Students are spending their days cramming for their midterm exams and staying up all night writing papers. Some are able to withstand the stress and pressure, while others rely on a pill called adderall to help them concentrate and focus.

Adderall is a stimulant that’s primarily prescribed to those who are diagnosed with ADD, attention deficit disorder. Heather Barrett, the director of OASIS, says, “It helps people with that disorder because it helps them calm down, relax and focus.” Barrett also says that people with the disorder don’t experience the same stimulant effect like those who don’t have ADD and aren’t prescribed it.

Students who use it to help them study feel that it improves their concentration and mental focus. A study conducted by the Michigan Daily found that 24 percent of all university students use adderall.

Denise Hayes, the director of CAPS, also comments on students who abuse the drug. “Students prescribed to the medicine generally use it for the purpose that it’s prescribed. Students who use it that aren’t prescribed it tend to be more partiers, and they tend to consume more alcohol and marijuana,” Hayes says.

Hayes also notes that there is a glaring question of whether this party lifestyle actually hinders these students from doing well in school, so they compensate by abusing adderall because they think a stimulant will be able to help them.

Barrett says, “You’ll hear some students say I don’t use it to party with, I use it to study with.” However, she also says there are students who intentionally mix adderall with alcohol.

“Some people will also use it as a party drug,” says Barrett. “People will say that it helps them stay up later and it helps them drink more when they take it.”

Barrett explains that students believe adderall, a stimulant, and alcohol, a depressant, will act against each other and help them fight the grogginess of the alcohol. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of danger that comes along with mixing the two.

“You may be able to drink more in the sense that you don’t feel as intoxicated, but it doesn’t change your blood alcohol level in any way,” Barret says. “You can actually get to a pretty dangerous level of alcohol in your bloodstream that will cause all sorts of problems, including death.”

Barrett highly recommends not mixing adderall with alcohol, and she also suggests other ways to help students study without taking the drug. You can enhance your productivity by creating a schedule with study times and writing in a planner. You can change your study locations, like going to the park or a coffee shop. Lastly, you can hold yourself accountable by joining a study group.

In addition to these suggestions, Hayes highlights the importance of sleep during times of stress.”If you think about your cellphone, at some point you’ll have to charge it,” she says. “If you continuously let it charge for only five minutes then let it die, then it won’t be very dependable. Similarly, that’s our brains and bodies work.”

Hayes says that students don’t realize sleep really makes a difference. She says, “As important as it is to study, it’s also very important t to take care of the body because it supports to mind.”