If you have a history of heart problems, liver disease, or mental/mood disorders (including depression, and mania), modafinil may not be right for you. It can also decrease the effectiveness of hormonal birth control pills, so use reliable backup methods while taking it and for 1 month afterward.
Headache, nausea, nervousness, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping are common side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these persist or worsen.
It’s a Study Drug
Modafinil Tablet Australia, which is prescribed to treat narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder, has also become popular as a cognitive enhancer. Many investment bankers and corporate lawyers claim to use it to power through 14-hour work days or to cram for exams.
However, there’s been little consensus on the extent to which it enhances cognition in healthy non-sleep-deprived people. A recent review of placebo-controlled studies on the subject, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, found that it improves certain aspects of cognitive function, such as executive functioning and learning.
But it doesn’t help with creativity or motor excitability, and it’s unclear whether it can improve people’s ability to divide their attention. And a few studies have found that it increases the risk of mood changes, including anxiety.
It’s a Hangover Helper
The use of Modafinil and alcohol has risen in popularity at music festivals and clubs that operate all night. Oftentimes, these individuals will take the medication and drink on an empty stomach to stay awake longer. Unfortunately, this can be dangerous.
Those who combine Modafinil and alcohol can experience blackouts due to the opposing effects of both substances on the brain’s chemistry. Specifically, Modafinil stimulates wakefulness while alcohol decreases neurotransmitter activity. As a result, the brain can be caught in a push-pull cycle of stimulation and depression.
Many people also mix this medication with other drugs or alcoholic beverages that have a high level of caffeine, such as coffee, tea, cola, and some cough-and-cold products and diet aids. The result can be a rapid increase in heart rate and blood pressure. This may cause dangerous reactions if combined with certain medications such as antidepressants, sedatives, and heart medicines.
This medication should not be taken by anyone with a history of heart problems high blood pressure, liver disease, or mental/mood disorders that may affect judgment or mood. It can also interact with certain foods or herbs, such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which are stimulants and can raise heart rates.
It’s a Narcolepsy Treatment
Unlike other wakefulness-promoting drugs, modafinil has minimal effects on central DA systems and lacks many of the neurochemical and behavioral effects observed with amphetamine administration.
Modafinil (Modawake 200 mg) also appears to have a low affinity for the DA transporter and is not a receptor agonist or a selective inhibitor of neuropeptide or monoamine neurotransmitter activity, nor does it have direct actions on nerve membrane ion channels or second messengers in the brain.
Clinical trials using modafinil and armodafinil to treat narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder have shown that both medications significantly improve excessive sleepiness and increase wakefulness. Moreover, these studies have found that narcolepsy patients who take modafinil in combination with sodium oxybate (SXB) on Monday to Friday and pitolisant on Saturday and Sunday have better symptoms of EDS and quality of life than those taking SXB alone.
This medication may cause side effects, some of which are serious. If you have severe side effects, get medical help right away. Some of the severe side effects include chest pain, fast/pounding/irregular heartbeat, mental/mood changes (such as agitation, and hallucinations), and aggression.
It’s a Sleep Apnea Treatment
Modafinil is an excellent treatment for residual excessive daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in patients receiving effective CPAP therapy. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Practice Parameter and Review of Medical Therapies for Obstructive Sleep Apnea include modafinil as an endorsed (level 2 evidence) treatment option.
In a randomized controlled trial of 115 patients, modafinil was found to significantly improve ESS scores and several other objective measures of fatigue (Multiple Sleep Latency Test, 20-minute Maintenance of Wakefulness Test) compared to placebo. Moreover, the favorable clinical effects of modafinil were maintained after four weeks of nCPAP use.
This was attributed to the fact that modafinil does not interfere with a patient’s normal sleep cycle or with the physiology of apnea, and it has a relatively low liability for abuse and fewer adverse effects than stimulants such as amphetamines. However, it is important to remember that modafinil does not cure sleep apnea and that patients should continue to seek advice from doctors and follow their recommended treatments. Patients with a history of heart problems should be wary about taking this medication.
It’s a Shift Work Disorder Treatment
Shift work disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm and natural sleep cycle. It can also lead to poor work performance and even serious health problems like heart disease.
Millions of people across the world work shifts that go against their internal body clocks and disturb the natural flow of sleep and wakefulness. Often, this means night shifts or rotating shifts that require working in the dark or during the early morning.
This type of shift work can lead to sleep deprivation which causes problems with attention and memory. It can also cause you to lose focus, make mistakes, and fall asleep at unplanned times which can be dangerous, especially when driving or in situations where dozing off could be unsafe.
Modafinil is a powerful wake-promoting medication that is used to treat shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) and also to help with the symptoms of narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. It can be taken orally and is safe to use during pregnancy. However, it should not be used by breastfeeding mothers due to the possible risk to the fetus.