Does Adderall really help increase concentration and does it really make you smarter?

 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to focus and increases impulsive behavior. Adderall is sometimes referred to as a “study drug,” as it is a stimulant used to treat people suffering from ADHD. Adderall helps a person to calm down and increases their concentration by stimulating the production of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. Adderall is safe and effective in the treatment of ADHD, however, at the same time, if misused, it can pose great danger. In the past few years, Adderall abuse has become very common in the United States. Many people, especially college students are using Adderall without prescription and many of them are unaware of the negative effects it can have on their physical and mental health. Adderall abuse is a very wide and a concerning topic. It raises many questions, including why are students using Adderall? What are the long term and short term effects of Adderall? Does Adderall really help increase concentration and does it really make you smarter?

Almost everyone has mixed feelings about the effects of Adderall. Students believe it’s not harmful, claiming it is a “study drug” which helps them focus and perform better in their schoolwork, whereas many researchers argue the opposition. There have been many studies and research conducted to evaluate the overall effect of Adderall on individuals and if the risk is worth the consequences. Many articles including: “Adderall for studying,” “Neurocognitive, Autonomic, and Mood Effects of Adderall: A Pilot Study of Healthy College Students” and “Why you should skip Adderall as a study drug” address the effects of Adderall abuse and discuss if Adderall is effective in enhancing the neurocognitive abilities of healthy college students without ADHD. They also address the risks and the side effects of abusing Adderall.

Many college students in the United states misuse Adderall. Some use it to party, experiment, and others use it to get ahead in school, increase alertness, and stay awake while studying for exams. Many studies have shown that prolonged use of adderall can make it difficult for our brain to produce dopamine, which sometimes leads to the loss of memory and decreased concentration. According to the articles: “Adderall for studying,” and “Neurocognitive, Autonomic, and Mood Effects of Adderall: A Pilot Study of Healthy College Students” and “Why you should skip Adderall as a study drug,” adderall is a highly addictive drug and has many negative effects on an individual’s mental and physical health. The most common effects of Adderall include aggression, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, and headaches. Since Adderall abuse results in a loss of appetite, many students, especially females use it to lose weight. Misuse of Adderall can also have many other serious effects on one’s health. Continued misuse can result in depression, increased blood pressure, seizure, heart attack, and psychosis. According to the article, “Why you should skip Adderall as a study drug,” students who take Adderall without prescription might develop a dependency on the drug and later, when they try to stop using, they might experience withdrawal symptoms including fatigue, depression and sleep problems (Peachman 2018). This statement demonstrates how harmful and damaging Adderall addiction can be. According to the results of the pilot study discussed in “Neurocognitive, Autonomic, and Mood Effects of Adderall: A Pilot Study of Healthy College Students,” “Adderall can have neurocognitive effects that are discordant with drug expectancies, and while improving attention skills, may simultaneously degrade students’ confidence in their abilities to problem-solve, complete tasks, and interact with others.” (Weyandt et al, 2018). This suggests that Adderall might have a negative effect on one’s ability to solve problems and can also result in low self-esteem. Overall, all three of these articles had similar viewpoints on the effects of Adderall and were very successful in addressing its side effects on healthy people. 

Adderall abuse has become a very widespread issue around the United States. Since many students use it to enhance their neurocognitive abilities, researchers have conducted many studies to uncover if Adderall increases your neurocognitive abilities and whether it really makes you smarter. Some researchers suggest that drugs improve concentration in people with ADHD, but might decrease the mental performance of those without ADHD. According to, “Why You skip Adderall as a study drug,” 29% of college students believed Adderall would help improve their grade, but after using it, only about two-thirds saw an improvement (Peachman,2018). This clearly shows that Adderall is not really effective in making a student smart. Similarly, according to the pilot study done in “Neurocognitive, Autonomic, and Mood Effects of Adderall: A Pilot Study of Healthy College Students,” Adderall had little to no effect on healthy college students neurocognitive abilities (Weyandt et al 2018). Information given in both articles suggests that Adderall only has a minimal and sometimes mixed effect on neurocognitive enhancement. According to the article, “Adderall for studying,”  if adderall is used to do something creative or used to write a paper, it might not help and it might do more harm than good (Adderall for studying, 2020). All three of these articles assert that to do good in school, Adderall is not something that students should turn to as a savior. 

Ultimately, Adderall is not a “magic pill” and certainly, it does not make one smarter overnight. It might increase alertness and energy in an individual for a short period of time, however, that does not imply that it’s going to make them smarter or even increase their cognitive abilities. All three of these articles were very successful in addressing the negative effects of Adderall, as well as in clearing up the conception of whether Adderall enhances one’s mental abilities. Each had a different approach of using data and studies to portray the extent in which Adderall is helping or hurting students, and whether it is worth the negative risk factors associated with it.

References-

Weyandt, Lisa L, et al. “Neurocognitive, Autonomic, and Mood Effects of Adderall: A Pilot Study of Healthy College Students.” Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), MDPI, 27 June 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6165228/.

Peachman, Rachel Rabkin. “Why You Should Skip Adderall as a Study Drug.” Consumer Reports, www.consumerreports.org/drug-safety/skip-adderall-as-study-drug/

“Adderall for Studying.” The Recovery Village, 29 Jan. 2020, www.therecoveryvillage.com/adderall-addiction/adderall-studying/#gref.