Modafinil and Coffee | What you should know

Modafinil and coffee Sounds like the “dream team” of the nootropic world.

Both are stimulants that provide very similar benefits for cognitive enhancement, while acting on the human brain in exceptionally different ways.

One is a prescription drug and the other is the most accessible and affordable beverage in the world.

High-achieving professionals and students around the world are finding ways to get modafinil to complement their coffee.

But can you drink coffee while taking Modafinil and expect to be several times more productive than using either nootropic alone?

And besides, is it even a good idea to consume coffee and modafinil at the same time?

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What is modafinil?

For new readers who are not familiar with Modafinil and what it does, this section will get you up to speed right away.

Modafinil is a prescription pharmaceutical medication designed to promote wakefulness and alertness.It is classified as a Schedule IV drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved modafinil as a treatment for excessive daytime sleepiness in three different medical conditions.1]:

• Narcolepsy
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Shift sleep disorder

However, the drug began to be used for off-label uses once it was reported to be an effective medication for combating drowsiness and fatigue in sleep-deprived military personnel.

When regular smart drug users with no sleep problems started using Modafinil, they experienced cognitive benefits they couldn't get with any other nootropic:

• More than 12 hours of intense concentration
• Improved general cognition
• Improved memory retention
• Inability to feel fatigue.

As such, Modafinil became increasingly popular among Silicon Valley CEOs and Ivy League graduate students.

Especially for its notable safety profile [2]:

“…the toxicological profile of [Modafinil] has shown fewer or no adverse effects compared to those reported in traditional psychostimulants such as amphetamine or cocaine.

Furthermore, [Modafinil] is generally well tolerated in animal models in contrast to other stimulants and shows a very low likelihood of abuse (low reinforcing effects) in non-drug abusing individuals.”

So what does all this have to do with mixing Modafinil and coffee?

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Modafinil and Coffee | The basics

To understand the pros and cons of mixing coffee and modafinil, we need to delve deeper into how each smart drug works in the human body.

While modafinil and caffeine (the active ingredient in coffee) may provide similar nootropic effects, they work in very different ways.

• Understand how modafinil works

Scientists still do not know the exact mechanism of action of modafinil at present. While it is clear that modafinil can improve cognition, the “how” remains an unsolved mystery.

That said, here's a brief summary of what we know to date [3]:

"Modafinil is associated with an increase in adrenergic, histaminergic, glutaminergic and hypocretin activity and a decrease in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) activity in specific parts of the brain"

It is important to note modafinil's suppression of GABA, a neurotransmitter responsible for promoting drowsiness. Modafinil may also slightly increase dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (known informally as the brain's “reward circuit”), but this is secondary to its other mechanisms that improve alertness.

The increase in glutamate in specific areas of the thalamus that regulate wakefulness, combined with the increase in hypocretin and histamine in other localized regions of the brain (both regulate arousal and cognition), leads to the purported brain-stimulating benefits of modafinil.

Interestingly, Modafinil is classified as a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, but it is NOT classified as an amphetamine.

This is because modafinil's mechanism of action is clearly separate from that of amphetamines in several respects [4]:

“Modafinil appears to act on a specific subset of brain pathways that regulate sleep and wakefulness, while amphetamine affects a greater number of brain structures involved in regulating these behavioral states.

Modafinil also lacks the pronounced effects on the extrapyramidal motor system that are characteristic of amphetamine and other psychomotor stimulants, implying that the effects of modafinil are not mediated by the dopamine system and that modafinil may selectively increase wakefulness with fewer side effects.”

To put it simply, Modafinil can offer the productive “high” associated with amphetamine-based drugs without the undesirable side effects.

For many users, mundane tasks become fun again. Test subjects claim that they can focus on things for longer because they enjoy them more.

• Understand how coffee and caffeine work

Caffeine is the biologically active compound in coffee responsible for waking us up when we feel groggy and tired in the morning.

Approximately 100 mg of caffeine can be found in a standard 250 ml cup of coffee.

