THE FORUMS

With all these threads about improving your sleep, insomnia, and how to balance the demands of a job with pick-up, I thought this would have great relevance and wanted to share my experiences.

I hesitate to say this, but I have found somewhat of a magic pill. Due to the demands of my occupation, there are some nights when I am only able to get 2 hours of sleep. I can deal with this for a couple days, but sometimes this happens 4-5 nights in a row. It gets to the point where I'm pinching myself to stay awake. I read about this drug called modafinil which is currently used to treat ADHD, narcolepsy, and shift-work sleep disorder and was intrigued by the results of several studies as well as by the lack of side-effects.

I can say that after using it occassionally over the past year it is incredible. If I take it in the morning, I go the entire day without feeling sleepy. I feel better than if I had slept over 8 hours. And when I want to go to bed, even though I don't feel sleepy, I'm still able to fall sleep right away. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it gets even better.

I had to study for a boards exam which have a huge impact on my future career. I needed to put in about 500 hours of study time and only had a month (about 16 hours/day). I used modafinil and could tell that I was retaining information so much easier; it was as if I could feel the synapses firing and forming connections. I'm curious if anyone else has used it and what your results have been.