Does Adderall Improve Academics?

Trying to handle college nowadays can be extremely difficult for most people. With sports, clubs, and Greek life, most students feel they don’t even have time to manage college on their own anymore. With exams, projects, and homework, tons of students feel they are physically incapable of handling everything at once. And because a class cannot be revolved around one person’s schedule, students often resort to study drugs to fix their problems.

Study drugs can be categorized as drugs that are used to improve focus, such as Adderall and Ritalin. They are originally used for the purpose of helping people with Attention Deficit Disorder, otherwise known as ADD, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, otherwise known as ADHD. Many people think that because these drugs are used to improve ADD and ADHD, they will also help to improve focus for those without ADD and ADHD. Although these drugs may be tempting for some, they are dangerous and illegal if not prescribed to the person using them. Surprisingly still, it is not difficult to find people on college campuses that use Adderall to get ahead in studying. Because it is well known that Adderall is illegal to use without prescription, I researched the dangers of taking Adderall.

Although it is not well known, Adderall can cause students to become addicted. According to this website here Adderall can be abused in many ways including taking someone else’s medication or taking the drugs for reasons other than medical need. Already, two of these points might be frightening and alarming for students who use Adderall without prescription. This website here states that Adderall is just one chemical group away from being meth. It also mentions that most students who take Adderall or Ritalin without prescription are most likely also taking them with lack of sleep. The article goes onto explain that under the circumstance that a person takes a study drug with lack of sleep, he or she is more likely to have a seizure.

Now that we have covered the fact that Adderall is definitely dangerous, let’s look at whether it even improves a person’s overall study habits. This article here shows that drugs like Adderall and Ritalin have no scientific evidence of improving academic performance. Studies from this article show that a person who is willing to use drugs to get ahead in academic performance is most likely involved with other drugs as well. The studies also show that people who use non-prescription drugs typically have lower grades than those who simply study and manage their time effectively. This video gives a clear explanation of why people should not use Adderall if they do not have ADD or ADHD here.

So if you’re thinking about using Adderall or any other study drug to help you improve your grades, think again. It’s never worth it to go against the law and put yourself in danger just to get an A!

1304-60 115 Adderall Twitter Study Photo illustration for Adderall Twitter Study for BYU Communications. Contact Todd Hollingshead. April 30, 2013 Photo by Jonathan Hardy/BYU Photo © BYU PHOTO 2013 All Rights Reserved photo@byu.edu  (801)422-73221304-60 115 Adderall Twitter Study Photo illustration for Adderall Twitter Study for BYU Communications. Contact Todd Hollingshead. April 30, 2013 Photo by Jonathan Hardy/BYU Photo © BYU PHOTO 2013 All Rights Reserved photo@byu.edu  (801)422-7322

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6 thoughts on “Does Adderall Improve Academics?

  1. Liz Galante

    I definitely agree that adderall is becoming something that students are taking recreationally but I have to say, I definitely don’t agree that there aren’t studies out there to prove that it increases students academic grades. I can speak for myself- my sophomore year of high school I was diagnosed with ADD and prescribed adderall and didn’t believe that it would be able to help me in the classroom environment; however, my GPA drastically changed within those two years of me being able to focus and study in a completely different way. There are reasons and scientific backgrounds as to why adderall does in fact help people focus more.
    http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/how-adderall-affects-brain-boosting-energy-and-focus-334392

  2. Nathan Andrew Morningstar

    It’s weird that some people still actually think of adderall of ritalin as the “instant smart” pill. When I was younger , I used to take adderall because I was diagnosed with ADD, and definitely saw a difference in my grades. I was able to better focus on my work and was way more calm. It also scares me on how people don’t realize that this a drug that you can become addicted to and can easily overdose on.

  3. Ryan Gregory Blank

    It is very surprising to me that there is no evidence that students perform better academically when using a study drug even though there is so much hype around them. Personally, I stay a way from all drugs but that does not mean the people in my circle of friends do not. These people will argue that taking a study drug gives them a phenomenal energy boost and allows them to put their head down and work for longer periods of time. The was this study was conducted could greatly alter the results though. If the study was conducted by approaching people and asking them for academic information and whether or not that take study drugs to get their grades, they will most likely answer “no” because taking study drugs is illegal. If you had a group where you watched them take the study drug and observed how much work they got done, the results of that study may be much more accurate.

  4. Christina Rae Locurto

    Adderall is certainly a very dangerous drug that can cause students to become addicted. I do think it can have its benefits for some people who actually have ADD/ADHD, but for everyone else, it can just be extremely risky. Here is a great webpage that goes over that goes over some of the effects of a person taking adderall. It discusses a lot of effects that are long term, and that can cause health problems. I’d be interested to see a study that determines whether adderall actually causes you to do worse in school. That would be a very informative study to research. Great blog post!

  5. Nicholas E Schneider

    Many kids in colleges across America take adderall as a study drug when they really don’t actually need it. It’s undeniable that these study drugs can help students complete assignments quickly and study longer for exams, however, I feel that many kids who take adderall and other drugs without a prescription could work just as diligently without the help of these study enhancers if they simply sat down and put the work in. Today, man people want the answers handed to them. When kids hear that there’s a pill available that can improve their focus, attentiveness, and brain function while doing schoolwork they automatically think, “I NEED that.” In reality, many of the kids who abuse adderall and similar drugs could do just as well if they accepted the fact that they need to work hard on the task at hand.

  6. gcm5149

    This was a relevant article to me because my friend had bad side effects to adderall. He took it because he really needed to study for a test. He ended up not being able to fall asleep for 38 hours. He was exhausted but he couldn’t fall asleep. I personally cannot take adderall because I have a heart condition. Due to some of it’s side effects like increase in heart rate, I can’t take it because it would be risky and my heart might not be able to handle it.

    Here’s the article: http://www.rxlist.com/adderall-side-effects-drug-center.htm

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