Modafinil helps people with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome and shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) to stay awake. It is available only with a doctor’s prescription.

In a randomized placebo controlled trial, 200 mg modafinil improved ratings of wakefulness and performance during night shifts in patients with SWSD. The drug also improved performance on a daytime test in these patients.

Increased Focus

People with SWSD often experience difficulty focusing and remembering things during the times when they’re awake, which can negatively impact their work performance. Fortunately, modafinil can help with this by increasing focus and alertness, making it easier for people to stay focused at work and on tasks during their shift.

When participants took placebo, both cognitive performance and subjective ratings of mood were disrupted during the night shift relative to the day shift. Therapy with modafinil australia reversed these disruptions.

Sleep latency was significantly improved by modafinil at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. (P0.001), but not at 6 a.m. or 8 a.m. (P0.001). Likewise, modafinil improved the number of lapses in attention during performance of the psychomotor vigilance test at the end of the night shift compared to placebo, although the improvement was not statistically significant.

The 200-mg and 400-mg doses of modafinil increased ratings of alertness on days 1 and 2, but not on day 3. The lower levels of active modafinil also decreased ratings of drowsiness on days 2 and 3, but not on day 3. The 200-mg dose significantly reduced sleepiness during the commute home, while the higher dose did not affect this measure.

Increased Memory

Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) can cause problems with memory and concentration, which can lead to impaired performance at work. These impairments are exacerbated by shift changes, which can disrupt sleep and increase feelings of fatigue. SWSD can also cause mood disturbances that interfere with social life and can cause people to decline family activities because they feel too tired.

The wake-promoting agent modafinil attenuated almost all night shift-related cognitive/psychomotor performance and mood disruptions in a dose-dependent manner. This was similar to the findings of Walsh et al (2004), although the latter study did not involve abrupt shift changes.

Patients on 200 mg of Modalert 200 mg had improved multiple sleep latency test results compared with placebo (Table 2 in the Supplementary Appendix). The improvement was greater at night and less significant during daytime, but there was still an improvement from baseline. In addition, patients taking modafinil were reported to have fewer mistakes, accidents and near accidents during night shifts and on their commute home than those who took placebo. These improvements were statistically significant and clinically meaningful.

Increased Energy

Shift work disorder (SWD) is associated with significant health, social and economic problems. Symptoms include difficulty sleeping at night, impaired performance and alertness during the day, and decreased quality of life. Individuals with SWD have been known to decline social invitations or miss family activities due to excessive sleepiness, and many suffer from depression and anxiety.

Modafinil is an effective and safe treatment for SWD. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that compared the effects of modafinil to those of placebo on cognitive/psychomotor function, mood and measures of sleep during a 23-day residential laboratory shift-work simulation, active modafinil at both 200 and 400 mg significantly improved cognitive performance, and reduced subjective ratings of sleepiness, fatigue, and anhedonia, but not depression or anxiety.

Modafinil, sold under the brand name Provigil, is a wakefulness medication approved by the FDA to treat conditions such as narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, and also to prevent SWD. Unlike other psychostimulants, modafinil does not cause high blood pressure or a fast heart rate in patients taking it to treat SWD.

Reduced Fatigue

People with shift work sleep disorder are often plagued by excessive fatigue during their nightshifts. This can lead to a lack of focus and an inability to complete tasks effectively, which may contribute to poor work performance. Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken to reduce fatigue in those with shift work disorder. One such step is taking a medication called Modafinil, also known as Provigil. This drug is an FDA-approved medication that is part of a class of medications known as wakefulness promoting agents.

Researchers conducted a double-blind, within-participant study to evaluate the effects of modafinil on cognitive/psychomotor performance and mood during simulated shift work in 11 participants. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: placebo, 200 mg modafinil, or 400 mg modafinil administered 1 h before their scheduled night shift for 3 days.

Results showed that modafinil significantly improved performance during the night shift, compared to placebo. Additionally, modafinil significantly decreased ratings of sleepiness and fatigue during the night shift. Although modafinil had little effect on ratings of mood during the day shift, both the 200 and 400-mg doses of modafinil increased ratings of alertness compared to placebo.

Reduced Stress

Shift work can cause stress by disrupting normal sleep and activity patterns. This can lead to feelings of tiredness and fatigue, which may result in a reduction in quality of life and job performance. Shift workers can also experience difficulty focusing and memory impairments.

In one study, modafinil significantly reduced cognitive performance and mood disruptions associated with shift work. This is a good indication that it can help to improve mental health, thereby reducing the effects of shift work disorder on mood and performance.

The study included 211 patients with SWSD who were randomly assigned to receive either modafinil 200 mg or placebo 30 to 60 minutes before their regularly scheduled night shifts for 12 weeks. All participants signed a consent form and were fully informed of the experimental and drug conditions.

Both modafinil and armodafinil significantly increased alertness and decreased sleepiness compared to placebo. This was an important finding since melatonin and naps only improved sleepiness to a limited degree in this group. In addition, melatonin was associated with adverse events in some studies.