"Less Sleep More Energy"

I recently read in the October Reader's Digest (in an article titled "Less Sleep More Energy") about a drug called Provigil (modafinil is the generic name) that has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of narcolepsy. It is being prescribed more frequently for fatigue caused by other conditions. In 2000 there were 350,000 new and refill prescriptions. By last year the number rose to 1.7 million. The author indicated that there is controversy over using this drug. I'm curious about how this compares to caffeine usage. I'm a coffee drinker. I "need" that coffee every morning and I get a headache when I don't get my caffeine. How is that better or worse than a low dose of Provigil?

The article contained a sidebar written by someone who was taking Provigil and writing about his adventures on the pill. He was very productive at work: "the two most productive days I've had in years". So, I'm thinking that most companies could offer Provigil as an alternative to coffee. There could be a pill dispenser right next to the coffee machine in the lunch room. Deadline approaching? No problem, just secretly bump up the dosage and WHAM instant increase in worker productivity.

I think we can expand upon this idea even further. I say we increase productivity by this approach and then work a 4 day work week. Hell, if the increase is large enough, that extra day off won't even matter. The increase could totally offset the day off, and then some. If the idea is wildly popular we could even pull the economy up and out of the doldrums on the shirt tails of a Provigil addicted work force! I'd like to see the politicians in Albany (NY) on Provigil. After all, they haven't been able to pass a budget on time in something like 853 years. A little kick in the ass from this pill might be just what they need.

So, I'm thinking all of this and seriously wondering if I would take a Provigil once a day in order to be more productive at work and run a workout faster with less fatigue and be less tired at home when I make dinner and help the kids with their homework and clean up the kitchen and do some work around the house and a couple loads of laundry and some work I brought home on the laptop and write in my blog and watch "CSI" or "NYPD Blue".

I'm actually thinking that Provigil doesn't sound so bad after all. Actually sounds like it could be promising. And now I'm thinking of the outrage I felt when I read about world class athlete's taking performance enhancing drugs. Wow, now I'm stuck!