Thoughts on using "Smart Drugs" to increase academic performance [poll]

[Greggler]

last year during winter i took these pills which contained echinachea and vitamin C, and for the first year of my schooling ever i didnt have a day off school due to a cold or flu or something.

i hate coffe though, so really only have the occasional red bull, but never really for the sole purpose of staying up in order to study. The latest i have ever stayed up the night before a SAC/exam or something would probs be 10:30 lol, and on these days i'd usually have finished studying by 8 or 9

[brightsky]

If the word "drug" has a negative connotation, then we just need to replace it - potion. Would you like to consume a potion that augments your intelligence?

And I agree with Mao, exercise is magical.

lolz

[Eriny]

I drink caffeine (tea usually, and also usually not after 4pm) but I don't think it enhances my intelligence. I would say that it rather makes me normal enough to be able to function on some level after waking up early. There are heaps of drugs which people use to bring them up to 'normal' - caffeine, nicotine, Ritalin, etc.

[amirite?]

I was going to start this topic.

Talking online to some Americans it seems a fair few of them take ADD pills, Adderall. This pic pretty much somes up the attitude of the few ive talked too.



They also talk about taking the same pills as dementia sufferers and people with memory issues.

I take Vitamins, fish oil and a few other things every day but I dont think its cheating in anyway. Its a safeguard against illness which could potentially be very detrimental and its stuff the body already makes itself, just not enough of. I would consider taking other 'things' if it was going to get me an enhanced study score too. 

[jejak]

I drink caffeine (tea usually, and also usually not after 4pm) but I don't think it enhances my intelligence.

This touches on something that I was going to ask about. By "increase academic performance", which of these are we referring to?
a) productivity enhancers - allowing students to stay awake for longer periods of time, thus having more time to digest the material
b) drugs to actually increase intelligence/reasoning ability/speed of cognition temporarily (excuse the fuzzy definitions)

Clearly a) is possible - caffeine has long been used to cram for tests and finish assignments on time.... by some students  , and as this New Yorker article suggests http://tinyurl.com/cm4b75, certain classes of amphetamines are now commonly being employed for this purpose at top US colleges.

I am curious, though, whether there is any drug that can accomplish goal b). My own experiences completely agree with Eriny's: taking NoDoz, for instance, allowed me to stay awake, but I feel that I actually performed worse at certain tasks (verbal fluency in LOTEs, for instance.) However, as humph notes, Paul Erdos believed that the use of amphetamines actually augmented his mathematical skils - it didn't just buy him more time to churn out proofs or whatever. The New Yorker article above also mentions some drug - modafinil I think it was - that seems to accomplish both ends; Wiki classes amphetamines as both productivity enhancers and "[improvers] of cognitive performance." http://tinyurl.com/fgq2w The anecdotal evidence posted here seems to suggest that drugs such as caffeine work only as productivity enhancers.

Sorry for the rambling, but I thought it was necessary to draw a distinction here.

[amirite?]

Would we be able to compile our own list of 'supplements' that 'help' during your studies, or would it be against board rules? Obviously we cant talk about how to obtain them, but is it alright to talk about illegally taking prescriptions meds?

[transgression]

how else do you think i get creative?

[slothpomba]

Caffeine is great but I don't drink coffee, so I usually get my intake from coke.

There is next to no caffeine in coca cola, however i feel i might be ruining your placebo effect by telling you this.

coke has about 9.72 mg/100mls
V has about 31.1mg/100ml
Red bull is about 32mg/100mls
Brewed coffee is about 45.5 mg/100mls
& a single nodoz tablet is about 200mg

What kind of exercise?

I'd imagine aerobic exercise (you do it for a long amount of time and it involves you breathing, eg running) as opposed to anaerobic exercise (short bursts of high intensity, eg weight lifting) would do the most good. Probably because theyd increase blood flow to the brain and just generally blood flow around the body.

I myself am a long distance runner, i run about 7.5 km every second day and i dont really notice a benefit - but then again i don't do it to make me more intelligent.

Edit: I'd also like to make the point, these substances wont make you magically smarter or probably produce any dramatic improvement. They'll more likely be some subtle effect, even if you just do take them and sit there it wont accomplish much - VCE is still hard work in and good results out.

[amirite?]

Any exercise is good.

lifting > running

[Mao]

Eat fish, lots and lots of fish (binge on sushi)
Buy bulk vitamin c tablets, eat it like lollies
Gym membership at a local gym, at least an hour a day
A whole slab of energy drink

^^gets me through the day (and night and the next day)

[amirite?]

Eat fish, lots and lots of fish (binge on sushi)
Buy bulk vitamin c tablets, eat it like lollies
Gym membership at a local gym, at least an hour a day

Agreed.

Energy drinks though are a no-no. If youre stressed out energy drinks are terrible for you.

[slothpomba]

Like anything in life, moderation is important i reckon.

Dont overdose yourself on vitamin C and eat bucket-loads of fish because it has mercury and can build up

[minilunchbox]

Eat fish, lots and lots of fish (binge on sushi)
Buy bulk vitamin c tablets, eat it like lollies
Gym membership at a local gym, at least an hour a day

Agreed.

Energy drinks though are a no-no. If youre stressed out energy drinks are terrible for you.

Your crap will be like rusty water and you'll end up shitting yourself in the exam.

I can't stand fish oil, it's too fishy tasting/smelling and the ones that are like ~orange flavoured~ confuse me. I only drink coffee in the morning if I'm tired to the point where I know I'll probably collapse at school which isn't often.

[Nomvalt]

i've heard energy drinks can be particularly helpful to take b4 any exams for enhancing mental performance, alertness, focus etc.

[Edmund]

From Wikipedia

A review published in 2008 found no documented reports of negative health effects associated with the taurine used in the amounts found in most energy drinks, including Red Bull. Commonly reported adverse effects due to caffeine used in the quantities present in Red Bull are insomnia, nervousness, headache, and tachycardia (see Caffeine intoxication). A 2008 position statement issued by the National Federation of State High School Associations made the following recommendations about energy drink consumption, in general, by young athletes:

1. Water and appropriate sports drinks should be used for rehydration as outlined in the NFHS Document “Position Statement and Recommendations for Hydration to Minimize the Risk for Dehydration and Heat Illness.”
2. Energy drinks should not be used for hydration.
3. Information about the absence of benefit and the presence of potential risk associated with energy drinks should be widely shared among all individuals who interact with young athletes.
4. Energy drinks should not be consumed by athletes who are dehydrated.
5. Energy drinks should not be consumed without prior medical approval, by athletes taking over the counter or prescription medications.