Why NOT to use Adderall and NoDoz to Study for the LSAT

Students often take Adderall and NoDoz in a misguided attempt to study the LSAT 10 hours a day, which is just too much. You don't want to end up like Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell, a classic burnout case.

I'm not a healthcare expert, so I certainly advise you to do your own research. If you actually have the condition for which Adderall and similar medications are prescribed, this post does not apply to you. This post is written for those who do not have ADD or ADHD but seek out these drugs for a "boost." Since it's a common misconception that study drugs are uniformly helpful on the LSAT, I'd like to offer some evidence to the contrary.

Negative in the long-term
Needless to say, caffeine or Adderall may give you a short-term boost, but both can lead to psychological dependence - in short, they're addictive. Using Adderall without a prescription is illegal. Besides, if you "need" pills for the LSAT, will you also "need" them throughout law school, studying for the bar, and throughout your career?

Stimulants can hurt more than they help
Adderall and other stimulants may actually hurt your LSAT performance more than they help. Additionally, they can cause sleep deprivation.

The intense concentration these stimulants allow may actually prevent the creative "thinking-outside-the-box" mindset that some Logical Reasoning questions require. The drugs can also bog you down in the details of Reading Comprehension passages, where reading for structure is more important.

Since I'm not a psychiatrist or neuroscientist, I'd like to refer you to a recent article in the New Yorker, "Brain Gain: The underground world of “neuroenhancing” drugs."


A few excerpts from the New Yorker article
This excerpt supports the idea that Adderall may harm your ability to do Logical Reasoning and Reading Comp:

That afternoon, he went to the library, where he spent “too much time researching a paper rather than actually writing it—a problem, I can assure you, that is common to all intellectually curious students on stimulants.”

So does this one:

“It only works as a cognitive enhancer insofar as you are dedicated to accomplishing the task at hand,” he said. “The number of times I’ve taken Adderall late at night and decided that, rather than starting my paper, hey, I’ll organize my entire music library! I’ve seen people obsessively cleaning their rooms on it.”

This one discusses addiction and side effects:

Drugs such as Adderall can cause nervousness, headaches, sleeplessness, and decreased appetite, among other side effects. An F.D.A. warning on Adderall’s label notes that “amphetamines have a high potential for abuse” and can lead to dependence. (The label also mentions that adults using Adderall have reported serious cardiac problems, though the role of the drug in those cases is unknown.)

Bottom line on study drugs: They may hurt more than they help. It's much healthier and safer to exercise. Regular exercise will help your sleep patterns. Eating a healthy diet (which includes breakfast!) with plenty of protein will keep your mind sharp.

Photo by alexdoddphotography / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0