What Is Adrafinil?

Adrafinil, a synthetic admixture, is part of the nootropic family. It is also known as a prodrug for modafinil which means by taking adrafinil, our body will produce modafinil organically by the metabolic process of the liver.

Adrafinil is originally created in the lab as a stimulant that metabolizes in the body. It was officially created in France to improve vigilance, boost attention, and wakefulness in the elderly. It was also used on people from all walks of life who wanted to get rid of mental fatigue without taking caffeine related beverages or supplements, ranging from night workers to doctors, anyone who needs to stay awake and alert for long periods of time without harsh side effects from caffiene and other stimulants.

Benefits of Adrafinil

Unlike other energy-boosted supplements, adrafinil not only helps to fight off sleepiness and drowsiness, but also does not cause jitters or hyperactivity. The best part is, it doesn’t give you a crash or withdrawal.

Adrafinil is not a stimulant. Although it acts like one, but, what it does is actually a eugeroic which is considered to be a nootropic agent. Many cases have shown that adrafinil is not addictive, even though there are still no hard-proving evidence to show that adrafinil has no side effects whatsoever.

History of Adrafinil

Two chemists, Gombert and Assous, who worked for a French pharmaceutical company called Laboratoires Lafon discovered Adrafinil in 1974. They originally tried to develop a new painkiller by experimenting the drugs reactions on the central nervous system.

Michael Jouvet, French chemist in the 60s, who dedicated to the research about Narcolepsy which then later led to the discovery of the so called REM sleep [1]. He got informed of adrafinil and decided to experiment it further to his research if it could actually help people with narcolepsy issues. And soon, Michael Jouvet found the benefits of adrafinil. He used his fame as a sleep researcher and scientist to promote the drug to the next level which later led Jouvet and other scientists of Laboratoires Lafon develop modafinil.

Adrafinil vs Modafinil

Two years after the invention of adrafinil, modafinil was discovered in 1976. Unlike adrafinil, modafinil skipped the part where the enzyme of liver needs to break down adrafinil first process. In this case, animal studies have shown that modafinil appeared to be more effective than adrafinil. In 1994, modafinil was finally approved in France, and 4 years later in the U.S..

Although adrafinil and modafinil are functioning similarly, they are on their  separate paths. Adrafinil is totally legal in the U.S. soil; yet modafinil is currently labeled as a Schedule IV controlled substance under the U.S. federal law.  It is illegal to get it over the counter or by anyone other than a DEA-registered importer without a prescription.

Note [1] REM sleep is a kind of sleep that occurs at spacings throughout the night and is defined by rapid eye movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing. In particular, REM sleep takes control of the latter half of the sleep period, especially the hours before waking, and the REM component of each sleep cycle typically increases as the night goes on.