Modafinil and Sex | What You MUST Know

If you’re curious about Modafinil and sex, you’ve come to just the right place.

Modafinil is widely regarded to be the world’s best ‘smart drug’ or nootropic [1]. A single 200mg Modafinil tablet will give just about anyone 12+ hours of intense focus, more productivity, and dramatic improvements in working and episodic memory.

But less is known about Modafinil’s sexual effects. What impact might it have on a person’s sexual response cycle? How could it impact things like dating, hooking up, and getting laid?

Those are exactly the questions that we’ll be discussing in this post, so if you’ve ever wondered what impact Modafinil might have on sex, then keep reading…

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Modafinil and Sex

If you’re familiar with Modafinil, you likely know a fair bit about how it works.

But for the uninitiated, we’ll run through the basics and quickly get you up to speed.

Modafinil is an FDA-approved ‘wakefulness-promoting’ drug (a ‘eugeroic’), intended to treat narcolepsy — a condition where people fall asleep during the day — and other “sleep-wake” disorders such as sleep apnea and Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD).

As a nootropic, Modafinil is likewise used ‘off label’ by individuals who are interested in its cognitive benefits.

Modafinil’s primary mechanism of action is to increase levels of histamine in the brain [3]. For people with narcolepsy, this is helpful because it prevents them from falling asleep at odd times during the day. But in healthy individuals, this extra histamine produces extreme levels of focus and concentration that can last for over 12 hours [4].

Modafinil also increases levels of dopamine [5]. This has a strong impact on a person’s mood and can help improve cognitive functions like memory [6].

Some users refer to this dopamine ‘rush’ as a ‘Modafinil high’, and it could be the main reason why Modafinil has such a strong impact on sexual attraction and sexual activity.

If you’ve ever wondered about the sexual side effects of Modafinil, all will be revealed…

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Modafinil’s Sexual Side Effects | Our Experience

In this guide, we want to discuss the sexual side effects of Modafinil. First, we’ll examine the ones that members of our team have personally experienced. Later on, we’ll discuss the side effects highlighted in research studies and medical literature.

Here’s everything we’ve learned about Modafinil and sex drive:

• Round One & Done: If you’re going to engage in coitus after taking Modafinil, we wouldn’t suggest that you plan on going more than one round. The drug typically inhibits male sex drive. Thus, one round of sex may seem marginally entertaining, but attempting a second round could be a no-go.
• Enhanced Experience: Due to the extra focus offered by Modafinil, this smart drug can result in an enhanced sexual experience. We’ve found that it increases focus on the pleasures of sex — rather than on the distractions. In our opinion, the added focus on the task at hand does offer a more pleasurable experience, but only if you’re in the right frame of mind to begin with.
• Strong Stamina Game: While you’re likely to only want one session, you shouldn’t have difficulty extending your lovemaking abilities a little longer. As Modafinil hinders sex drive in most males, you may find yourself lasting longer in bed after taking this smart drug.
• Safety Not Coming First: Modafinil makes it easier to throw caution to the wind and forgo protection. Modafinil increases focus to such as extent that condoms often become a distant afterthought when having sex on this drug. This is especially true if you’re so inclined to attempt a second (or third) round.
• Find Your Focus: While Modafinil will typically inhibit sex drive in healthy males on the day of use, the opposite can occasionally be true, too. If you know you’ll be getting laid later in the evening, you may use the heightened focus from Modafinil to fantasize about the evening’s forthcoming encounter. When the time comes, you may find the stamina boosting benefits of Modafinil consumption cause you to indulge your fantasies. And yes, we’re speaking from experience here.

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P.S: This is just one experience with Modafinil and sex. So everything should be taken with a grain of salt. We cannot speak to the experiences of women.

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Is it Safe?

When used under a doctor’s supervision to treat a diagnosed sleep-wake disorder such as narcolepsy, Modafinil is considered to be a very safe drug that produces minimal side effects. Narcolepsy patients do just fine on doses of 100-200mg per day.

However, there has been little scientific research into Modafinil’s side effects when it’s taken off label by healthy individuals (i.e. when it’s used as a ‘smart drug’ or nootropic).

The most relevant study to date looked at what happened when a 200mg dose of Modafinil was given to patients who had been wrongly diagnosed with narcolepsy. In other words, they were healthy and didn’t have the condition [7]. The most common side effect was headaches, followed by a dry mouth, nausea, and insomnia. However, the study concluded that these side effects were mild in nature, and subsided quickly.

