Do you feel irritable and tired during the day? Do you nap regularly or require caffeinated beverages to stay awake? Sleep disorders can affect your school or work performance, mood, and physical health. They can be treated with modafinil.
How Modafinil Works
Although it was developed to treat narcolepsy and other sleep disorders, Modafinil 200 Australia is increasingly being used “off-label” as a cognitive enhancer. The New York Times reports that it can be used to increase work productivity, boost memory and recall, improve focus and concentration, help students study, and even ward off depression and anxiety. It is a powerful drug, but it can also cause serious side effects. It is important to understand how and when it should be taken and to consult a doctor for advice.
Its exact mechanism of action is not fully understood, but it works like a stimulant by stopping nerve cells from reabsorbing dopamine, an excitatory chemical after it has been released into synapses. However, it is not associated with the same addictive highs or lows and does not trigger addiction. In addition to its wake-promoting effects, modafinil has demonstrated neuroprotective properties in preclinical studies (Ballon and Feifel 2006).
Modafinil has been shown to improve performance on complex tasks such as humor appreciation, a task that requires frontal lobe function and integration of information from various cortical and subcortical brain regions. It has also been shown to reduce cognitive impairment in sleep-deprived patients and to bolster serotonin release without stimulating it on its own (Ferraro et al 2000, 2001, 2004). Other studies have also found improvements in a variety of other tasks, including psychiatric illnesses, Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit disorder, and jet lag treatment.
Modafinil for Shift Work Disorder
Modafinil (Provigil 200mg Australia) is a prescription medication that can be used to help treat shift work sleep disorder. It is typically taken during the day to help increase alertness and counteract excessive daytime sleepiness. It has also been shown to improve the ability to sleep at night in patients with this condition.
Shift workers are at risk for excessive sleepiness because of their disrupted circadian rhythms and homeostatic sleep drives. This is exacerbated by the difficulty of adapting internal sleep and wakefulness processes to externally imposed work schedules.
Several studies have shown that modafinil can reduce the levels of sleepiness experienced by individuals who suffer from shift work disorder, improving their functioning and quality of life. One study showed that modafinil improved FOSQ domain scores compared to placebo in vigilance, activity level, and general productivity, as well as social outcome and intimacy.
It is important for those suffering from shift work sleep disorder to remember that modafinil is not a replacement for sleep, and it can be addictive when used in high doses or over long periods. It is also important to try and minimize disturbances while sleeping, such as using a dark/quiet room, avoiding caffeine close to bedtime, and getting enough days off between work shifts. Additionally, it is important to talk with your doctor if you are taking any hormonal birth control, as this can interact with modafinil.
Modafinil for Narcolepsy
Modafinil can be used to treat narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness. It improves wakefulness in people with this condition and can help them stay awake during their work shifts. It also increases alertness in people with narcolepsy and can reduce symptoms such as cataplexy (spontaneous muscle spasms). In addition to its effects on sleepiness, modafinil has been found to increase the amount of time that people spend awake during their workdays and can decrease the amount of daytime napping they do.
Modafinil is more effective than a placebo at improving narcolepsy symptoms and can be taken for extended periods without serious side effects. It is also well tolerated by patients who are taking narcolepsy medications such as methylphenidate.
Take this medication by mouth with or without food as directed by your doctor, usually once a day in the morning, 1 hour before starting your work shift. Do not change the dosage unless your doctor tells you to do so. If you are being treated for obstructive sleep apnea, continue your other treatment (such as continuous positive airway pressure or mouth device) unless your doctor tells you to do otherwise. Modafinil may cause withdrawal when it is stopped suddenly. Withdrawal symptoms may include shaking, sweating, chills, confusion, nausea, vomiting, and trouble thinking or concentrating.
Modafinil for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
The wakefulness-promoting drug modafinil, also known as Provigil in the United States, is a valuable tool for treating excessive daytime sleepiness associated with shift work sleep disorder, narcolepsy, and obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. It has four major clinical advantages over other wakefulness agents: it is well tolerated, does not cause a significant reduction in nocturnal sleep, does not induce rebound sleepiness, and does not require dietary restrictions or abstinence from caffeine.
A small, 4-week, placebo-controlled study of patients with OSA who met accepted criteria for excessive sleepiness found that modafinil 200 and 400 mg significantly improved objectively measured sleep latency on MSLT and MWT, as well as subjectively assessed sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) at Week 4 compared to placebo. In addition, improvement in ESS scores was sustained in an open-label extension for 12 weeks in the same patients who were continuing with CPAP therapy.
The effectiveness of modafinil for obstructive sleep apnea may be due to its action in the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN), which is a source of histaminergic neurons that are active during waking and provide inhibitory GABA-ergic input into neurons mediating cortical arousal. In an animal study, intracerebroventricular injection of modafinil increased histamine release in the TMN but did not affect histamine levels in other brain regions. Modafinil may also inhibit the reuptake of dopamine by the NMDA receptor and reduce the reuptake of norepinephrine by the VLPO.
