In 2026, pharmacologists are moving away from calling Provigil a "stimulant." They now prefer the term eugeroic (meaning "good arousal").The Sledgehammer vs. The Scalpel: Traditional stimulants like Adderall act as a sledgehammer, flooding the entire brain with norepinephrine and dopamine.The Scalpel: Provigil acts more like a scalpel, focusing almost exclusively on the Hypothalamus. It targets the wake-promoting centers (the Orexin system) while leaving the "jittery" peripheral nervous system largely untouched.