped students to complete exams.

Image courtesy of AngryParsley via Flickr

Later, it became a regular prescription drug under the name of “Modiodal“.

It is unclear as to whom this drug benefits most. Though in theory, Modafinil is ideal for those with sleeping disorders, it also has multiple uses in the professional and educational world. Soldiers serving in the army, who must learn to grow accustomed to days (or even weeks) without sleeping while performing with optimal concentration, strength, and focus would probably be first in line for a revolutionary drug like this. The next users would probably be the mainstream crowd, most likely the “blue and white-collar” workers; whose jobs demand their full attention in a world that provides us with so little mental relaxation.

[pullquote] The key to limitless productivity, energy, focus, and just plain feeling good every single day can now be found in 100-200 mg capsules. [/pullquote]

However, as superhero tales remind us time and time again, with great power comes great responsibility. Because of it being relatively new on the market, there isn’t much extensive research available on its long-term side effects. In fact, according to the US National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus, the only real side effects reported to have occurred involve things like nausea and headaches (to name a few). However, users are warned that it can also get a bit more serious. For women who take birth control pills, Modafinil can lower its effectiveness. In some cases, it can accelerate your heartbeat, make you hallucinate, or cause anxiety.

So why the craze now? After all, this drug was first created in the 1980s.

The answer might be able to be summed up in two words: modern society.

In our fast-paced, ever-changing society, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to keep up with our day-to-day demands. Couple that with rising bills, education fees, cost of living, healthcare etc., and you’ve got one heck of a chip on your shoulder (and by shoulder, I mean individual shoulder – no one’s even mentioned family life yet).

For most post-secondary students, all of these factors are intertwined into one major headache. Students are only starting to receive benefits now from educational and government institutions for a somewhat balanced, manageable life (such as health and dental care, people with disabilities etc.). In Canadian college and university life, where Modafinil is arguably more of a need for the average student, the question isn’t whether you should use Modafinil, but rather what happens when you do.

Though Modafinil recently became popularized in the United States, with the approval of the Food and Drug Association (FDA), a division of United States Department of Health and Human Services, Canada was not so adamant about its distribution.

Despite its commercial success in the US, the Canadian government has yet to add it as a controlled substance to the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. This means that if you’re travelling with it at the airport, the Canadian government reserves the right to seize and detain it for not being a recognized controlled drug. For young students across Canada, this may seem like a huge tease. Modafinil works exponentially better than most stimulants like nicotine and even caffeine, the most popular “pick-me-up” in the world.

What does Modafinil mean for modern society?

For us desperate Eddie Morra’s out there eager to get our lives out of the muck, this is an opportunity of “limitless” potential during a crucial time. Infinite amounts of energy, focus and concentration not only augment grades, but increase the overall social well-being. Not to mention Modafinil could possibly become the most sought-after party drug ever.

Let’s do the math: If each user spends 22 hours a day awake for seven days a week, that’s roughly 154 hours spent awake each week (as opposed to 112 hours awake with restful, 8-hour sleep)! In one year, the average user would spend over 8,000 hours awake. Such a drastic shift in this demographic would undoubtedly change the way our society operates. Less amount of sleep means more activity at virtually any time of the day. It means late or all-night cafes, pubs, and bars will become more and more normalized. It means commercial department stores that cater to young people will be open around the clock.

It will also reflect a shift in our society’s view of lack of sleep will have to take place. Are we ready to accept that a change in sleeping patterns (or lack thereof) – and consequentially a change in lifestyle – is something we can no longer deem as “unhealthy”? Professor Molly Cahill of the University of Pennsylvania writes in the BioEthics Journal  that what makes Modafinil so defining is “its power”, and that “the key to limitless productivity, energy, focus, and just plain feeling good every single day can now be found in 100-200 mg capsules”.

One can only hope that this drug is not too good to be true, only time will tell.

Lindsey Addawoo is a fourth year Radio and Television Arts student at Ryerson University. She has written for various student publications, such as The Ryerson Free Press and Mcclung’s Magazine. Her ultimate goal is to become a multi-faceted news journalist in both print and TV broadcasting.

Source
Image courtesy of AngryParsley via Flickr
Modafinil: past, present and future Christos A Ballas, Deborah Kim, Claudia F Baldassano, and Nicholas Hoeh Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, July 2002, Vol. 2, No. 4 , Pages 449-457