I found this news article and found it to be interesting... Read below...

Spending all your money and time on console games may be sad, yet somewhat understandable. However, snorting Ritalin just so you can stay awake and play Xbox 360 titles is ridiculous - and quite dangerous. But that didn't stop a 15-year-old New Zealand high school student from snorting the controlled substance using a stripped-down pen nib, which led to his hospitalization after suffering a panic attack and subsequently hyperventilating. 



The son later told his father he chose Ritalin, illicitly purchased at school, as the drug of choice because it "wasn't addictive." "But even though a drug may not be addictive, it can be psychologically addictive so you get psychologically addicted to the high," the father told TVNZ.

"Being such a traumatic, emotional experience of thinking my boy was dying, to 'he is snorting drugs,' put me in shock. I had a hundred questions but was too shocked and drained to address them."

The father now wants the high school to alert other parents about the risks related to illicit use of Ritalin, so those with ADHD children taking the drug can keep track of its supply and intake. 


"If they have Ritalin in their houses it needs to be kept in a secure place," he warned. "They [really] all think their kids are angels."

Ritalin is often prescribed to treat behavioral problems in children diagnosed with ADHD. 

It contains the active ingredient methylphenidate, which acts like an amphetamine - producing a "high" by raising blood pressure and increasing the heart rate.

Of course, ingesting various forms of mind altering substances is nothing new for high school and college students. Then again, snorting large quantaties of Ritalin is probably not the smartest way to go about such things.

Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/unbalanced/57763-snorting-ritalin-to-play-xbox-360

So what do you think about this?   Using this drug like that can definitely be harmful. This article made me wonder how many people actually use something to stay awake longer playing games. 

So, VGChartz members what have you done to stay awake while playing a really good video game? Do you try to pop pills or drink something for the purpose of playing more? I have heard some people will even have a bucket/tub in front of them so they don't have to get up to use the bathroom. I may love games, but popping pills, or not getting up to use the bathroom for the sake of playing video games is crazy IMO.

For maximum efficiency I keep a bucket in front of me so that I don't have to go to the bathroom, and then when I start to get sleepy, I snort the contents of said bucket.

Dude having been on Ritalin myself (Have ADHD) I don't see how it would keep you awake. It calms you and helps you focus I can't see it being of much use to someone wanting to stay up and play video games. On the other hand it messed me up before I went on it I could do like 3-4 tasks at once I could hold like 2 or 3 conversations at the same time. Then over years of taking it I am screwed. Now if I'm watching TV I zone out and people have to wave their hands infront of my face or turn off the TV to get my attention. My doctor said such stuff happens after taking Ritalin he said thats how you know its working. Well screw that I got off and still am screwed from it.

I wish I could still carry on 3 conversations and do like 4 different tasks. My mom says that is what was wrong with me she said thats ADHD. Well guess what mom I loved being ADHD, now I can concentrate on only one task at a time. Its so freaking annoying!

Also in school I had students offer to buy it for like 3$ a pill. But I never sold it. Though my teacher lost a bottle once and I'm pretty sure the students offering to buy pills from me had something to do with the bottles dissapearance!

LOL! I think that would keep anybody wide awake. Let alone add some "stomach contents" to the bucket mix.

Ritalin not addictive thats the same as saying cocaine and meth are not addictive.

But thats not news imo. As that happens constantly. I did it 10 years ago not to play games but to do other stuff at night. I had a prescription though.

@Joelcool

It keeps you AWAKE it calms you only down if you are hyperactive. Meth and Cocaine would calm you down too.

I have ADD have problems to maintain focused but am not hyperactive. It keeps me focused and awake if I dose it high enough. People without ADD ADHD will become eventualy hyperactive because of the Dopamine overflow in your Brain. Ofcourse it all depends heavily on the person and dosage.

But its foolish to say it doesnt make you addicted it does a lot actually, not everyone ofcourse ADD/ADHD make it less likely to become addicted. If you are healthy and take Ritalin regulary you become like someone who has ADD/ADHD
if you dont take it depending on how long you take it it takes months, years to go back to the way it was before. I knew people talking 200-500 mg daily. Thats 20-50 standard strength ritalin every day for years, they were basically like meth addicts and became massively psychotic.