Is ritalin likely to increase my exam performance?

[bear1]

I am a final year student studying business and I will be really at the borderline of graduating with a first degree. I already got a first in my second year but exams this year will be extremely hard, which is why I'm looking at every way to increase performance.

Is Ritalin likely to make a big difference to my achievements if I used it during a 4 week study period to prepare for my exams, and during my exams?

I've found pretty much info online about a lot of people using it, but is there any proof that it actually incerases one's performance? (e.g. one could be increadibly concetrated, but still write a load of crap )

I'm thinking 20mg/per day during the study period.

 

[PotatoMan]

Please do not use any drugs to help you with any daytoday activities as I am sure you are well aware that it is a terrible idea.

Idgaf bout your concentration problems. Tough it the f out. I have "concentration" problems as well. It's called a natural emotion. We all have them....

 

[szuko000]

When I was in college I would use adderall for studying but only when an exam was approaching. I feel for daily stimulation things such as ritalin or adderall are too strong and addictive. It is important that you manage your usage well and dont let it become a daily occurrence otherwise you will find you require the drugs to get out of bed in the morning or at the very least youll feel you need them to take an exam. Also something I learned is that it is best to have a low dose when your studying, no need to push recreational dosages as they can be distracting and lead to no productivity.

If you use the stimulants correctly they can be great tools for motivating you when you can use that extra push but they can easily become a crutch that you need rather then a tool you can use.

 

[PotatoMan]

for the record my Old english teacher used to take MPH(ritalin) for studying throughout UNI and she suffers from heart problems now i.e why I said it is never a good idea.

not even an ambien a night for sleep.

 

[SixBuckets]

I don't know much about business degrees, but if you're getting marked heavily on essay and sentence structure, grammar, thematic cohesion, things like that... maybe not such a good idea to introduce a stimulant with which you're unfamiliar.

 

[poing]

A comprehensive study by Princeton economist Janet Currie says that Ritalin *doesn't* significantly alter your academic performance.

 

[Dresden]

Methamphetamine or adderall, but especially methamphetamine, would increase your performance a lot more than ritalin, as ritalin doesn't last very long and is kind of a scatterbrained high like cocaine--if that makes any sense. Even caffeine increases cognitive performance somewhat.

Just don't use them everyday or repeatedly redose.

 

[poing]

Cognitive performance and academic performance are not the same thing. Yes, there are studies from the medicinal perspective which find increased cognitive performance. However, this doesn't seem to translate into higher academic performance.

I highly recommend checking out the publications by Currie and her co-authors. They use state-of-the-art statistical and econometric methods and large data sets. Their empirical results convince me.

 

[rujex]

Did my high school exams on mph. They are good for beeing focused while you write the test, but from my experience, they are not really good for learning beforehand. Its not about the quantity, its about the quality. Learning for 10+ hours doesnt mean finaly understanding things.

 

[Psychonauticunt]

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/jocn_a_00776#.VRACJPnF-LY

We found evidence for small but significant stimulant enhancement effects on inhibitory control and short-term episodic memory. Small effects on working memory reached significance, based on one of our two analytical approaches.

Many scientists and academics recommend moderate therapeutic use of psychostimulants.

However, I've found it doesn't really improve your exam performance (besides increased focus, task saliency) but it's best used as a study aid, and then - with the same dose - during the exam. If you've studied on methylphenidate/amphetamine and you take the test in the same state, you'll find your working memory is improved.

I usually study without stimulants until the last week. I'll take (preferably) dexamphetamine on 3 days, take one day's break, and take it on 2 more days for studying, before the exam - so on 6 days, including the exam, with a break in the middle. Don't overdo it.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Most likely, Methylphenidate will help you with your exam. The important thing to realize, is that stimulants do not produce any new knowledge in your brain, they only increase your cognitive ability (reasoning, math, analogies etc). You still will need to study for your exam in order to get the grade you want. Now, if you have studied the material and are fairly confident in your knowledge the Ritalin will really come into play.

Your ability to write clear and concise essay/word questions will be increased. You will be able to hold more information in your head at once. You might even be able to write the whole essay in your head before putting pen to paper (depending of course on the length requirement), which often makes for more fluid and articulate writing.

