Can you get high on modafinil? | A-Z Guide

You may wonder if the High Modafinil — often discussed in online nootropic forums, is a legitimate phenomenon.

Modafinil is arguably the most popular smart drug in the world, with its most enthusiastic users reporting several cognitive benefits in relation to mental performance.

Some of these benefits include increased memory retention, the ability to effortlessly get through the night, and an abnormally high volume of productive work completed in a short period of time.

But what does modafinil feel like? Do people get high on modafinil? Is the "high" from Modafinil different from the usual effects of the drug?

This comprehensive guide will tell you everything you need to know about the Modafinil experience, from start to finish.

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What is modafinil?

For first-time readers who have never heard of Modafinil, let us quickly give you a brief overview of the smart drug and why it has earned its reputation as the “NZT-48” pill in the movie. Unlimited.

Modafinil (brand name: Provigil) is a wakefulness-promoting agent that was initially marketed in France in the 1990s to treat excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy.

It was later approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the same purpose, in addition to treating obstructive sleep apnea and shift work sleep disorder.1].

However, researchers have shown great interest in using Modafinil for several off-label conditions associated with mental health conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression.

But overall, the most common off-label use of Modafinil is to improve cognitive performance:

“…modafinil (at well-tolerated doses) improves function in several cognitive domains, including working memory and episodic memory, and other processes that depend on the prefrontal cortex and cognitive control.

These effects are observed in rodents, healthy adults, and in various psychiatric disorders.”

These findings have attracted the attention of industry professionals who require extremely high levels of concentration for several hours a day.

Some of the career paths most commonly associated with modafinil use (and smart drug use in general) include day traders, Wall Street professionals, entrepreneurs, surgeons, and high-achieving students [2]:

“Studies of use among high school and college students indicate prevalences of 11 to 25 percent in North America and 1 to 20 percent elsewhere, including the United Kingdom.

A survey by student newspaper The Tab reported that 20% of UK university students had tried modafinil; Oxford students use it more than anyone else (26%).The lowest use was among medical students (12%).”

In summary, modafinil appears to offer a competitive advantage in tasks that require a high degree of cognition.

Which leads to the next question: Does Provigil get you high as a result of the supposed improvements in mental acuity, or is it an unwanted side effect?

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Modafinil Side Effects and Safety Concerns

Modafinil has one of the best side effect profiles any pharmaceutical company can ask for. Not only is it well tolerated by most patients, but it rarely produces harmful side effects when used at the prescribed dose and frequency.3]:

“In global experience, the use of modafinil is reported to be well tolerated by patients with narcolepsy and most side effects are considered mild or moderate.

…Among the side effects, the most common was headache (10-26%), followed by nervousness or anxiety, nausea, dry mouth, diarrhea, asthenia and insomnia.

“These side effects resolved with discontinuation of modafinil, confirming our findings and demonstrating that side effects prevail as limiting factors for continued treatment with modafinil.”

This finding was confirmed in a 2015 systematic review that examined 24 studies involving the use of Modafinil in healthy adults who were not suffering from any type of sleep deprivation.4]:

“Nine out of 24 (37.5%) of the studies in our review reported side effects: of these, 78% reported no side effects and the remaining two reported that a small minority of participants had experienced insomnia, headache, pain stomach or nausea. and dry mouth.”

Although it is extremely unlikely that a new user will experience adverse side effects with Modafinil, it should be used according to the prescribed instructions.

If you persistently experience any of the above side effects, or have a side effect that is more serious in nature, consult a licensed medical professional immediately.

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Can you get high on modafinil?

To adequately answer whether it is possible for someone to get high on Modafinil, it is necessary to establish a working definition of the word "high."

To date, there is no working definition of “getting high” that is unanimously approved in the scientific community. But for the sake of this article, we will use the following well-written description from Quora [5]:

“The phrase getting high means elevating your mood. You are actually creating an altered state of mind or consciousness.

