UP: Students fight sleep with pills during exams

Lucknow: Prajakta Swarup, a Class 10 student, underwent a major brain surgery for a clot that led to swelling of nerves, three days ago. The girl had been staying up all night preparing for her Board examinations. Her mother had been giving her steaming cups of coffee to help her stay awake.

Prajakta collapsed one evening and was hospitalised. Her parents later found a pack of pills in her drawer and when they handed them over to a doctor, they were shocked to learn that their daughter had been on anti-sleep pills.

“Shocking though it may sound, an increasing number of students, today, are taking these anti-sleep pills that help them stay awake during examinations. This is a very dangerous trend and the drugs are being smuggled in from countries like Bangkok. These drugs can have dangerous side effects, especially if taken with an overdose of caffeine – too many cups of coffee - as it happened in Prajakta’s case,” said a leading neurosurgeon Dr Sharad Srivastava.

According to the doctor, these drugs are being sold by  chemists over the counters with names like chuniya and meethi.

“These are variants of modafinil that is said to improve memory, and enhance one's mood, alertness and cognitive powers. The drug has a smoother feel than amphetamines and enables the user to stay awake and alert for 40 hours or more at a stretch. Once the drug wears off, you just have to catch up on some sleep,” said another medical practitioner who did not wish to be named.

Chemist Surinder Kohli admitted that the sale of anti-sleep pills, memory enhancers has shot up since the past one month. “Student customers are ready to pay any amount for these drugs. They also buy energy drinks to ward off fatigue,” he said but parried questions about the legality of over the counter selling of these drugs.

Modafinil, sold under the brand name Provigil, among others, is mainly used in treatment of disorders such as narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, idiopathic hypersomnia, and excessive daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea. A senior police official made a shocking revelation when he said, “It is terrorists who are now using these anti-sleep drugs to stay awake during combat hours. It was first found during the 26/11 attacks that the terrorists carry these drugs in backpacks. Most of us do not know details about these drugs and there have been no complaints so far from the common people so no action has been taken.”

Dr R. K. Saxena, a well-known psychiatrist, said that the increasing trend of students using anti-sleep pills during examinations is actually a result of growing stress and peer pressure. “There is immense pressure on children to score high percentages so that they can get admission in good colleges... Parents do not have the time to watch changes in their child’s behavior and counsel her or understand the pressure that he feels. The child is left on his own and starts taking these drugs on the recommendation of friends”, he said.

Risky business  
Psychiatrists say that trend of students using anti-sleep pills during examinations is a result of growing stress and peer pressure
It was found during the 26/11 attacks that the terrorists carried similar drugs in their backpacks to overcome sleep, say policemen
Chemists say student customers are ready to pay any amount for pills which help them stay awake in night