With the knowledge you will have acquired from studying comes another problem. The ability to recall the correct answer on the spot is something that many people struggle with, even after extensive study. The Methylphenidate will be to your benefit in this situation, as it will allow you to organize and recall information faster and more efficiently.

These are just a couple of the benefits that responsible stimulant use can bring to your academic work.

 

[speedy13]

I would definitely recommend taking Methylphenidate over Dextroamphetamine for trying to increase academic performance, due to its slow release mechanism. Dexamphetamines tend to make you crash harder and sooner.
If you're going to take Methylphenidate for studying, wake up early in the morning and take it, as if you take it too late in the day - even lunch time- you will not be able to sleep, and that just reeps any benefits of taking it in the first place. Also force yourself to eat even when you are not hungry, as stimulants tend to really quickly deplete your energy sources which your brain needs to function. Having food in your stomach seems to stop the comedown effects.

Use the smallest dosage of the drug, and do not build up any tolerance at all. So this means if the dosage you're taking doesn't have any effect, stop taking it for atleast 3 days

 

[Psychonauticunt]

I would definitely recommend taking Methylphenidate over Dextroamphetamine for trying to increase academic performance, due to its slow release mechanism. Dexamphetamines tend to make you crash harder and sooner.
If you're going to take Methylphenidate for studying, wake up early in the morning and take it, as if you take it too late in the day - even lunch time- you will not be able to sleep, and that just reeps any benefits of taking it in the first place. Also force yourself to eat even when you are not hungry, as stimulants tend to really quickly deplete your energy sources which your brain needs to function. Having food in your stomach seems to stop the comedown effects.

Use the smallest dosage of the drug, and do not build up any tolerance at all. So this means if the dosage you're taking doesn't have any effect, stop taking it for atleast 3 days

Huh? Methylphenidate has a much shorter duration and faster onset and a more noticeable crash than dexamphetamine, which is more smooth with less peripheral effects, in my experience. Both have an extended release formulation as far as I know, at least in the States - but if you don't, I've found taking a decent starting dose of dex (15-30mg) and redosing around 5 hours with 10-15mg doesn't bring me a crash; in the evening I can have a good meal and get to sleep early, and never get any jitters or negative feelings. I take breaks of 2-3 days after 3-4 days of use to keep tolerance low.

Also, studying (especially on the same dose as when taking the exam) is a memory trigger; your brain will associate what you've studied while on the drug in the exam situation.

 

[Keif' Richards]

.....Why would anyone ever take Methylphenidate over Dextroamphetamine?

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

If you have a legitimate learning disorder than world make doctors consider putting you on medication, then by all means work with a doctor on getting the medication you need to be the best you. I have had performance boosts from any number of different medications in different situations over the years. With 2 yet to be diagnosed learning disorders I got the best entrance exam score in the history of the prestigious private high school I would later attend without being medicated at all. 74 out of 75 questions correct and it took me 15min on a 45min exam. So idk, that was the best score I probably ever received on a standardized test and I didn't take any meds. So yeah, even if you could benefit from meds it is very possible you don't absolutely need them. Plus once you go down that road, you can't go back, you really want to do that to yourself. If I had it to do over again I'd never take any of that shit. Sure, I've gotten better grades on stimulants than sober, but if I would've never tried them then I might be better at taking tests without stimulants nowadays. Ritalin and Adderall are sort of glorified as performance enhancing, but sure maybe they are, maybe they don't even work for you make you perform worse, it happens to people. Modafinil as well, don't go down these roads if you don't need to.

 

[switchtop]

When it comes to people who have attention problems, they either respond to one or the other. For example, I did not respond well to aderall, so I was moved onto Ritalin, which works amazing. Aderall is garbage for me. It seems to be standard procedure to try aderall or vyvanse first, and then using ritalin as the 2nd-3rd line.
Here are stats from 2013:
12.8 mil. amph. scripts
+7.9 mil. amph. er scripts
=20.7 mil. amph. scripts

8.8 mil. methylph. er scripts
+5.3 mil. methylph. scripts
=14.1 mil. methylph. scripts

http://psychcentral.com/lib/top-25-psychiatric-medication-prescriptions-for-2013/00019543


Most people don't know how common Ritalin is, just about 2/3 as common as aderall.