There is concern about the pressures faced by professors as one in five take drugs to help them with work, according to a Cambridge academic.



Dr Hannah Critchlow, a neuroscientist, said that academics were increasingly using medication which was meant for Alzheimer’s patients, narcoleptics or children with ADHD.

Speaking on the Today programme, Dr Fiona Measham, professor of criminology at Durham University, said there was a “growing concern that both students and staff are taking cognitive enhancers”.

Students have been taking so-called “smart drugs”, which are legal and available to buy online, to help “improve their concentration and memory” while studying. Academics are doing the same, taking “mild stimulants” to help them write grant applications.



Critchlow suggested professors were using drugs such as modafinil, prescribed to patients with Alzheimer’s disease and children with ADHD. Speaking at the Hay Festival she said: “One in five academic professors also admit to taking them, so in order to help with their grant writing and committee meeting concentrating.”



Share your experiences



We want to hear from academics who have taken some form of drug to help them with work. What do you take and how long have you taken it for? What are your reasons for taking them? Have you experienced any side-effects? Is drug use part of a wider issue within higher education and the pressure staff are under?



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