Students using neuro-stimulants for study

[Fyrefly]

[b][size=15pt]Students spruik Ritalin as study booster[/size][/b]

12:30 AEST Thu Jul 30 2009
31 minutes ago
By Jay Savage , ninemsn

School students using neuro-stimulants like Ritalin to boost their "brain power" are boasting online about how the drugs are letting them study longer and harder.

Experts say school and university students have created a "mythology" about the supposed benefits of using neuro-stimulants to cram for exams, with campuses rife with peers trading the drugs among each other.

And the medications most associated with childhood disorders have gained even more fame on student web forums — despite warnings from health experts about the dangers of using the drugs without a prescription.

First-year university student Liam Schoneveld urged peers on the "boredofstudies" forum to try Ritalin if they found caffeine was no longer keeping them awake.

"It allowed me to study for up to 10 hours a day without feeling drained … [or] stressed," he told ninemsn.

Another student on the forum replied : "Better yet, Aderall".

Another wrote: "hahaha yeah … stressed and not able to work efficiently? Just relax and start working efficiently!!"

Mr Schoneveld, 18, said he was convinced taking Ritalin helped him achieve his strong Year 12 results after usng the medication regularly in the lead-up to his exams.

The Sydney University student said he got the drug from a friend who had been prescribed it for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

But he admitted he had also experienced heart palpitations and difficulty sleeping and urinating.

His comments defy health warnings that drugs such as Ritalin — properly known as methylphenidate — carry a significant health risk when not used for medical purposes.

"In some people it can induce psychosis, or in rare cases people have died because of the strain [the drug places] on the heart," University of Adelaide psychiatrist Jon Jureidini told ninemsn.

Neuro-stimulants were first used on people recovering from traumatic brain injuries in the belief it would help them to focus, fight fatigue and better retain memory.

The drugs are now most commonly prescribed for children with disorders such as ADHD.

But scientists and educational experts are divided on whether the drugs would help a student cramming for an exam.

"It would help them spend long periods studying, whether it would actually help them is questionable," Dr Jureidini said.

Neuro-stimulants not only cause sleep deprivation but can adversely influence a person's perception of time and their ability to be self-critical, said University of NSW social sciences expert Nicolas Rasmussen, adding that this would not help a student in an exam situation.

He also said Ritalin had taken on a kind of "mythology" among school students, with studies finding it was common for peers to exchange the medication between each other.

"It produces confidence and extraversion, so the mood effect is the dominant factor," Dr Rasmussen said.

"But there are better ways to get confidence."

[enwiabe]

Any posts made by users in this thread urging the illegal consumption of prescription drugs WILL be deleted.

[ninwa]

lol ... morons.

[/0]

pssh ritalin's for pansies, use willpower, teeth-clenching (and maybe apparatus to keep your eyes open) and you can study an extra 10 hours no problem

[Over9000]

I use the drug of love for vce to excel at my studies.