U.S. soldiers use Modafinil to stay awake for 40 hours a day, but is it safe? from Ruby Smith's blog
U.S. soldiers are staying awake all night long all day long in Iraq and will likely benefit from research conducted by the military into drugs which allow them to endure for up to 40 hours and not feel "wired" and without crashing afterwards.
Soldiers during wars of the past have used stimulants in times when they couldn't afford to sleep, however all of them have had side negative effects, including poor judgment as well as jitteriness, and the requirement for more sleep once the soldier ceases to take them.
The new pills to stay awake appear to not cause any negative side effects, at the very least for the short-term.
U.S. military studies found that soldiers are able to remain alert and awake for up to 40 hours. They can also get eight hours of sleep and remain awake for an additional 40 hours, and without the impaired judgement of older uppers.
This is starting to alarm some doctors, who believe modafinil sold as a generic known as Modvigil 200or in the U.S. as Provigil may be harmful to the health of those who take it.
Modafinil can assist those suffering from narcolepsy to stay awake. This group of people, including one-quarter of whom reside within the United States, sometimes fall into a deep sleep during the midday. Certain doctors prescribe modafinil to people suffering from MS to make them feel less tired.
Modafinil isn't addictive. What happens if someone who is a student or office worker decides to take modafinil in order to remain awake for thirty or forty hours to complete an urgent project? What happens if this repeats?
More often, Americans who feel the necessity to remain awake, but do not have an insomnia disorder, have been receiving "off-label" prescriptions for modafinil or Artvigil 150(Armodafinil).
It's the reason for the number of Americans suffering from narcolepsy. However, more than 250,000 people use modafinil. Modafinil was authorized to be used in Canada in 1999.
"I'm certain it's being utilized in that manner. It's easy to see how difficult it would be to research this kind of situation, especially when it's not continuous," says Dr. Tom Scammell, a sleep specialist in the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
"Most clinicians I talk to are really down on that."
Just a few months in the past in the year 2000, the U.S. supplier of the drug published a summary of patients on its website Doctor. Scammell recalls, showing one-quarter of the patients had narcolepsy. Some had multiple sclerosis. certain patients had depression.
"And then, there was a wide category called "Other. '"
This includes people who take the drug simply to stay awake and not because they require it. Although the drug may not be harming the users directly, he thinks that a lack of sleep could be harmful.
"In the simplest terms it is that we don't have all the implications of sleeping insufficiently. There are however certain consequences that are obvious. If someone is tired, they are slower. They react more sluggish than normal. They're unsteady. A person who's had sleep deprivation for one night, drives the same way as someone who's legally drunk.
"If you look at the number of car accidents (as a rate) it's highest between 2 and 5 a.m. because people are sleepy."
The tired can have blood sugar levels that are similar to those with diabetes.
One Washington Postreporter who sat for more than 30 hours on the drug wrote that the drug made him feel great, and added: " Modafresh 200(Modafinil)may have the power to change Washington, D.C., and other high-powered cities."
Doctors are concerned modafinil, which is not an "feel-good" drug, is one people can be able to take when they're under high stress.
"It's one of these blunders, I believe, of a medical app. It's possible that you could do the same result in the equivalent of 20 coffee cups but you'd probably not want this," says Dr. Judith Leech, a respirologist who works with patients suffering from sleep issues at Ottawa Hospital. Ottawa Hospital. "Get some rest! Don't take medication to keep you awake! Does this make good medical sense?
"I believe that sleep is beneficial. The most healthy option is to get more sleep in case you're exhausted, right?"
"Compared with other stimulants that have been prescribed, such as dexedrine and ritalin, it (modafinil) doesn't work the same way so it doesn't have the same side effects," she says. Modafinil doesn't trigger excessive blood pressure or feel connected, and all the other effects that come from our brain's "fight or flight" reflex.
"On the other hand , we don't know exactly the brain chemical that it is believed to use to work. Personally, I'm not keen on stimulating the brains of people using things I'm not certain of in the absence of a medical reason to do so."
Dr. Leech notes that soldiers were offered drugs prior to for them to stay awake: If it's not modafinil, it could be something else like amphetamines.
"On the other hand, what I use in somebody whose life is totally impaired by a brain chemistry disorder is different from what I think you should use in an army person" or others who are healthy.
"It's not recommended to take drugs for ill-intentions. There's a reason that you feel sleepy." Sleeping aids the brain in storing memories and recovering from the stress of work and aids the body to strengthen it's immune system. "And you deprive yourself of those things if you use a stimulant to overcome it."
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