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Ask HN: do any of you take mental performance enhancement drugs?
It's the 21st century, people work long hours to try and be successful, and the information technology age requires you to be on your a-game as much as possible. So I ask of HN, if you are comfortable admitting, do you take any mental performance enhancement drugs? What are your experiences with them? Do you get side-effects or an inevitable crash?
I got the idea for this question after seeing this old techcrunch blog post: http://techcrunch.com/2008/07/15/how-many-of-our-startup-executives-are-hopped-up-on-provigil/ And that was in 2008, now it's more than 4 years later.
- sneak 14y agoI've tried Modafinil (Provigil). My experience mirrors that of several close friends: It seems to do something different the first 1-2 times you take it as opposed to the rest. That was 3-5 tries, spaced a week or two apart, several years ago. These days, I stick to 5-HTP (the last precursor to serotonin (5-HT) that will cross the blood-brain-barrier (serotonin itself won't)) and B vitamins... and, of course, caffeine. I've some friends who've recently said that Noopept[1] is pretty amazing. I've tried Piracetam[2] (though none of the other racetams) in the past and didn't notice any major effect. To answer your headline question: I'm always on the lookout for stuff that will make me more efficient or effective, be it tools or molecules. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noopept http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noopept [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracetam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracetam
- dylanhassinger 14y ago5-HTP ftw, its like natural prozac. New podcast about this stuff: smartdrugsmarts.com
- jbrooksuk 14y agoI too have been wondering if it'd be beneficial to start taking smart drugs as I'm working long distance and many hours a day.
- tzaman 14y agoIs it just me, or does anyone else find taking performance drugs just wrong? I mean what about taking a walk in the nature, exercising, having sex (or all three at the same time :)? Yeah, everyone says it's safe, but I think it's better (safer) to listen to your body when it's saying it needs a break. Unless you want to be super effective, supper efficient, and die at 50. No thanks.
- mansigandhi 14y agoYeah, I'm with tzaman on this
- WalterSear 14y agoI do those too. And no, a nootropic is not necessarily amphetamine, or is otherwise required to have some heavy comedown. Some are neuroprotective. IMHO, you are almost spreading FUD.
- onlyup 14y agoI've never even considered taking a performance enhancement drug for anything (other than coffee, if that counts). I wouldn't have thought it was that common.
- dennisme 14y agoNo. Coffee/tea here and there along with a healthy diet and consistent exercise regimen. Nootropics don't work in my opinion if you are out of shape and lacking basic nutrients for normal body functions. Don't even get me started on energy drinks.
- rman666 14y agoI've been on Modafinal (Provigil) for 8+ years. I have Excessive Daytime Somnolence (sleepiness) and I'd have a hard time functioning without it. I take one or two 200mg tablets each day, depending on how I'm feeling (usually just one). I still remember the first few days I was taking Modafinal: I felt like I could see in 360-degrees. I was super alert. That effect wore of quickly. Now, most days when I take Modafinal, I feel alert and ready to work; not perfect but much much better than before. Sometimes the effect doesn't kick-in. When this happens for more than a week in a row, I stop taking it for a few days. When I restart, it seems to kick back in. I see my doctor regularly to make sure everything is okay. I have noticed no strange side effects other than my up-coming Noble prize in astrophysics, my solution to N = NP, and my Sudoku solver written Brainfuck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck). Personally, I would not recommend using Modafinal without the supervision of a doctor. It's also expensive, even with "good" health insurance.
- rman666 14y agoBy the way, only point out the errors in my above comment if you want to prove you're smarter that a guy taking smart drugs.
- zxcvvcxz 14y agoN = 0 or P = 1 ;)
- jbrooksuk 14y agoWhat kind of down do you get? Have you ever had side effects?
- rman666 14y agoI don't experience any "crashes" (i.e., periods of being unusually tired) related to Modafinal. Honestly, I can't really think of any side effects.
- throwaway_amph 14y agoAdderall and similar when deadlines are looming. I get more work done faster, with fewer distractions. Not much of a "rush", just concentration when I need it.
- thifm 14y agoI take nootropil, which is a nootropic that I can easily buy here(Brazil). It's well known for it's side effect of giving headaches if you don't have enough choline in your organism. I advise everyone to take it, it's healthy. Max your choline and you'll be just fine.
- mcartyem 14y agoHow did you conclude the information technology age requires you to be on your a-game as much as possible? There can be advantages to being on your c-game.
- n3rdy 14y agoWhat would be the pros and cons of a-sharp vs c-sharp?
- mcartyem 14y agoPresident Harry S. Truman said “The C Students Run the World” http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/11/16/c-students-more-successful-than-a-students/ http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/11/16/c-students-more-succ... http://blog.pdus2go.com/special-edition/why-a-students-dont-run-the-world/ http://blog.pdus2go.com/special-edition/why-a-students-dont-... http://elitedaily.com/elite/2012/students-run-world/ http://elitedaily.com/elite/2012/students-run-world/
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