For those of you who are fans of the movie Limitless, I bet you all wanted to dive your hands into your pockets, pull out the NZT-48 pill and suddenly become the smartest person in the room. Who doesn’t like remembering every book they’ve read 12 years ago and suddenly become more productive in their lives? Granted, everyone would dream to turn their lives around by boosting their brains with a magical pill.
If you didn’t see the movie yet, here’s a quick summary: Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper) is a laid-back writer that lives his life in chaos and misery. He is plagued by the writer’s block and is also stressed by a rapidly approaching deadline. His life becomes even more of a mess when his girlfriend dumps him because of his financial uncertainties. Eddie seemed to be driving straight into a wall. However, one day, he gets his hand on this pill from an unidentified pharmaceutical company that is advertised as a “smart drug.” Having nothing else to lose, he tries the pill, and suddenly he becomes more focused and more productive than ever. He begins cleaning his house. He remembers details from long ago. He writes a new book that is highly praised by the publisher. His life suddenly feels worth living.
The next day, however, the effect disappears and he crashes. This is when he realizes that he needs to take the pill every day if he wants to remain the “smart guy.” Although his supplier had been murdered, Eddie found his stash and hid it for personal use. Ever since then, he began improving his life, focusing on his career, on being fit, on socializing more, and even on learning new foreign languages. His brain could handle it now.
As a response to the movie, many pharmaceutical and supplement companies attempted to create their own versions of the NZT-48. People became infatuated with the idea of gaining extraordinary brain-hacking abilities, “limitless” knowledge with the least of effort. The pill is the brain’s version of winning the lottery, which is why it is so sought. Unfortunately, just like the butterbeer from Harry Potter and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor-Beans, the NZT-48 is also a piece of fantasy that we are all craving for. However, this didn’t stop people from experimenting in order to create a replica of the “smart drug” which can at least make them feel less soggy and more productive. This is where nootropics come into the picture.
What’s Modafinil?
The Modafinil Experiment
I couldn’t be writing about this drug without testing it out first. Sure, I could read claims here and there that state how wonderful of a drug it is – but it probably won’t be enough to convince you.
Before finding out about the existence of Modafinil, I admit that I first watched Limitless, where I found out about NZT. The whole point of the drug intrigued me, and while I know that the chance of this drug existing in the real world was zero, I wondered if I could at least find something similar. A drug that would make me feel more productive and think quicker so that I could get more things done. That was how I stumbled upon Modafinil.
I told a friend of mine about it, and he was intrigued as well. He ordered a batch of Modafinilonline and took it for his 4th driving test. Let me mention that he failed the first three tests with ‘flying colors,’ but he epically nailed the 4th one when he was on Modafinil. Coincidence? I’m not sure, but with his experience and the testimonials I’ve read online, you could color me intrigued. As a result, I asked my friend to send me some as well, and they arrived after a couple of days. He only sent me two pills – but I felt as if I just had a secret meeting with Santa. And thus, my day had begun.
I took half of the Modafinil that morning, which was 100 mg. I was totally unaware about how my day would play off, which made it all the more exciting. At the same time, it’s hard to explain what the effect was. I read online that the pill was supposed to kick in an hour after I took it. However, two hours in and I felt no ‘jolts.’ I remembered Limitless again, and thought about how Eddie’s brain suddenly ‘activated’. But in my case… it was nothing. I mentally cursed my friend, because I was sure he just succeeded in fooling me. I cursed the hard day ahead of me and then I forgot all about the ‘miraculous brain pill.’
And believe me when I say, it’s easy to forget that you have it in your system. This is a drug that can supposedly turn you into a robot – but you have no idea how it’s doing it. It’s very sneaky that way. It has a subtle manner of operating, in the background, without much of a fanfare and fuss. You only realize its effect the moment you look back on your day and see how much work you got done.