Caffeine is similar to modafinil in the subjective feelings of enhanced cognition that both medications provide [5], which explains why modafinil and caffeine are often compared for their effectiveness among nootropic users.

And like modafinil, caffeine inhibits the release of GABA and therefore suppresses drowsiness.

However, the mechanism of action of caffeine is uniquely different from that of modafinil.

The main mechanism of action of caffeine is to block adenosine A.₁ and a_2A receivers [6]. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter responsible for inducing sleep, so blocking its actions allows the brain to maintain a wakeful state for longer periods of time.

Other secondary modes of action that contribute to the alertness-promoting effects of caffeine include increased production of acetylcholine, dopamine, and glutamate.But none of these actions are believed to be the main cause of caffeine's psychostimulant effects.

Which leads one to wonder if it is possible to simultaneously use modafinil and coffee to significantly increase personal productivity.

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Can you drink coffee while taking modafinil?

It is absolutely possible to use modafinil and coffee together to achieve an incredibly improved level of cognition. We have written about this topic previously in the context of Modafinil and caffeine taken together.

You just have to be very careful as both nootropics are very powerful on their own.

To get the MAXIMUM cognitive benefit you can safely experience without overstimulation or anxiety, we highly recommend taking 200 mg Modafinil + 2 cups of coffee (~200 mg caffeine) no more than 1 to 2 times per week.

Our test subjects have confirmed that this dosage is the “upper limit” for achieving the nootropic benefits provided by both smart medications.

However, if you are new to smart drug use and/or are very sensitive to stimulants, you may not want to combine them. coffee and modafinil together.

Taking any of the nootropics may be enough for you. One study suggests that modafinil and coffee are equally effective in healthy adults deprived of sleep for more than 48 hours [7]:

“Like caffeine [600 mg], modafinil [200 mg or 400 mg] maintained performance and alertness during the early morning hours, when the combined effects of sleep loss and peak onset occurred.” lower circadian performance and alertness.

Therefore, equivalent effects of improving performance and alertness were obtained with drugs that have different mechanisms of action.

Another study even concluded that 200 mg of modafinil and 200 mg of caffeine provided the same level of alertness [8]!

If you decide you want to combine modafinil and coffee, we recommend starting with low doses and gradually increasing both medications:

• 1 cup of coffee + 50 mg of Modafinil
• 1 cup of coffee + 100 mg of Modafinil
• 1 cup of coffee + 200 mg of Modafinil
• 2 cups of coffee + 200 mg Modafinil

However, if you find your “ideal” combination of coffee and modafinil much sooner, don't hesitate to stick with it.

No matter what dosage of both nootropics you decide to use, make sure you drink the coffee VERY slowly (unless you're drinking espresso). You want to avoid overstimulating yourself to the point of becoming unproductive [9]:

“…symptoms of a caffeine overdose may include: very fast or irregular heartbeat, shaking, feeling sick or vomiting, confusion, panic attack”

So, can you drink coffee while taking Modafinil at the same time? The answer is a resounding yes"!

But this doesn't exactly answer why (or how) they work so well together.

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How Modafinil and Coffee Interact

With a complete understanding of the mechanism of action involved behind coffee and modafinil individually, we can make a guess as to how they work synergistically.

To be clear: no published research study or clinical trial has directly examined any synergistic molecular interactions between the two.

All we have is guesses and anecdotes from experimental smart drug users, combined with studies examining each nootropic separately.

But we firmly believe that there is enough data to suggest that its effects are "additive" (i.e., its wake-promoting properties combine to create an even greater state of wakefulness).

First, modafinil and coffee increase wakefulness through separate mechanisms.

While coffee's primary effect is to block adenosine receptors, modafinil selectively increases (or decreases) the production of certain neurotransmitters in very specific parts of the brain.

Some of our test subjects felt fatigued despite taking either nootropic in isolation, but found that coffee and modafinil taken together gave them the improved cognition they were looking for.

Second, both coffee and modafinil can increase norepinephrine production [10].

Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter associated with arousal and wakefulness. People who have a severe norepinephrine deficiency can fall asleep much faster and have a harder time waking up.

Third, modafinil and coffee have different pharmacokinetic properties that lead to different durations of cognition improvement.

Caffeine has a half-life of approximately 5 hours and its effects appear between 20 and 60 minutes after administration. Modafinil, on the other hand, has a half-life of 12 to 15 hours and exerts its effects approximately 1 to 2 hours after taking it.11].

In other words, peak plasma concentrations of coffee and modafinil in the body occur between 30 and 60 minutes and 2 and 4 hours after taking each nootropic (respectively).

Best Way to Take Modafinil and Coffee Together for Maximum Cognition

After rigorous experimentation, we have developed a protocol that, according to our test subjects, increases productive work performance by 50% to 60% compared to a work day without nootropics.

Here is the exact sequence and timing to dose coffee and Modafinil together...

Take your Modafinil dose early in the morning. Ideally between 7 and 8 a.m. m. or before, but no later than 10 a.m. m.

Make sure you have your first meal around the same time you take Modafinil. Due to The appetite suppressant effects of modafinil, you want to have some food in your stomach so you don't forget to get proper nutrition later in the day.

Have your cup(s) of coffee 1-2 hours after taking Modafinil and drink it very slowly. We do not recommend drinking any type of caffeine after 12:00 p.m. m., as its additive alertness-promoting effects along with Modafinil can make it very difficult to follow a normal sleep schedule.

This protocol has allowed our test subjects to maintain high levels of productivity for 12 to 14 hours straight. Additionally, the fast-acting stimulant effects of caffeine appear to complement the prolonged concentration provided by modafinil.

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The science

The mechanism behind the direct interaction of modafinil and coffee with each other remains a mystery.

However, there have been several studies examining the outcome of taking both smart drugs at the same time.

Benefits

Both modafinil and coffee have been shown to reduce fatigue in sleep-deprived people.

In a study that examined both nootropics in healthy adults who were sleep-deprived for 54.5 hours, modafinil and caffeine helped subjects regain wakefulness when they were most exhausted.12]:

“We investigated the extent to which modafinil and caffeine reverse the effects of fatigue (defined as a decrease in performance with time spent on task) during total sleep deprivation.

“…Modafinil 400 mg attenuated fatigue in a manner comparable to that observed with caffeine 600 mg; These effects were especially prominent during the circadian nadir of performance (06:00 to 10:00).”

The combination of coffee and modafinil can improve emotional intelligence.

Another study published in 2009 wanted to examine another aspect of smart drugs: emotional perception and judgment.

While modafinil and coffee can clearly overcome vigilance deficits induced by sleep loss, scientists were unsure how more complex cognitive processes would be affected.

This is what they found in patients who had not slept for 47 hours [13]:

“For simple affective faces, neither lack of sleep nor stimulant medications made any difference in the accuracy of judgments.

"In contrast, for complex emotion combinations, all three stimulant medications significantly improved the ability to correctly discriminate subtle aspects of emotion relative to placebo, but did not differ from each other."

Modafinil and coffee can potentially relieve increased pain sensitivity caused by lack of sleep.

Boston Children's Hospital examined the use of stimulants instead of pain relievers to reduce pain severity in sleep-deprived mice.

The results were completely unexpected and led to new implications for pain treatment [14]:

“Surprisingly, common painkillers such as ibuprofen did not block pain hypersensitivity induced by sleep deprivation. “Even morphine lost most of its effectiveness in sleep-deprived mice.”

“…In contrast, both caffeine and modafinil, medications used to promote wakefulness, successfully blocked pain hypersensitivity caused by both acute and chronic sleep loss. Interestingly, in mice that were not sleep deprived, these compounds had no analgesic properties.”

Modafinil and coffee can be used to break the devastating cycle of sleep and pain: increased pain causes difficulty sleeping, which causes sleep loss that induces more pain and further disrupts sleep.

Modafinil and coffee may improve complex decision making

There are few games that possess the complexity and difficulty of chess, especially when played at the highest levels.

