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Title implies people will flock to a pill that makes them shed gray matter
Sleep is Lindy... obesity and constant wakefulness are not.

The sad fact is that people will be pressured into taking this.

E: Lindy was probably the wrong term. But still, it's like Chesterton's fence. We are far from fully understanding human biology... and deleting sleep will lead to unknown effects. All power to those who try, I guess.

I feel like I'd want the opposite of this - something that mimics the cleaning process of sleep that you could use in the afternoon for a nap or etc.
It sounds to me like something that's quite dangerious. Maybe it helps people with narcolepsy but maybe it will be another thing people abuse like amphetamines?
The brain may be about to have its Algernon moment

FTFY

Not to take away from the broader point, but modafinil is lumped in with methylphenidate as a stimulant that "increase[s] the activity of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine". Modafinil does also stimulate the orexin system and is part of why it's so effective for wakefulness and not as a stimulant in the medium/long-term.
What has anything in this article to do with Ozempic? Is mentioned in the title once and never again. Engagement bait?
Isn't the problem with lack of sleep (and what causes death with enough deprivation) oxydation that happens in the gut and spreads to the organs?

If I'm not mistaken there was an experiment using fruit flies where they fed them antioxidants and that made them not die from lack of sleep.

The article is about modulating orexins in the brain. Orexin receptor agonism was thought to be a mechanism of modafinil/armodafinil but this isn't mentioned anywhere in the article. Modafinil is mentioned as a mere stimulant. It sort of makes me want to dismiss the article as manufactured hype for a new class of modafinil successors.
>Orexin receptor agonism was thought to be a mechanism of modafinil/armodafinil.

The article seems to imply this is not the case. Do you have a source that says that Orexin agonism is the mechanism of action for modafinil?

Every conceivable thing 'may be about to' happen.
I think the real question with Ozempic is.....why are so many people's bodies not producing enough natural GLP-1 in the first place?

Ozempic is for sure a miracle for some who really need it but for many I think they would be better off by solving that problem at the source (likely gut bacteria based and consuming a better mix of prebiotic fibers). Increase your natural levels of GLP-1

As an aside, are there any habitual modafinil takers here? I had a period in college where I took it very rarely when I had to cram. Worked pretty well.
Modafinil has been a lifesaver for me for over a decade, but always great to have more options for medium ADHD.

  > Orexins are made by a small number of neurons in the hypothalamus, a brain region tucked behind the eyes.
I didn’t know that “neurons” themselves could make peptides, or anything really. Is this accurate terminology or a shorthand?
For a minute I thought they'd found a cure for fatheads.
Imagine a cure for sleep, it would be a big productivity gain for society if people could work way more hours or spend more hours consuming every day and not even be tired.
I just want something that increases deep sleep -- I think just tricking the brain to control sleep is probably not enough -- it's likely a two way street.
Isn't that what the antagonists mentioned in the article are for?
"Ozempic moment" seems like a manufactured buzzword in this context. A new modafinil variant is nothing like Ozempic. The thing that was actually interesting about Ozempic wasn't its windfall profits, it was the fact that it is a new class of drugs, and the fact that it's able to rather directly target a habit without wreaking havoc on the body. Part of the article mentions there is hope it may be useful for depression, ADHD, and addiction, but whether any of this is actually actually effective is up in the air. Lots of things are in "pharmaceutical companies hope it can treat mental illness" status... but trying to cast an image of being on the verge of a breakthrough is big pharma's whole marketing.