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Modafinil and Sports: Is Modafinil a Legal Performance Enhancer in Sports?

01 Jul

Modafinil and Sports – What is the acceptance of Modafinil in the world of sports? Is it legal to use smart drug in sports to enhance performance? Plenty of questions take birth regarding the real connection between Modafinil and sports. Many of us could term both as an odd combination while others can praise it as a match made in heaven.

In the history of sports, many competitors and world-renowned sportspersons have been caught using Modafinil to boost performance in their respective fields. They are likely to remain unaware of various legalities associated with drug usage in sports or permitted by the concerned authorities. Knowingly or unknowingly, sportspersons keep on consuming medicines to achieve a superior mindset to get an extra edge over competitors.

Table of Contents

What is Modafinil?

It is extremely imperative to grab thoughts about the medicine itself before we try to find the real-time association between modafinil and sports. Well, Modafinil is a generic version medicine of Provigil (brand name). It is an alertness-improving drug that is widely used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness. Also known as a nootropic or smart drug, Modafinil is callable of uplifting cognitive function to nurture your mental power.

Furthermore, Modafinil designs effective scenarios to treat three major medical conditions:

  • Narcolepsy
  • Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD)
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

In addition to that, Modafinil also imparts an effective cure when it comes to reducing drowsiness, fatigue, as well as tiredness. It helps users focus on the work by improving concentration power and cognition.

Why Choose Modafinil?

One can find scads of smart drugs out there in the market. But Modafinil stands out from the crowd because of several reasons. The prime qualities include;

  • It is to free your mind from doubts like Modafinil is a stimulant. In reality, Modafinil is a eugeroic that works sort of like a stimulant. Eugeroic is a wakefulness-boosting agent. Like other drugs, it doesn’t make users speedy or jittery and helps you increase performance gradually.
  • Furthermore, Modafinil isn’t an addictive medicine. On the contrary, it helps people get rid of addictions.
  • Another perfect thing is that Modafinil doesn’t cause any kind of side effects. It is incredibly safer to use.
  • Modafinil provides a superhuman-like mentality with few to no drawbacks.
  • Moreover, the smart drug works amazingly to improve cognitive function and prevent sleeping disorders.

Modafinil in Sports | Is it Really a Legal Performance Enhancer?

We all are familiar with the fundamental benefits of Modafinil. It delivers lots of tangible advantages such as increasing alertness, enhances productivity, improves cognition power and concentration. Given the phenomenon, athletes and sportspersons yearn to know if they could consume Modafinil to heighten the performance in sports.

But you might be wondering about the legality of Modafinil usage in the sports world. Modafinil is banned in sports globally but it becomes inevitable to know certain factors that place Modafinil in the ‘banned substance’ category.

Role of the World Anti-Doping Agency

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is an international authority that regulates the illegal penetration of drugs in sports. It follows three criteria to include a specific drug in the prohibited list:

  • If the drug has the ability to enhance performance in sports – WADA scrutinizes various doping threats, risks and research journals by worldwide scientists.
  • If the drug poses critical health risks to the athlete – Banned substances can develop serious health risks like toxicity and immune reactions, infections and even death.
  • It violates the spirit of sports – Performance-enhancing stuff may harm the true value of sports, character-building, promoting teamwork, and instilling respect.

Furthermore, WADA also categorizes banned substances in various divisions;

  • Hormone Modulators
  • Metabolic Modulators
  • Anabolic Modulators
  • Stimulants

On the WADA’s prohibited list, Modafinil falls in the ‘Stimulants’ category. The agency bans drug usage in all sports competitions and other sporting events. Meanwhile, researchers define a ‘Stimulant’ that is prohibited by WADA in the following way:

A stimulant is an agent that stimulates the Central Nervous System (CNS) and affects the mental functions and behavior of the user. It generates euphoria, excitement as well as enhances motor activity.

It was the occasion of the 2003 US Track and Field Championship when Modafinil came to the limelight for being a banned substance. Six athletes were tested positive for Modafinil. As a result, WADA added Modafinil to its prohibited list in 2004.

What are Beneficial Aspects of Modafinil for Athletes?

From the above discussion, readers might have contained a thorough idea and understanding of why Modafinil is prohibited in sports competitions. In this chapter, you will capture various scenarios where Modafinil offers unfair advantages to sportspersons:

  • Enhanced endurance
  • Suppressed Appetite
  • Improve blood flow and heart rate
  • Decreases fatigue
  • Promotes the degree of focus and alertness
  • Increases energy levels

Moreover, Modafinil delivers 100% concentration for over several hours that eventually helps you pay undivided attention to the task at hand. The smart drug helps you get a psychological edge over competitors and minimizes the chances of mistakes.

Some World-Famous Athletes Taking Modafinil

In the history of sports, plenty of sports players and high-profile athletes were caught taking Modafinil during competitions. One can also explore a massive list of players on Wikipedia who were charged for using Modafinil till its ban in 2004. Underneath, there are some of the popular examples of champions who used the nootropic in sports and bear the consequences:

  • Kelli White
  • Dwain chambers
  • Barry Bonds
  • Diana Taurasi

Various Sporting Authorities Who Banned Modafinil

Unquestionably, the pharmaceutical drug Modafinil is a banned substance in the sports circuit. The following is the list of some prominent bodies who have banned Modafinil in sporting events of all kinds globally:

  • World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
  • National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
  • United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
  • The Olympics

In the verdict – Should a sportsman take Modafinil during the competition? Assume the answer to always be a sharp NO.

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