Modafinil is a wake-promoting drug that is currently the most popular sleep medicine worldwide. It was first created in 1974 by the French neurophysiologist Michel Jouvet and was initially regarded as a sedative because the mice it was originally tested on were so quiet and did not move much after receiving the drug. It wasn’t until the early 80s that it was tested on a cat who stayed up for an entire night at which point a series of basic tests were done to define the pharmacological profile of Modafinil.
-Initial Pharmacological Investigations of Modafinil
Modafinil served as the inspiration for the fictional drug NZT featured in the movie “Limitless” starring Bradly Cooper. Modafinil has been prescribed in France since 1994 under the name Modiodal, and in the US since 1998 as Provigil. Modafinil is an oral wake-advancing specialist, first endorsed in December 1998 for the treatment of excessive sleepiness. Modafinil is a one-of-a-kind wake-advancing prescription drug and has gained in popularity steadily ever since it was first prescribed to the point where now it is used by the military, student, athletes, truck drives, business people and many more.
First being endorsed in the US by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998 for Excessive sleepiness for treatment with narcolepsy. Modafinil is promoted in the United States by a company known as Cephalon, who initially rented the rights from the French company Lafon, however in the end bought the entire organization in 2001. In 2007 Modafinil sales made up 1/3rd of Cephalon’s total profit topping 600 million with about 90% of use expected to be off label.
-Mechanism of action
Modafinil works by invigorating action inside the central nervous system, i.e. the cerebrum and spinal line. The mechanisms are still mostly unknown as it is very complex, affecting multiple neurotransmitter systems. It took a while to gain a basic understanding of how modafinil behaves but now it has become one of the most popular cognitive enhancing drugs by helping sleepiness and promoting wakefulness. It works in a similar way to amphetamines but with much less side effects.
-Modafinil gets used by the military
Militaries all over the world have used different types of amphetamines for specific endurance missions or to improve performance in other situations ever since World War 2. As of 2012 the US air force switched to Modafinil as the only “go pill” approved from these same types of long performance missions. They no longer use amphetamines and now only use modafinil because of the lesser side effects but still the extended wakefulness promoting properties calling it a “super drug”.
-Modafinil side effects
There are some side effects to Modafinil. The main side effects of this drug is irritability, anxiety, quickened heart rate, hypertension, and disturbances of nocturnal sleep. A typical symptom of the medication is migraine, normally identified with portion size, which happens in up to 5 percent of patients. It was the world’s first “safe smart drug”. Researchers of Harvard and Oxford universities who suggested its effects were low risk when taken temporarily. But side effects can include insomnia, headaches and potentially dangerous skin rashes.
Modafinil manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies. Provigil, Alertec, Modavigil, Modalert, Modiodal, Modafinilo, Carim, Vigia all these are brands of Modafinil. It carries many side effects and hence it should be taken only on advice from a registered medical practitioner. Modafinil is an analeptic drug, approved for the treatment of narcolepsy and used primarily to promote wakefulness, but it has gained increasing popularity as a cognition-enhancing agent in patients as well as casual users.
The mechanism of action of modafinil is complex, involving multiple neurotransmitter systems. The effects of modafinil on learning are positive in MA-dependent individuals, as compared with healthy adults who do not abuse MA.
-Modafinil gets used by students and athletes
For students the trend has been the same as in the military and it is now prized over amthamines for the all-night study sessions so many college students engage in. For gym enthusiasts Modafinil is used to increase motivation and length of training. It is banned in most body building competitions but its use has steadily increased in non-professional athletes where now there seems to be some sort of sleep disorder pandemic taking place in professional athletes which is certainly just an excuse to get a prescription.
In 2003 a sprinter Kelli White was stripped of two of her medals for testing positive for modafinil. At the time Modafinil was not specifically banned but the board claimed that it fell under the umbrella phrase of “related substances” for stimulants. Thereafter it has been prohibited from all major sports.
The guideline of modafinil as a doping specialist has been disputable in the sporting world, with prominent cases drawing in press inclusion since a few unmistakable American competitors have tested positive for the substance. A few competitors who were found to have utilized modafinil fought that the medication was not on the precluded list at the hour of their offenses. In any case, the World Anti-Doping Agency keeps up that it was identified with effectively prohibited substances. The Agency added modafinil to its rundown of precluded substances on August 3, 2004, ten days before the beginning of the 2004 Summer Olympics.
-Trusted vendors of Modafinil
Only until recently has Modafinil been able to be sold online and in the past most users would have to go to the dark web in order to find some. Today you can find Modafinil at ModafinilXL.com as well as Buymoda.org. We recommend ModafinilXL.com because they have slightly better pricing as well as a discreet shipping method as well as their return policy. No one in a western country has ever been charged with the illegal possession of Modafinil and for this reason and others we call Modafinil the safest smart drug on the market.
-Conclusion
In addition to modafinil showing potent effects on the sleep/wake system, it is clear that modafinil has noteworthy neuroprotective effects as well that involve some sort of antioxidative process. While these effects may be coincidental to modafinil’s wake-promoting effects, the role of the ATP breakdown product adenosine in homeostatic sleep regulation is at least suggestive that modafinil’s neuroprotective effects are not irrelevant to the consideration of modafinil’s wake-promoting effects. Because the primary site of action of modafinil’s antioxidant effects remains elusive, we discuss some possible targets for future investigation here.
Modafinil has become a first-line wake-promoting medication and a useful therapeutic alternative to psychostimulant medications for excessive daytime sleepiness. In several trials for narcolepsy, modafinil decreased daytime sleepiness without affecting night-time sleepiness, and when tested for shift-work sleep disorder, it increased sleep latency during night-time shifts.