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Comment by nojs | Hacker News Reader

> I stayed up for finals for a week straight with maybe 2 hours of sleep total

I’m confused when I read anecdotes like this. Are you staying you literally slept for 2 hours over the course of 7 days, averaging 17 minutes of sleep per night for a week? I think that’s very unlikely!

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It's possible but unlikely. You physically cannot sleep on these drugs without something like clonazepam. So I have no doubt a series of bad decisions could lead to someone being up that long.

However,

psychosis usually sets in around ~96 hours of sleep deprivation. It is however possible that this individual is unique or resistant, or maybe just his youth helped him. When I was 16 and MTV still played music-- I could survive on 2hrs sleep a day for weeks.

I'm sorry, this is rubbish. One of the reasons Modafinil is useful is that it will help you stay awake and alert for long periods AND when you want to sleep you still can do. It isn't like speed.

You know not of what you speak.

~15 years of taking Adrafinil and then Modifinil on prescription and "recreationally" says otherwise. The actual effect of a drug and then the psychosomatic effect of those who expect it to have a certain effect are two very different things.

Also, not everyone is the same neurologically. People seem to write off this difference as moot. It's not

You may have developed a tolerance.

It is categorically impossible (for me) to sleep on Modafinil, or it is at least significantly harder than on amphetamines (which I'll grant you can sleep on... Sometimes).

Yeah, I'm afraid you're definitely wrong on this. I've used Modafinil extensively at several different doses. Even at a quarter pill (50mg) you will struggle to feel even remotely tired if you take it after 9am (assuming you go to bed at a normal-ish time).

You should probably be saying "I" instead of "you". Anecdotally, I've never had trouble going to sleep even a couple hours after having modafinil. If anything, it's a more peaceful transition to sleep too. Modafinil makes me feel relaxed and refreshed. Like going to bed after taking a shower, or being in a hot tub or something.

I've once given it to a friend without telling him what it was exactly and he sure did sleep through it, he said he didn't feel anything at all and he was up from the night before (was in vacation). Asked him how he felt afterward and he reported no issues sleeping a couple of hours after taking it.

This seems to be a ... trusting and open-minded action on the part of your friend, might be one way to put it

We were young and yes, he did trust I wouldn't give him poison. I certainly didn't have a reputation of using illegal drugs, he knew I dabbled with supplements like Piracetam / Ashwagandha etc.

> You physically cannot sleep on these drugs without something like clonazepam.

Please tell my brain this. Around 50% of the time my ADHD meds (Adderall) make me sleepy because, for once, my brain is calm and focused and it's a very relaxing experience as opposed to my typical state.

That just means you have real ADHD. Stimulants can have the opposite effect on people with ADHD.

We're in agreement there. Your original statement did not have this caveat.

Yes. I slept for 2 hours on Wednesday under my desk on a camping pad. You don’t have to believe me. If anybody on HN ever outs me, there were a lot of people who can corroborate this.

probably a slight exaggeration

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