The Productivity Pill

In his second year at Cambridge, Raj Perera was just two weeks from finals and drowning in unwritten notes. “I had done pretty much no revision… So I bought modafinil,” he told The Guardian. Within hours of taking the pill, he described feeling an urgent clarity: “Modafinil increases my enthusiasm for studying… It makes me feel that lazing around is the last thing I want to do.” For Raj, it was less about euphoria and more about focus. Like many students and professionals, he wasn’t looking for a high, just a sharper edge, more focus. From campuses to working spaces, smart drugs are quietly reshaping how people approach performance. But as the pills stack up, so do the questions.. are we becoming smarter? or just more stimulated?

The science, ethics and personal stories behind cognitive enhancers like modafinil

Modafinil, initially developed for narcolepsy, has become the unofficial poster child of cognitive enhancers. It’s not the only one. Ritalin, Adderall, racetams, and nootropic supplements are also part of the mix. A Nature survey of 1,600 people across 60 countries revealed that 1 in 4 had used substances like modafinil or Adderall to improve focus, memory, or productivity (Maher, 2008). Unlike caffeine or amphetamines, modafinil operates more subtly. It affects dopamine, norepinephrine, and histamine pathways, increasing wakefulness and alertness without the ‘wired’ sensation of stimulants. Studies suggest it can improve executive function, planning, and decision-making, especially when someone is sleep-deprived (Battleday and Brem, 2015). But smart drugs aren’t just for exam week anymore. The U.S. Air Force has used modafinil to keep pilots alert on long missions. Silicon Valley coders meddle with custom nootropic cocktails. From Wall Street to university halls, the brain-boosting movement is gaining traction.

Of course, it’s easy to see the appeal. More energy, less procrastination, laser-sharp focus. Another user, Jack, a college sophomore, told Mel Magazine that modafinil gave him “the most productive day I’ve ever had.” But for every story of hyperfocus, there’s a quieter story of consequences. Chloe, a student at Oxford, told The Independent that her daily modafinil use spiralled into a panic attack during an exam when the pill didn’t work as expected. “As much as the drugs did help me do really well in my Prelims and get all my essays done and keep on top of everything in my first year, I also developed crippling anxiety,” she said. She also commented on the effectiveness of the drug being more on her level of focus rather than the quality of the outcome, “it wasn’t actually a very good essay but it just gave me the motivation to actually sit down and write something”. Either way long-term risks remain uncertain. A 2022 Neuropharmacology review warned that modafinil’s effects on dopamine regulation and brain plasticity over time are poorly understood (Becker et al., 2022). One case study documented a man with ADHD taking up to 5,000 mg/day, leading to insomnia, irritability, and vivid hallucinations upon withdrawal. Even ‘natural’ nootropics aren’t risk-free. Many supplements are unregulated, untested, and inconsistently dosed. The cost of a sharper mind might be subtly showing itself in disrupted sleep, increased anxiety, or emotional blunting, very early on.

But is popping a modafinil before an exam the academic equivalent of doping before a race? A postgraduate user, Lucy Makepeace described it as a kind of momentum and compared the use of these drugs to glasses, when defending them against allegations of cheating, “You let people with bad eyesight have glasses; why not let people with a bad memory have these pills?” (The Guardian). If enhancement becomes expected, is opting out even a real choice? This ethical gray zone has drawn significant attention from professors such as Barbara Sahakian at Cambridge. In her 2017 study on the neuroethical implications of cognitive enhancement, she and her colleagues warn that while pharmaceuticals originally developed for disorders like ADHD or narcolepsy can improve cognition in healthy individuals, they may also alter societal expectations and merit-based achievement (Muzaffer et al., 2017). Their review emphasizes concerns that enhancement could erode core values like fairness and authenticity, especially if such drugs become widespread. Dr. Barbara Sahakian, also commented on the use of modafinils in The Independent article with Chloe’s experience, she argued that “If safely monitored, brain-boosting drugs such as modafinil could even be used in other contexts, for example during late night driving”.

The issue is also economic. These drugs aren’t free, and in most cases, aren’t legal without a prescription. Uneven access risks creating an academic and professional playing field tilted toward those who can afford performance. Some universities have started to explore academic integrity rules regarding enhancement. For example, Duke University is considering treating unauthorized cognitive enhancers as cheating.

The global smart drug market surpassed $6.29 billion in 2024, with forecasts pointing to steep growth up to a predicted $11.55 billion by 2032 (Fortune Business Insights, 2023). Venture capital is pouring into ‘biohacking’ start-ups, and wellness influencers now promote daily ‘brain stacks’ the way they once sold protein powder. But regulation is lagging. Modafinil remains prescription-only in many countries, yet can be easily purchased online. Over-the-counter nootropics fall into a regulatory gray zone, marketed as dietary supplements without rigorous trials. And so we face a strange future, a generation of ‘enhanced’ minds striving toward full potential productivity, while the rest wonder if natural is enough. Will we engineer a smarter society or just a more exhausted one?

Raj passed his exams. Modafinil worked, for a while. But he later admitted it made him feel like a screw in a huge machine: productive but disengaged. The promise of smart drugs is hard to resist. Who wouldn’t want to be sharper, faster, better? But the deeper we go, the more the cost comes into focus, not just physically, but philosophically. Sometimes, the smartest thing might not be what makes us faster but what helps us think more fully, more humanely. I feel that the real edge isn’t just chemical, it’s knowing when to slow down.