This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Get ready for 24-hour living

SO MUCH to do, so little time. Between a hectic work schedule and a thriving social life, Yves (not his real name), a 31- year-old software developer from Seattle, often doesn't have time for a full night's sleep. So he swallows something to make sure he doesn't need one. "If I take a dose just before I go to bed, I can wake up after 4 or 5 hours and feel refreshed," he says. "The alarm goes off and I'm like, let's go!"

Yves is talking about modafinil, a stimulant that since its launch seven years ago has acquired a near-mythical reputation for wiring you awake without the jitters, euphoria and eventual crash that come after caffeine or amphetamines. Yves has been popping modafinil on and off for the past three years and says it is "tremendously useful". "I find I can be very productive at work," he says. "I'm more organised and more motivated. And it means I can go out partying on a Friday night and still go skiing early on Saturday morning."

Modafinil is just the first of a wave of new lifestyle drugs that promise to do for sleep what the contraceptive pill did for sex - unshackle it from nature. Since time immemorial, humans have structured their lives around sleep. In the near future, we will, for the first time, be able to significantly structure the way we sleep to suit our lifestyles.

New Scientist - Get ready for 24-hour living

Taking this pill to stay awake is foolish, in my opinion, because the body needs sleep time to repair itself.

Modafinal is expensive and a lot of insurance companies won't cover it at all, so he must have a wad of cash to burn.

gwa

Isn't sleep deprivation used as a means of torture?
muu

Yeah, sleep deprivation is not a good thing...

FFI (Fatal Familial Insomnia) can actually kill people
http://www.sciam.com/biology/article/id ... umans-stay
Sleep is very important for our health. This is not a drug folks should be taking casually to stay awake- that guy is messing with his health.

That said, Provigil has been a tremendous blessing to my husband (MS dx 3/07) Prior to taking, he actually fell asleep driving and couldn't make it thru the day without a 2 hour nap. He takes 200 mg. of provigil (100mg. upon waking, 100mg at noon) and is able to get thru his day with energy, and is still able to fall asleep quickly at night. He gets a good 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Our insurance is paying for it now ($350 a month) and his quality of life is vastly improved.
best,
AC

Sleep deprivation will raise the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. Chronically high levels have a negative impact on overall health and are believed to play a role in several disease conditions. Longterm use of such a stimulant would likely shorten one's life.

NHE