Adderall is probably the most popular of the pharmaceutical-grade, prescription-strength nootropics in the world. There are plenty of natural Adderall alternatives out there, but thousands of people still use the extremely dangerous prescription drug on a regular basis.
Of all the so-called “study drugs”, it’s Adderall that people hear about most frequently, and the vast majority of the questions we get asked about synthetic brain drugs are about Adderall.
And of those questions, perhaps the most common one is – does Adderall give you energy?
Let’s look at how Adderall works and answer that question properly.
How Adderall Works
We have already explained how Adderall works in greater depth elsewhere.
So for now, we’ll keep it simple.
Adderall is a collection of amphetamine salts. Amphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant.
More specifically, amphetamine affects the use of monoamines as inter-neuronal signals in the brain, specially in catecholamine neurons, which are heavily involved in executive cognitive function.
Amphetamine increases signalling between these neurons, leading to heightened focus, greater motivation, and better overall cognitive function.
Does Adderall Give You Energy?
Yes and no.
Really, the answer to this question depends on what you mean by “energy”.
Adderall makes you feel like you have more energy. It increases activity in the brain several-fold, decreases the perception of fatigue, and allows you to focus on complicated tasks for longer without a break.
But this is not the same as actually giving you more energy.
When you’re using Adderall, your body has to dig into its reserves to carry on performing beyond its normal capacity. This causes a great deal of stress to both the body and the mind.
This is very similar to caffeine – caffeine helps you stay up way past the point at which your body has had enough, but it doesn’t actually give you the energy to keep going. Instead, it just tricks your brain into thinking it’s fine.
Adderall is exactly the same.
Adderall doesn’t give you energy; it tricks the body into thinking it has more energy than it does. You feel like you have a lot more energy, when in fact you are drawing on your body’s reserves.
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