Modafinil and Higher Learning Don’t Mix

I know what you’re going to say, “Everybody does it… If you don’t do it, you’re not with it… Everyone needs a pick me up…” on and on and on. Why don’t you admit it? You’re taking drugs to keep you on track because this is all you know. Drugs is all your peers know. And your so-called teachers don’t really care how you keep up with your studies, just “Keep it up, or FAIL!”

Here’s a little article on modafinil that alerts us to the harsh realities of “higher learning:”

Students and academics turn to drugs

More people use cognitive-enhancing drugs to cope with busy lives, says journal study

With the ever increasing pace of everyday life, more people are turning to cognitive enhancing drugs to stay on top, according to a report in a scientific journal.

The controversial report, published in Nature last month, spoke of the widening use of drugs such as Ritalin, Adderal and Modafinil amongst sportsmen, students and academics.

In an informal survey, Barbara Sahakian, professor of neuropsychology at Cambridge and author of the report, found a number of colleagues to be using Modafinil as a means of fighting off jet lag, improving their academic performance and aiding their social ease at parties.

Modafinil is generally prescribed to counter the symptoms of Narcolepsy. When taken by otherwise healthy people, it is also found to stave off fatigue and improve concentration and short-term memory.

The drug is only available on prescription, though it can be bought online. Its use without a prescription is illegal.
It has become the favourite of academics because the side effects are relatively mild when compared with other “smart” drugs.

Side effects include the occasional headache, the odd bout of diarrhoea, a touch of nausea perhaps; not particularly ailments you want to get at a party, but nonetheless gentle compared with the potential heart problems, strokes or tumours that can occur from drugs like Ritalin.

As a relatively new drug, approved in the UK in 2002, the long-term effects of Modafinil are still unknown. The drug is stocked by the army to keep combat troops alert.

One Robinson student, who wished to remain anonymous, told Varsity: “I’ve tried Modafinil a couple of times. With the Cambridge workload I frequently have to stay up until the early hours to reach deadlines.

“It definitely made me focus on what I was doing but I don’t think my essay was any the better for it.”

The report has sparked a debate as to whether the drug should be made available over-the-counter.

The director of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester, John Harris, has said that the government should “seriously consider” making such drugs available to students without a prescription.

By Rachel Stratton

Posted on Friday 16 January 2009 at Varsity, independent Cambridge Student Newspaper.

Can I take a moment with you? I want to tell you how disappointed I am that this entire system of higher learning is suffering from scientific cretinism. Are we so backwards as a race that these officials of higher learning want to get generations of people hooked on drugs?

What are the alternatives? What are the alternatives? OK. Since you’re here, you obviously want to learn. If school counselors really cared about kids’ health and well being, they would recommend natural alternatives to increase attention, focus, and learning capabilities. They would not recommend drugs that cause the odd bout of diarrhoea, nausea, potential heart problems, strokes, tumours, or any other side effects.

Please have a look at the Nutrition Spectrum Site. Here, you will find articles on brain solutions - 11 steps to a better brain and Ear Solutions because it turns out that these solutions also work to increase the capacity of the brain. All the solutions at Nutrition Spectrum are essential nutrients with no side effects. There are more energetic solutions available through Bioenergetic Spectrum, but the essential nutrients are most practical for students since they tend to be strapped for cash.

There are also other solutions like acupressure which you can apply to yourself any time. One in particular that can be used is pericardium 8 on either hand which I discuss at Keys to Qigong. You can also see me in the video below where I utilise pericardium 8 to help induce focus in my audience:

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Yet another energy exercise that I remember from Stewart Swerdlow’s Healer’s Handbook is to form a cone with all the fingers one hand, then hold the point of this “cone” against the base of your skull with deep breaths. This exercise helps balance and focus energies at your optical cortex to help you focus and stay awake.

I hope this helps you and your friends to stay away from drugs. I don’t want to see us turn into a THX1138 society.

Healing Thoughts, HealingMindN,

Randolph

This entry was posted on 18. January 2009 at 01:21 and is filed under Neurochemistry, Poison Spectrum, Nutrition Spectrum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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