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Traditional coffee may someday be replaced by a strikingly less tasty nasal spray.

Many Americans, a great deal of whom don’t get enough sleep, generally wake up to their busy days with a steaming hot cup of coffee. I know that often, I do.

While many people love the taste and spice it up with flavored syrup and milk, I’m guessing many people do it more for the stimulant effect than the flavor. However, someday we may wake up to something different. Not a shot in the arm, but a shot in the nose.

A project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking at using a new hormone, Orexin A, in nasal spray form in order to help reduce sleepiness. They also theorize that low levels of Orexin A might be the cause behind narcolepsy, so it’s also being researched for that capacity.

So far the research has proven Orexin A to be relatively benign. While it is used to combat sleepiness, it doesn’t carry the same edge that caffeine or other stimulants do. So far it’s in animal testing.

In animal testing, monkeys that had been deprived of sleep for 30-36 hours were given Orexin A, which helped them perform similarly to their non-sleep-deprived counterparts on cognitive testing. Monkeys who were given a saline placebo performed significantly worse.

While this may be a God-send to many college students, businessmen, soldiers and such, where do we draw the line? If America transitions over to this drug, the lack of nervousness and side effects may cause people to think it’s safe to use repeatedly as a substitute for sleep.

However, the drug does not reduce the risk for sleep-deprivation-related problems, such as metabolic disorders or heart issues. This, however, may not be enough of a deterrent for the hard-working businessman on a deadline.

At what point in our workaholic society do we say “Enough is enough”?

Additionally, the slew of anti-sleep drugs might cause waves in the circles of competitive gaming. For example, Paul Phillips, a professional poker player, credits provigil and adderall (two mental stimulants) for helping him to win millions by staying awake and helping him concentrate during his tournaments. Will poker tournaments someday require drug testing for mental stimulants? That would be a sad day indeed.

In addition, another group of people likely at risk for abusing mental stimulants is students, who need an extra kick to make it through their study session or exam week. However, mental stimulants would give these students an unfair advantage over the rest of the students and would upset the balance of competitive academics by allowing students willing to abuse stimulants an edge over their sleepy counterparts. CEO’s would likely use these drugs to the same effect.

Even classical musicians aren’t above using drugs to enhance their performance. In particular, some classical musicians use inderal, a drug that blocks the effects of adrenaline. Sarah Tuck, a classical musician, told the LA Times that she had used beta-blockers to combat rubber fingers prior to her performances.

“When your heart is racing and your hands are shaking and you have difficulty breathing, it is difficult to perform,” said Tuck, according to the LA Times.

So while these new miracle drugs may help the world stay awake, I think care would have to be taken so that they would be used responsibly.