So, these are the effects that you may expect to encounter should you take Modafinil at a dose of around 200mg per day. That being said, we personally started off by taking 100mg to see how we’d react, before increasing our dosage. Likewise, none of our team members take Modafinil more than once or twice per week — it certainly is not intended as an everyday drug, at least for off-label uses.

Why?

Well, although Modafinil is generally regarded as non-addictive, it does increase dopamine levels in the brain [8]. Because of this, there is concern that repeated use of Modafinil (at high doses) by vulnerable people could lead to addiction [8]. Cases of Modafinil addiction are almost unheard of, and involve people taking extremely high doses (1,200mg+ per day) for extended periods. Definitely not your typical Modafinil user.

Most users find that Modafinil is one of the safest smart drugs around and the majority of users experience few, if any, side effects, especially when taking 200mg or less per dose a couple of times per week. However, it’s important to be aware of the risks.

As with any prescription drug, Modafinil’s effects depend on the user’s overall health. Modafinil side effects tend to be mild and non-sexual [9], and generally subside within 24 hours.

Modafinil is 100% safe for the vast majority of users. You can find a real-world use safety profile here [5].

While there is some anecdotal evidence regarding Modafinil and sex, research in this area is not yet conclusive.

From a sexual side effects standpoint, you’ll want to think about a few factors before engaging in intercourse on days you’ve taken Modafinil. Below, you’ll find a few of the most interesting issues that users experience when mixing Modafinil and love-making.

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Modafinil and Hypersexuality

Modafinil and hypersexuality is an interesting topic. Members of our team have reported becoming less concerned about sex after taking Modafinil. Most people report becoming more concerned with making money and getting things done, than making love.

Other users, especially female Modafinil users, have reported the opposite effects.

One scientific case report details how one female user’s sex drive skyrocketed when taking Modafinil [10]:

One week after the start of modafinil treatment, her sexual desire increased. Before this treatment, her sexual intercourse frequency was 1-2 times per week and after this treatment, she wanted coitus every day. She has continual thoughts about sexuality. She didn’t have any additional medication use or medical condition that increase sexual desire. Modafinil dose was decreased 100 mg/day then to 50 mg/day. Her ESS score was 7 and daytime sleepiness had no effect on her life. After decreasing modafinil treatment her sexual desire returned to normal.

This is an interesting case report regarding Modafinil and sex drive in women. While men may find the opposite true, it seems Modafinil could increase sex drive in women.

In extremely rare cases, men have reported suffering from hypersexuality when taking Modafinil at high dosages. For example, one case study outlined the experiences of one man who took up to 1000mg of Modafinil consistently [11]:

Over the next few weeks, he increased the dose to 800–1,000 mg/day in divided doses. Though there was no improvement in his mood, there was a change in his sexual behavior. On seeing any women nearby, he started to have a spontaneous erection and feel excited. His frequency of masturbation increased to 10–12 times/day, but he would not feel satisfied, unlike his premorbid self. In addition to these symptoms, he started interacting with commercial sex workers (CSWs) on phone, would get aroused by mere talking with them.

Taking 1,000mg Modafinil daily is considered to be an extremely high dosage. It is far more than the dose recommended for narcolepsy (200mg) and far more than the dose recommended for the treatment of ADHD (400mg) [12].

We know of no physician who would advise ingesting this quantity of Modafinil, and not just because of the potential sex drive side effects.

While the exact mechanism of action by which Modafinil causes hypersexuality remains unknown, research has found that it reduces reactivity to fear stimuli in the brain region involved in anxiety, the amygdala [13]. It has been theorized that this mechanism could be behind hypersexuality.

Overall, there hasn’t been a significant volume of research on the sexual side effects of Modafinil. It’s too early to tell, but anecdotal evidence points to Modafinil potentially causing hypersexuality in rare instances. These reports highlight the need to better understand Modafinil’s mechanisms of action.

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Modafinil and Erectile Dysfunction

There are few to no studies on Modafinil and erectile dysfunction. As such, we’ll be looking at case reports and anecdotal evidence when considering how the smart drug affects erection quality in males.

Many users on Reddit have reported issues with erection quality after taking Modafinil, including this young man [14]:

Therefore, the day after (Sunday), I decided to try taking 2 pills so I could try the standard 200mg dose. Unfortunately, it didn’t make a noticeable difference. It felt the same as the 100mg dose that I had tried the day before.