… “Getting high” involves altering your body, mind, and emotional state, taking you to a place of “feel good” or euphoria.”

Whether this is a good or bad thing is completely subjective and depends on the experience of the individual. This is easily seen in people who frequently use marijuana to achieve a state of euphoria.6]:

“The effects of marijuana on mood vary greatly from person to person, but generally emotions are exaggerated in a similar way to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.

Situations that normally seem emotionally neutral can seem funny or ridiculous or, on the contrary, intimidating and disturbing.

…Situations involving a real or imagined confrontation can be particularly disturbing and can result in intense paranoia in someone under the influence of marijuana.”

However, modafinil has not been shown to induce a state of euphoria when used correctly. Some studies even show that it can reduce the euphoria induced by drugs like cocaine.7]:

“Modafinil is very well accepted by patients, who report a reduction in cocaine withdrawal symptoms and a blunting of the effects of cocaine if they begin to relapse while taking the medication.

The drug has not been reported to produce euphoria and there have been no indications of overuse or abuse in clinical trials.”

And in individual cases where users report getting high on Modafinil, the doses used exceed 1000 mg [8]. This is approximately 5 to 10 times the daily dosage often recommended by both doctors and nootropic veterans!

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What does the modafinil high feel like?

Although it is impossible to get “high” on Modafinil at therapeutic doses, or according to how medical researchers define the term, the Modafinil experience is a very real phenomenon.
So what does modafinil feel like? It's hard to describe, since everyone reacts differently to smart drugs. That said, there are many common observations consistently reported by test subjects...

• Higher energy levels

Users frequently claim that Modafinil allows them to tap into an undiscovered reserve of willpower. In turn, they can immediately begin tasks that they have put off for significant periods of time.
As an Oxford University philosopher put it [9]:

“Modafinil lowers my activation threshold: I am more motivated to perform tasks that I would normally put off. I feel like I have a little extra space in my frontal lobe to deal with concepts that are a little more complex or complicated. I can hold them better in my mind.”

• Greater alertness and concentration

One of the most common results of Modafinil use is the ability to focus monomaniacally on a single task for several hours at a time.It provides a “tunnel vision” approach whereby anything that is not directly related to the task at hand is forgotten.
While it may seem to an outsider that a Modafinil user has increased their IQ, the reality is that Modafinil is making the user more persistent. Because they are so determined to solve the problem at hand, they persist longer and eventually solve it.10]:

“Before, I could competently work on the fracture mechanics of high-silica stone (while replicating ancient tool flaking techniques) for about an hour. With modafinil I was able to continue for almost three hours. “It didn’t make me ‘smarter,’ but it extended the length of my concentration.”

• elevated mood

Modafinil can be helpful for people who struggle to find the motivation to tackle an uncomfortable project. Once the cognitive benefits of modafinil start to kick in, it's hard to feel fatigued or defeated.
The seemingly instantaneous transition from a pessimistic mood to an optimistic mood can be explained by modafinil's ability to increase vigor [11]:

“Although improvements were also observed in the six mood factors defined by the [Mood Profile] (i.e., vigor-activity, fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment, depression-dismay, tension-anxiety, and anger- hostility), most reliable improvements in fatigue, stamina, and cognition were demonstrated.
“Improvements in all of these measures occurred rapidly after initiation of modafinil treatment and persisted throughout the 6 weeks of the study.”

"Vigor" in the context of the cited study refers to the simultaneous presence of enthusiasm and the absence of mood-related fatigue.
And although a placebo group did not participate in the study along with the group of patients taking Modafinil, the finding points to a common observation among frequent Modafinil users.

• Lack of nervousness/impulsivity

Modafinil is not like a cup of coffee that makes you jittery shortly after taking it. Even when Modafinil reaches maximum concentration in your bloodstream, you will not feel anxious or restless.
If anything, modafinil is much more likely to reduce any impulsivity you have when it comes to making bad decisions or bad lifestyle habits. This was observed in a study in which pathological gamblers with varying levels of impulsivity took 200 mg of modafinil before playing slot machines [12]:

“The bet size decreased uniformly in both high- and low-impulsivity participants taking modafinil.
In participants with high impulsivity, modafinil decreased the desire to gamble, the prominence of gambling words, disinhibition, and risky decision making. “In participants with low impulsivity, modafinil increased scores on these indices.”