One interesting study examined the use of 400 mg of caffeine and 400 mg of modafinil separately to examine how they would affect performance in thousands of chess games.15]:

“…[Modafinil and caffeine] significantly increased the average reflection time per game compared to placebo, resulting in significantly more games missed on time with all three treatments.

...Only when controlling for game duration and excluding games lost in time did [Modafinil] improve chess performance, as evidenced by significantly higher scores in the remaining 2,876 games compared to placebo.”

In other words, modafinil and coffee led to decisions that were made after considerable thought. This debunks the idea that both nootropics lead to hasty decision making and poor judgment.

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Side effects

Can you drink coffee while taking Modafinil without any adverse effects? The answer is no, since none of the smart drugs are perfect.

There are some side effects that get worse when coffee and modafinil are taken in high doses too often...

• Dehydrated eyes and mouth

Modafinil and coffee are known as diuretics: substances that remove water from the body and can make you feel dehydrated.16, 17].

Many first-time users of either drug, or a combination of both, often experience dehydration in the form of dry eyes and/or mouth.

The simplest solution to alleviate this side effect is to drink much more water than usual. If you combine coffee and modafinil, drinking 2 to 4 liters of water a day would be a reasonable way to counteract its diuretic effects.

• Headache

TO modafinil headache It's a fairly common side effect, but coffee is also thought to cause headaches due to its ability to constrict blood vessels in the brain. Once the effects of coffee wear off and blood flow increases, it can sometimes cause a headache.18].

This can be remedied by ensuring that your lifestyle habits are fully optimized (healthy nutrition, physical exercise, regular sleep schedules). In some cases, you may have to abstain from the coffee and modafinil combination for a few days.

• Higher blood pressure

As central nervous system (CNS) stimulants, modafinil and coffee increase the activity of the body's sympathetic nervous system. There is a slight connection between Modafinil and high blood pressure, and this same connection also exists with regular caffeine consumption.

Therefore, combining the two can lead to even greater increases [19].

The good news is that you don't need to worry about this unless you have cardiovascular problems.

Abstaining from the combination of both nootropics for a few days is usually more than enough to eliminate this unwanted side effect.

• Anxiety

For some nootropic users, modafinil and caffeine may simply be overkill in terms of the cognitive boost they provide in isolation. Taking both smart drugs at the same time can potentially further increase levels of anxiety, stress, and nervousness [20]:

“Notably, a significantly higher percentage of the caffeine group reported symptoms of nervousness, excitement, happiness, abdominal pain, nausea, and nervousness compared to placebo; increased nervousness, excitement, nausea and nervousness compared to modafinil”

Although Modafinil did not induce significantly more nervousness and anxiety compared to placebo in the study cited, we know of several research subjects who have noticed this side effect while taking Modafinil.

While lowering the dosage of both nootropics can be helpful, several anonymous online drug formulary users suggest adding a third nootropic to the mix: L-theanine.

L-theanine is commonly taken along with caffeine to counteract its unwanted side effects while also providing a good amount of cognitive effects.

To put it another way, L-theanine can "soften" the concentration provided by caffeine by improving sustained attention and decreasing the frequency of mental wandering.21].

The combination of L-theanine and caffeine may also reduce the frequency of caffeine-induced headaches and fatigue, while shortening reaction time.22].

We highly recommend a 2:1 dosage ratio of L-theanine to caffeine for best results [23]. If you take 200 mg of caffeine throughout the day, you should also supplement with 400 mg of L-theanine.

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Coffee and Modafinil | The verdict

It will be extremely difficult to find a nootropic stack that provides greater cognitive enhancement than Modafinil and coffee.

Its wake-promoting effects complement each other and significantly increase your ability to concentrate on difficult tasks for several hours at a time.

As long as you give both smart medications at the right doses and at the right time, you can avoid the side effects associated with coffee and modafinil.

If you really want to hack your mind, improve brain power, make more money or get better grades... it would be worth starting to combine caffeine and modafinil for incredible productivity!

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