Later that day, I realized I needed to masturbate (I masturbate basically once per week for testosterone boosting). To my surprise, I found it pretty difficult to get and hold an erection. I thought this was very unusual since I never have had problems getting hard, but assumed I simply wasn’t very horny at the moment and proceeded with the masturbating until I finished.

Anyways, I was still a bit worried and a bit later on I decided to see if porn could get my dick going. But no, porn wasn’t nearly as exciting as it usually is for me, and I still struggled to get an erection. This is where I started to suspect modafinil was the cause of all this. A bit worried, I went to bed and hoped for better results the next day (today, Monday). Hopefully, the drug would be out of my system by then.

However, as of evening today, I’m still struggling with erection problems, with no real improvements so far. Obviously, I can’t be 100% sure that modafinil is the root of my problems, but I’d definitely say it’s the best candidate at the moment.

Obviously, this is not an ideal situation. Modafinil seemingly hindered the young man’s ability to maintain an erection after just one day of use.

Another user on a different forum posted similar results after taking Modafinil for the first time [15]:

I took my first Modafinil (Modalert) from Friday to Sunday. I took 50mg on Fri and Sat, then 100mg spread across 3 hrs on Sunday, and it was all people crack it up to be.

However, on Sunday I noticed I hadn’t thought of sex all weekend. No big deal, I was probably just focused on other things all weekend! So I turn on some porn to arouse myself, I quickly get into the porn a lot mentally, but my erection quality is far lower than usual and it doesn’t feel as good to touch myself. The approx. 70% erection also subsided directly after I stopped touching myself even for a few seconds.

This morning I had no morning wood. I always have morning wood. I am also experiencing mild pelvic pain, right above my dick and mild pain in my left testicle.

Again, this is not an ideal situation in our opinion. Modafinil is clearly causing erectile issues for this young man.

While forums and Reddit tend to be filled with stories of Modafinil and erectile dysfunction, there have been case studies that show otherwise. This is especially true in patients with a history of depression.

For example, look at the results of this case report [16]:

With the addition of Modafinil (200 mg /day),improvement was observed not only in psychomotor symptoms but also in erectile dysfunction of the patient.

Modafinil clearly helped eliminate erectile dysfunction issues in this patient who suffered from depression.

Overall, there is no confirmed link between Modafinil and erectile dysfunction at the time of writing. Further research is warranted to determine how this nootropic affects our sex lives.

Most young, healthy users find Modafinil hurts erection quality. These effects are not seen long-term in most cases. As such, there is very little risk here.

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Modafinil and Sex Drive | What Have Others Noticed?

We’re certainly not the only research team interested in the sexual side effects of Modafinil. Googling “Modafinil and sex” tends to bring up some interesting search results.

There’s a full Reddit thread on the topic. And it’s fairly entertaining. Choice quotes include:

“After taking the drug, I became painfully aware of my own dick, and thought about it for several hours.”

And, of course, this classic…

“DON’T watch porn while taking Modafinil. maybe you have more then i do, but if i don’t have my work spread out infront of me, and turn to porn while on moda, well… there goes my day, and i need an ice pack later! -=).”

While humorous, the thread doesn’t add much to this conversation.

When talking about Modafinil and sex drive, individual results will vary. Based on the anecdotal evidence, men and women will react differently to this smart drug, especially from a sexual standpoint.

Furthermore, due to every individual’s unique body chemistry, Modafinil will affect our sex lives differently. There are no proven research studies regarding Modafinil and sex at present.

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How Does Modafinil Affect Your Sex Life? | Verdict

If you’re interested in how Modafinil might affect your sex life, you — and only you — would be able to find that out 😉

Mixing Modafinil and sex doesn’t need to be a spectator sport. However, unless you suffer from severe premature ejaculation, it is advisable to refrain from using Modafinil as a sexual supplement.

Overall, the smart drug does not appear to be beneficial for men from a sexual standpoint. Further, we doubt women will find any sexual benefit from Modafinil either unless they experience a rare occurrence of hypersexuality.

However, our experience tells us that consuming Modafinil for business purposes and then engaging in sexual intercourse should be okay. The key seems to be avoiding consistent usage so as to minimize the sexual side effects of Modafinil.

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