I started taken Modafinil in 2014 because it is widely touted as being a smart pill. But what I've come to realize is that it is not a smart drug, but rather an alertness drug. That might seem obvious, but I think the vast majority still think that Modafinil gives you some mental edge.
In some ways, I think it does the opposite. Here's why I say that. A few months ago I noticed that there had been a growing amount of sleep research that has that chronically reduced hours of sleep is correlated with the increased risk of getting Alzheimer's. That research has been around for a long time. So I'm only noticed recently.
So I started tracking my sleep with a Fitbit (Ionic, the latest and most advanced) and found that on most nights I was getting 5 hours or less. At that time I had also started to take Aniracetam and Phenylpiracetam in capsule form. I take a few other nootropic supps, but I'd say that these are the core.
It was at that pointed that started to experience the difference between mental alertness and being mentally sharp.
So I cut back on the Modafinil to 2 days week. Here's where it gets interesting, even though I was getting to better earlier and got out of the habit looking at my phone in bed, I was still not able to get a consistent 5 hours of sleep, according to my Fitbit which is somehow able to measure states of light sleep and deep sleep. It crunches the data and tells you how many hours you effectively slept.
It is important to note that I was taking Modafinil 2x a week, i.e., Friday and Saturday. And my difficulty in getting enough sleep was an everyday thing.
So I tried an experiment. I stopped Modafinil entirely, figuring that it would impact the quality of my sleep just on the days I consumed it.
But what surprised me was that the effect was ACROSS THE BOARD. So some, just taking Modafinil 2x a week (Fri and Sat) affected my sleep for the entire seven days.
Now I sleep better. I have more energy every day. I feel sharper and more focused using my Nootropics than I ever did with Modafinil alone.
So my conclusion is that Modafinil does more harm than good regarding sleep reduction, even if you don't take it every day. This might be just isolated to my case.
I have not taken Modafinil for 3 weeks and feel great. I am also thinking that Modafinil is not as safe as it's cracked up to be.