When you see the words "performance-enhancing drugs", what do you think of? Professional athletes, of course. Uh...according to the British journal Nature you might want to rethink that stereotype.
Twenty percent of scientists admit to using performance-enhancing prescription drugs for non-medical reasons, according to a survey released Wednesday by Nature, Britain's top science journal.Scientists. I should have known.
The overwhelming majority of these med-taking brainiacs said they indulged in order to "improve concentration," and 60 percent said they did so on a daily or weekly basis.
Over 1,400 scientists responded to the survey. Over one third of them said they would administer the drugs to their children "if they knew other kids at school were also taking them." Unbelievable.
The performance-enhancing drugs most commonly utilized by professional athlete consist of substances (steroids, human growth hormone) that assist in "bounce back" -- the time needed to recuperate from heavy weight lifting or other exertion. When "bounce back" time is reduced, the athlete is able to work out more frequently and thus improve their strength, speed, and endurance more rapidly as well. In other words, these athletes are "healing" themselves so that they can perform at peak efficiency.
And what of the scientists?
The survey focused on three drugs widely available by prescription or via the Internet.Uh-huh. Speed and anti-anxiety drugs. And they feel absolutely no remorse about abusing them, either.
Ritalin, a trade name for methylphenidate, is a stimulant normally used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, especially in children. Modafinil -- marketed at Provigil -- is prescribed to treat sleep disorders, but is also effective against general fatigue and jet lag.
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The third class of drugs included in the survey was beta blockers, prescribed for cardiac arrhythmia and popular among performers due to its anti-anxiety effect.
In the survey, 80 percent of all the scientists -- even those who did not use these drugs -- defended the right of "healthy humans" to take them as work boosters, and more than half said their use should not be restricted, even for university entrance exams.The next time you hear some preachy droning head prattling on about how awful it is that professional athletes are using performance-enhancing drugs, remember this: none of us are pure on this count. My coffee and energy drinks, your tea, his speed, her Valium. We're all looking for an edge. And we all take shortcuts.
But doesn't it make you wonder what other shortcuts these scientists are taking?
