A preliminary study at the University of Wisconsin has shown that as many as one in five college students have used the psychostimulant Ritalin or a similar drug like Adderall, illegally. Though both drugs are very commonly prescribed -- over 7 million children consume over eight tons of Ritalin every year in the United States -- they can both have deadly side effects, similar to those of cocaine and methamphetamine.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) are common behavioral disorders affecting attention span, impulse control, and self-discipline, and in the case of AD/HD, an accompaniment of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The widely accepted acronym for both disorders is AD/HD, which afflicts between 4 percent and 6 percent of Americans, most of whom are children. Treatment most commonly involves the same psychostimulants, Ritalin and Adderall, that are widely abused on college campuses.
Ritalin, the brand name for methylphenidate hydrochloride, was introduced in 1956, and though its workings are still not fully understood tends to affect the way the brain filters and responds to stimuli. Methylphenidate increases energy and a feeling of physical well-being. Side effects include increased heart and respiratory rates, elevated blood pressure, dilated pupils, dry mouth, perspiration and a feeling of superiority. In severe cases, it has been linked to aggression and hostility, and strange behavior.
These effects are likened to those of the street drug cocaine. Both drugs block the reuptake of dopamine, a brain neurotransmitter that tends to promote mood elevations and feelings of alertness, well-being and superiority.
Studies in baboons have found that both methylphenidate and cocaine are similarly distributed in brain regions believed to be responsible for reward and pleasure related behaviors, and are so similar in fact, that they compete for binding sites on postsynaptic neurons.
Adderall, a mixture of the amphetamine salts amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, and is prescribed as an alternative medication to Ritalin, or plan B that needs to be administered less frequently because of its longer lasting effects on the brain.
It also has a tendency to improve attention span, self-control and the ability to concentrate. The feelings of superiority that accompany cocaine and Ritalin are not as common with Adderall. It does not block the reuptake of dopamine, but instead triggers the release of more dopamine, and norepinephrine -- a neurotransmitter of the same family, and with similar effects on the brain.
With the ability to help sustain concentration, increase energy and the fact that they are readily available, Adderall and methylphenidate are gaining great popularity among college and graduate school students who lack motivation and energy long nights of cramming. They are also becoming popular party drugs on some college campuses and high school scenes, bring crushed up and snorted for quicker and stronger effects.
However, the abuse of such drugs can lead to serious sleep deprivation in a demographic group that is already very sleep deprived. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that Americans get at least eight hours of sleep a night to maintain optimal health and performance.
The foundation further reports that 61 percent of those who have sleep disorders are between the ages of 18 and 29. According to a survey done by Mary A. Carskadon, a professor of psychology at Brown University, college students are receiving inadequate amounts of sleep -- an average of six hours a night.
Lack of sleep has been attributed to weakening of the immune system, making students more prone to viruses and bacteria. It has also been shown to have very detrimental effects on one's attention span and ability to concentrate, and have even been linked to the onset of depression. A study done in North Carolina found that 55 percent of all fall-asleep crashes involved drivers 25 years old or younger.
Sleep deprivation can be especially detrimental to athletes. Combining long exhaustive hours of practice and minimal hours of rest causes many to become ineffective on the field and in the class room.
Dr. Eve VanCauter of the University of Chicago performed a study that showed that sleep deprivation slowed the body's production of glucose, the brain's principal source of energy, by as much as 40 percent. Subjects also showed an elevation in the amounts of stress-related hormones.
Maren Reiner, a professor of biology at Richmond University, also sites social stresses as causes of sleep deprivation among college students.
"I also think the atmosphere of dorm life makes it difficult for students to get any sleep," she said.
But the relation between methylphenidate and Adderall and sleep deprivation is undeniable.
Harvard sophomore David Green said in a recent interview with the Washington Post, "In all honesty, I haven't written a paper without Ritalin since my junior year in high school."
Director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, and Associate faculty at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Counseling, Peter R. Breggin, M.D., said that "Ritalin does not correct biochemical imbalances -- it causes them." He also indicated Ritalin in causing such brain damaging effects as depression, insomnia, agitation, social withdrawal and a decreased ability to learn.
Students commonly purchase pills from their piers who have legal prescriptions for them, unaware of the possible side effects that rival cocaine. These drugs can be very beneficial for academic focus when used properly, but abuse can have serious and even fatal consequences.
