Should Adderall Be Used as a Performance Enhancing Drug for College Students?

Adderall was first made for children who were suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder. But recently its use is found somewhere else like in colleges and universities. Adderall is a drug that stimulates the mind which students use while completing academic activities like cramming for exams that are big. The use of Adderall in schools has brought about a number of questions in the society. This paper will look at if Adderall should be used as a drug for enhancing performance by college students.

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Among students the drug has become more popular and is meant to boost their memory, attention, concentration and other abilities that are related to academic performance. Of course these drugs will be taken by students in order to perform better in school. This is considering that being a student can at times be stressful and hard and it is sometimes hard to have time to do the things that need to be done in our lives that are busy. The drugs are used by students to help them to focus on what they are doing especially while studying. Adderall will assist the student while preparing for exams but at the end of the day, the effort comes from the student. Adderall is a drug for stimulating the mind and its side effects do not last for long. The drug will help in enhancing the focus of students but not enhancing their knowledge.

However, in my opinion, Adderall should not be used as a drug for enhancing performance by college students. This is taking into account that there are disadvantages associated with the drug. One of the disadvantages is the effects that may result because of long-term use. Just as any stimulant there is a risk of having a heart beat that is irregular and blood pressure that is high. There are other issues that are associated with Adderall like tremors in the muscles, insomnia and the loss of appetite. This shows that each time a college student takes Adderall it is a step towards a dependency problem that will require them to be taking the drug in order to stay focused especially while studying.

Additional disadvantage associated with Adderall is being addictive in high level considering that it creates a feeling that is good through the combination of the ingredients used to make it. In the brain the drug increases the levels of dopamine. This will be shown when the students starts to lose weight because of the high levels of dopamine which will lead to the enhancement of the qualities that are addictive of the drug.

Some side effects that college students may experience because of the use of the drug are being restless thus not being able to concentrate on studies and being nervous. These are side effects that will make the students waste the time that was meant for studying. The side effects may advance to a level that the students will not be able to fall asleep and this is not good for any person's health. Headache, stomach pain, diarrhea are some of the side effects that will hinder the students from studying. There are side effects that can be serious like pains in the chest, tiredness that is excessive due to lack of sleep, having behavior that is hostile and having shortness in breath. The brain of a student will be affected when the drug enters the bloodstream.

Although I do not support the use of Adderall as a drug for enhancing performance by college students, there are some advantages that are associated with the drug. Some of them include improving the overall performance of the students. The drug helps a person in staying focused for a number of hours that can be used by students to study. The drug will elevate the moods of the students when it comes to studying and as a result their performance will be improved. The general functioning of the brain will be changed and the students will feel more focused and attentive. The students will be motivated to study on high levels and levels of productivity will be enhanced. Thus the students will be more focused, motivated and easy for them to pay attention.

Students should put in mind that the drug is highly effective on short term basis but there are side effects that are real associated with it. It is advisable for the students to be speaking too health professionals before starting to take the drugs. College students should not use Adderall especially the ones who are not suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder because they may have medical side effects that are more dangerous. The drug can eventually lead to addiction and have withdrawal symptoms that will be disturbing like sleep that is disturbed and fatigue.

From the above discussions, it is much better to look at the side effects of Adderall and not its advantages because the side effects are long term. There are many alternatives that can be used by students in enhancing their performance apart from using Adderall. One of them is getting enough sleep that can be hindered in some cases where the students use Adderall. Students need to learn how to create a to-do list which will help them in remembering how much they have to do in their studies. Taking breaks is also another way of enhancing the performance of students instead of using Adderall. This is because the brain will be able to rest thus being more efficient and productive in studies. The breaks will help in promoting studying habits which are good and resulting to academic performance by college students that are good. When balancing the advantages and disadvantages of the usage of Adderall by college students, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Mostly the college students will not know the problems associated with the drug until it is too late. The drug should be left to deal with its initial purpose of helping children to outgrow their ADHD in a slow manner. It is a prescription drug and should not be utilized by college students in enhancing their academic performance.