Modafinil vs Armodafinil: Here is All You Need to Know

Many of us struggle with persistent sleepiness during the day. With the nighttime work shifts taking a toll on our bodies. However, the right treatment and medication can help quite a bit. Modafinil and Armodafinil have helped lots of sleep-deprived people during the past 2 decades.

This article will give you in-depth insight into the similarities, differences, and chemical composition of Modafinil and Armodafinil. Along with the opinion of regular users of armodafinil vs modafinil…

Modafinil and Armodafinil are stimulant-like drugs making you more alert and wakeful during the day, thus giving you a quality life. Both of these are equally effective to treat sleep disorders like;

• • Shift work disorder(SWD)
  • Narcolepsy
  • Obstructive sleep apnea

A Brief Overview

Both Modafinil, with its brand name ‘Provigil’ and Armodafinil, under the brand name ‘Nuvigil’, are FDA approved anti-narcotic drugs. Both are schedule IV medications having little to no potential for abuse and addiction.

People having sleep disorders and disturbances tend to have many other related issues, like constant fatigue, increased risk of cardiovascular disorders, lack of efficient cognitive abilities, and higher risk of stomach ulcers. Therefore, to minimize or even get rid of these conditions, these smart drugs are widely preferred.

Benefits of Modafinil:

• Sharp Memory
• Long-lasting improved memory (12 hours)
• Better cognitive functions
• Heightened productivity
• And many more benefits.

HOW DO THEY WORK?

The precise mechanism of their work has not yet been discovered. However, both the smart drugs have a localized effect on wakefulness-associated brain sites, boosting their job. They decrease the concentration of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
SIMILARITIES

Nonamphetamine drugs

Modafinil and Armodafinil both are non-amphetamine drugs, making them very less likely to account for dependence, unlike other common stimulants. Since they don’t have amphetamine in their composition, they do not show up in blood tests.

Off-label uses

In today’s busy and fast-paced life, a big portion of our adult population needs these smart drugs in their lives. Scientists have started conducting research for other possible uses of Modafinil and Armodafinil in order to benefit from them to their full capacity.

Research have shown both Modafinil and Armodafinil to be helpful to people suffering from depression and ADHD. However, they are not advised as the initial treatment.

Another study shows these smart drugs to be advantageous for cancer patients, helping them relieve tiredness occurring from their cancer treatment.

Same effectiveness

When it comes to effectiveness, Modafinil and Armodafinil have no rivalry between each other. A series of trials conducted in 2011 proved them both to be equally efficient in treating shift work disorders. Both had worked the best to infuse wakefulness and alertness with very little to moderate side effects.

Identical outcomes

Both smart drugs have proven to have the same end results. Increasing wakefulness also tends to increase your cognitive ability, making you more alert and ready to make confusing decisions. Due to these rewarding outcomes, Modafinil and Armodafinil are widely used among university students, businessmen, police, and fire department workers, and sleep-deprived mothers.

DIFFERENCES

Half-life

The half-life of a drug is the time required by it to reduce by 50% of its total amount in the body. Drugs having a longer half-life tend to have greater plasma concentrations for longer periods of time. The half-life of Armodafinil is longer than its buddy Modafinil.

Even a lesser dose of Armodafinil has a similar effect as compared to a greater dose of Modafinil. Thus its effects remain eminent for longer periods of time. However, there is not a significant difference in half-lives of both for 13-15 hours. In some cases, varying from person to person, Armodafinil is considered to be a better option.

Side Effects

Although both have the same commonly occurring side effects like loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, insomnia ( trouble sleeping at night), and dry mouth, however, Modafinil is found to have other side effects as well. These include nervousness, anxiety, and rhinitis(nasal congestion).

Chemical structure

While both drugs have the same active ingredients, they vary a little in their chemical structure, mainly in their stereochemistry. Modafinil is a racemic mixture of R and S isomers of diphenyl methyl sulfinyl acetamide.

Whereas, Armodafinil, a slightly more potent enantiopure drug, is the R enantiomer of the racemic Modafinil, which means that both the drugs are mirror images of one another. To make it easier to understand, consider mirror images as your right and left hands, even though they have the same fingers, but still, they do not align when you put the inner side of your left hand on top of the outer side of your right hand.

FOOD INTERACTIONS

Taking smart drugs with food might increase the time taken by them to show their effectiveness but does not reduce their efficiency in any way.

While Modafinil and Armodafinil can be taken with most of the foods, it is advised not to take them with grapefruit juice or grapefruit. The reason is that grapefruit juice tends to decrease the metabolism of drugs synthesized from the CYP3A4 isoenzyme. On the contrary, these smart drugs are synthesised from the same CYP3A4, side effects like vomiting and nausea could occur.

It is to be noted that both these drugs have a stimulant effect on specific sites in the brain; thus, using them alongside any other CNS stimulant could worsen the situation leading to adverse effects. It is always wise to consider professional opinion before using or combining any CNS stimulant.

THE PUBLIC OPINION

Taking into consideration the views and experiences of the general public can make it easier to choose a winner and what is armodafinil stronger than modafinil

The views collected from random people from Reddit who have been using these smart drugs vary over a wide range.

“I prefer Modafinil, if you’re taking it for wakefulness then having the shorter half-life enantiomer is going to perk you up when you need it most (unless you’re doing an all-nighter).”

“Armodafinil is the better one. I was on a massive amount of Modafinil when my doc switched me to 450mg (1 1/2 pills a day) daily. Night and day.”

“I have very mild insomnia and Modafinil is better because when i dose Armoda even at 7am I cant fall asleep 2 am the next day, on normal Modafinil I have hard time getting sleep too but it is a lot easier then on armodafinil.”

Some prefer Modafinil over its sibling, Armodafinil. 

It is to be noted that people with very slight sleep disorders and also the ones, especially students, using it for cognitive purposes prefer Modafinil.

On the contrary, a lot of people seem to have better relief and lesser side effects by choosing Armodafinil vs Modafinil.

“Armodafinil is much smoother and less anxiety. Moda makes me panic.”

“Modafinil never worked for me, was on a high dosage, and it’s lasted for two hours before I need to sleep again.“

“Armodafinil did work for me, no need to sleep during the day, my sleep schedule got better, and no more problems at night. BUT I get more cataplexy now than before. At least for me, if I don’t make it right when I wake up, I won’t make any effect.”

“Armodafinil is the better one. I was on a massive amount of Modafinil when my doc switched me to 450mg (1 1/2 pills a day) daily. Night and day.”

The reason for such diverse views is mainly the differences in age, weight, gender, mental status and lifestyle of everyone.

MODAFINIL VS ARMODAFINIL- FINAL THOUGHTS

So we’ve covered the similarities and differences of these smart drugs. Although they are very similar in many ways, the chemical differs slightly and the side effects do too. We’ve also gathered some public opinions on Modafinil and Armodafinil. Since the public opinion on both the opponents does not stick to either one, the only way to know which one better suits you is by trying them out yourself.

To make your mind and body productive throughout the day, Modafinil Shop brings you the best quality Modafinil and Armodafinil. Go get yours now!