It was very weird on the first day. For starters, I actually got praised at my workplace – and that is something that has never actually happened before. At the same time, I was able to focus on my tasks while shutting out the nags and whines of my boss. And lastly but most importantly, I was able to reach the end of the day without feeling in the least bit tired. No physical or mental fatigue – I was fresh as a baby. Generally, when I got home, I would crash in my room for about an hour and curse my whole existence. But this time, the first thing I did was to hit the kitchen and prepare my dinner before going to the gym.
Also, regarding the gym – I always wanted to work out after getting off work, but I was never in the mood for it. Usually, I would go to the gym for like 30 minutes, do a dozen sets of weight lifting before quitting and going home. All I wanted to do was go home, relax and try to get some shut eye before the hell of the next day began again.
This time, however, I felt a craving and motivation like never before. I wanted to be more productive. I stayed in the gym for almost an hour and only left when my muscles started screaming for mercy. I couldn’t help but send my friend a text:
“I feel like Eddie Morra!”
Of course, my friend only laughed at me in a way that said: “Of course, Sherlock.”
Observations after Modafinil
One of the first things I noticed with Modafinil is that time literally flies. Hours turn into minutes when you’re on the drug. For example, I looked at the clock only thinking that an hour had passed. Imagine my surprise when I realized it wasactually 3 hours! It’s not like the time out experienced in Limitless. It was more like not realizing that so much time had passed, simply because I managed to get my tasks done without any major distractions.
Also, another area where I noticed improvements was my own vision. Let me begin by saying that I never wore glasses. I never thought I needed them either. I figured I had a very goodvision – that is until I started seeing HD with Modafinil. And when I say HD, I mean the real HD. Not the 720p “HD” that they try to fool us with on TV – but the 1080p “I can see every pore on your face” HD. The effect was like… wow.
Remember when you feel so tired after a few hours of work that your eyes seem to be no longer cooperating with you? Well, once more, this wasn’t the case with my eyes. I’m telling you; if you take a pill at 9am, when the clock strikes midnight you will still feel functioning 100% with your vision. It’s very odd… but it’s also amazing.
I also didn’t notice anything big, physically speaking. Sure, I had to go to the toilet a couple of times more than usual, but I don’t see how that might become a medical problem. It’s not like I couldn’t hold it in until the next time I reached a toilet. I also noticed a lower appetite, but I think that is mostly because we no longer focus on our stomach. We generally eat when we’re bored or in a need of a break, but since Modafinil kept meproductive, my stomach didn’t necessarily feel like saying “Give me food, I’m bored.”
Modafinil is that subtle oil running in the background that keeps us from quitting on things. It doesn’t make us feel superhuman or anything of the sorts – we actually feel normal. However, it changes something within our brains, giving us the actual desire to finish the things that we planned or started.
NZT
While it’s wearing another name, Modafinil really made me feel as if I just took the NZT-48. I felt more motivated than ever, and I can also attest to the fact that this stuff actually works. I do have a few final thoughts to say regarding this pill, though.
- If you’re expecting to get a “high,” you’re going to be very disappointed. You will not even notice that it’s there. It seems to work best with individuals who completely lack motivation or have difficulties in concentrating on some tasks for a longer time frame.
- You won’t have any troubles sleeping even if you are on Modafinil. However, you will have the feeling that you simply do not want to. Your eyes will tell you that you are not really sleepy, but your brain will still require its 8 hours of sleep to recharge. Try to keep a normal waking/sleeping pattern.
- If you do not have an interest in doing something, Modafinil won’t be able to help you much. Take this, for instance: I wanted to learn French, so Modafinil was able to help me through the learning process. But since I have no desire to learn Italian, Modafinil won’t be enough to motivate me enough to learn.
- Modafinil is a short term solution. It won’t take your short term problem and create a long term solution to it.
While you may not become the human machine that Bradley Cooper becomes in Limitless, Modafinil can definitely give your brain that kick that it needs when it’s feeling ultimately lazy.
I will not tell you where to find these drugs because every issue that you have will first have to be discussed with a doctor. I also talked with mine at first in order to get some recommendations, so you should start by doing so as well. The Internet isn’t full of just honest people, so I won’t recommend you doing anything risky that will make you lose your money. Do some research first.
