More and more students are reaching for Ritalin

More and more students are using Ritalin and Vigil to increase their services.

To provide supposedly higher benefits before exams, more and more students are turning to medicines like Ritalin and Vigil. But the drugs can have health consequences that students do not think about. According to the latest research, every 100th student now resorts to the supposed „Fit-makers“.

The social pressure to perform is also higher at the universities. More and more students are turning to medicines to make themselves more effective. Particularly popular are drugs such as Ritalin and Vigil. The first drug is used in ADHD disorders and the second drug is actually used in acute sleep disorders. "It happens again and again that students try to make themselves fit for a housework or an exam with medication," explained Claus Normann of the German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology in Berlin. In the US, students have been abusing medications for years „Brain Jogging“ to reach. This supposed wave has arrived in Germany as well.

Vigil and Ritalin are prescription drugs. Nevertheless, now seems a veritable „black market“ to have formed among the students. Because the medication does not come otherwise. According to a study by the Mainz University Medical Center, at least one percent of the students had used such drugs before. Out of 1,035 students surveyed, 1.6 percent said they had used such medicines before. For 512 students, the value was less than one percent. That does not sound like much at first, „but these numbers startle us“, explains Andreas Franke from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Mainz. Many students also stated that they might want to apply such means. Only 10 to 20 percent of respondents gave, „under no circumstances“ to take such medications. The rest kept it open, so to speak.

Effects in healthy people still unexplored.
The health risks for healthy people who take such medicines are still unexplored. Many students are hoping for better concentration and performance through taking Ritalin. But this is not proven, also causing Ritalin and Co, even in diseased people numerous side effects. In order to find out, doctors of the Neuroenhancement project at the Charité in Berlin want to do new studies. Here, side effects in healthy people and actual modes of action are to be researched.

„It is not to be expected that the two remedies will permanently cause structural brain damage, as many patients have been using them for a long time, "said psychiatrist Dr. Normann." Do the medicines Ritalin and Vigil make you physically dependent? "In our clinic, for example, we still had never someone who was dependent on any of the funds, "said Noramnn „Time“. But a psychological dependence can not be ruled out. "Anyone who believes that stress can only be coped with with appropriate medication could become mentally dependent," warns Normann.

Possible side effects of Ritalin:
The following side effects may occur when you take Ritalin: increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, accelerated breathing and increased body temperature, reduced appetite, abdominal pain, weight loss, facial twitching, muscle twitching, insomnia, euphoria, nervousness, irritability, agitation, psychotic phases and paranoid delusions.

Possible side effects of Vigil:
Vigil is a stimulant and contains the active substance modafinil. E is used primarily for the treatment of narcolepsy. An increase in performance can not be achieved with Vigil anyway. Rather, on the contrary, healthy people take the drug, the sleep rhythm may be disturbed sensitive.

Diet and exercise can make you fit.
Instead of using prescription and potentially dangerous drugs, students should eat meaningful and balanced diets. Sport also boosts overall performance. Under the title "High performance through nutrition" we give meaningful clues that cause no side effects and are natural. (Sb)