For those that don’t know what Adderall, it’s essentially a form of medication for those that suffer from ADHD. However, while this is its core functionality, to calm you down and to help you concentrate if you suffer from ADHD, people have been using it for years, for different reasons. This kind of behavior has been frowned upon in the past but that hasn’t stopped a large number of people from using Adderall in order to cope with different stress factors or workloads in their lives.

The usage of Adderall outside its purpose

There are multiple situations in which people consume Adderall when they don’t have ADHD, but the most popular or frequently seen cases are those in which the person consuming Adderall has a lot to study and needs to stay awake and concentrated. There are other similar scenarios where the drug is basically used as an endurance enhancer. Another rather frequently seen use of Adderall is right before going for a run, or running competitively. People take it in order to be able to run for a longer period of time, but they don’t know the risks that they expose themselves to.

Why do people take Adderall for running?

It might seem a little bizarre for someone to take ADHD medication before running, but the simple logic behind it is that Adderall has the property of softening or numbing the amount of fatigue you feel. This allows you to run for longer because you don’t feel so tired, so fast.

The danger of doing this

It might seem like a neat little life hack, but in reality it’s a very dangerous thing to do. It’s very dangerous because even though you might not feel tired after putting in physical effort, thanks to the drug, your body is still exposed to that level of pressure and stress. In other words, Adderall doesn’t prevent you from getting tired, it just makes your body overlook this fact. As a result, it is very possible to be in huge danger due to exhaustion. It should really be something you put thought into when the worst case scenario is death. There have been cases of people abusing this drug and exhausting themselves to death.

Are there benefits to using Adderall when running?

Now that we’ve talked about the bad side, are there any good sides worth attempting this dangerous combination? If you were expecting some major benefits to follow, you will be disappointed. The truth is that yes, Adderall will help you perform better when running, but only by a small margin. No physical boost is worth the risk of dying, but if there were a ladder, this would probably be somewhere at the bottom because of how insignificant the physical boost in relation to the risks.

In conclusion, using Adderall outside its original purpose, let alone to increase running performance is a very bad idea and the consequences are severe. This also raises a red flag for those that just jog or run naturally but take Adderall for its intended purpose.

With this in mind, it is very important to consume Adderall responsibly. The best course of action is to get yourself documented on the drug and all its characteristics before consumption in order to know exactly what to expect or to avoid.

GUEST POST by Martin William