For gamblers with low impulsivity, it can be assumed that modafinil gave them a boost of motivation to take greater risks than they normally would. So how does Modafinil make you feel after taking it? To put it informally, your brain is functioning at its maximum capacity and your mindset transforms into one of supreme dominance and confidence.

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Not like Adderall!

The “Modafinil high” (or the Modafinil experience, for that matter) is completely different from Adderall.

While Modafinil's exact mechanism of action is unknown, it has been definitively established that it does not work in the same way that Adderall does.13]:

“…[Modafinil] is believed to promote wakefulness more selectively than conventional stimulants such as amphetamine and methylphenidate.

Modafinil does not bind to norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine or benzodiazepine receptors. “It could target specific hypothalamic regions, such as the tuberomammillary nucleus and orexin neurons, which are peptide neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness.”

Additionally, since modafinil is not a “stimulant” in the traditional sense, it does not carry potential for abuse. Its prolonged use also does not produce withdrawal symptoms after cessation of use [14]:

“The lack of pharmacological equivalence with amphetamine-like agents, together with modafinil's inability to be injected intravenously or smoked, and its once-daily dosing in the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy, suggest that it is not It has the same public effect. health or safety concerns for abuse compared to amphetamine-like agents.”

The only real similarity between Modafinil and Adderall is that they are both used as nootropics to increase focus and delay the natural inclination to sleep during the night. Apart from that, they belong to completely different classes of pharmaceuticals.

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Understanding the modafinil experience...

Modafinil provides a smooth and clean feeling of concentration. You stay focused on the task without feeling like you have too much energy at your disposal.

Overall, the Modafinil experience is universal and individual at the same time. While certain outcomes are very common, everyone will notice that they manifest in different ways. One user may feel a small increase in concentration, while another user feels a massive increase in concentration.

This is no more evident than when you add all the testimonials and personal complaints regarding the use of Modafinil [15]:

NEGATIVE REVIEW: “There are 4 or 6 hours of nervousness, then it loses any kind of effectiveness and I feel like I'm ready to go to sleep. Armodafinil, which is a more potent version of 150 mg. works better".

POSITIVE REVIEW: “This is the best energy medicine I have ever taken! I sleep between 6 and 8 hours when I sleep. Then I get up and take my morning pro vigil and can finally focus on work for at least 2 hours straight. I have ADD and depression, it helps me with both. This medicine is the best :)”

We would like to provide some additional feedback on using the Modafinil “high” to do even more.

If you are thinking about taking Modafinil for the first time, here are some things to think about:

• Dose: Beginners should start with 100 mg of Modafinil per day, gradually increasing up to 200 mg in a single dose or divided into two smaller doses. In any case, we recommend taking Modafinil no more than 3 days per week.
• Moment: Due to the wakefulness-promoting effects of modafinil, we recommend that you avoid taking it after 2:00 p.m. m. to ensure you can fall asleep later in the day. Modafinil usually takes between 12 and 18 hours to be completely eliminated from your system.
• Preparation: The most common mistake first-time Modafinil users make is not planning their tasks in advance. If you're rearranging your Spotify playlist when Modafinil kicks in, you'll probably end up doing it for several hours straight!

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Modafinil “high” | The verdict

He High Modafinil It can be incredibly beneficial for anyone who wants to be more productive and complete more work in a shorter period of time.

While you can't get high from Modafinil like you would from traditional euphoria-inducing drugs like marijuana, you can expect to feel more positive and energetic throughout the day.

The Modafinil experience should not be taken lightly, but it can be a life-changing moment for anyone who is serious about optimizing their mental performance.

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