The academic year is soon to begin and the regular 9-5 work routine is looming. Graduating with high grades seems to be an expectation nowadays and promotions are scarce. How far would you go to get where you want to be quicker? In a world where coffee is instant, groceries can be delivered to your door and Google can answer pretty much any question in less than a few seconds – are smart drugs just the quick solution we need to excel?
Modafinil is a prescription drug which boosts concentration which can help sharpen your memory, especially with an intense work load by your side. The national British student newspaper The Tab questioned more than 1,8000 students in an online survey and almost one in five revealed they had taken ‘smart drug’ tablets, the most common being Modafinil. Meanwhile in the United States , Adderall- used as medication for ADHD has been circling campuses , fueling all night library sessions. Just like downing gallons of coffee , Adderall is known to speed up performance, and Ritalin to give a quick buzz.
It used to be a joke that weed was the pastime you picked up whilst attending college but now this new wave of pills is circulating the campuses. The problem however, is not only in college. Hard-charging professionals are turning to a new class of nootropics to score an edge at work. It is a category of substances that includes prescription analeptics like Nuvigil and Provigil, as well as less-potent supplements such as New Mood and Alpha Brain which are made of vitamins, amino acids, and antioxidants, which ostensibly stimulate your brain receptors. The converted and addicted stay on these drugs because they are supposedly a different experience from caffeine and energy drinks. They give you a mental edge which can increase memory, intelligence, motivation, and concentration—without the jitters or crashes that can come with stimulants.
According to the independent, 40% of graduates are still seeking employment six months after they have graduated. With the competing market, is it a surprise that bright students and successful professionals are turning to this new tide of tablets to sharpen their minds and get an edge?
Smart drugs may make us feel temporarily alive but they are unsustainable. Their long term effects are unknown and they are black market which is ethically wrong since sales of illegal prescription pills fund organised crime and terrorism. What studies do not show is that whether smart drugs truly enhance our performance or just make us think that we are wired and can conquer the world.
Scriptoeris does not condone drugs in any shape or form. Make smart choices.