The exact timeline of Ritalin effects that you experience can depend on several personal factors. The dose you took is a significant factor, but how long you’ve been taking the drug also matters. For instance, if you take several doses in a row, you may feel stimulant effects for 12 hours or more, leading to a crash with serious fatigue. If you combine long hours of sleeplessness with Ritalin misuse, your crash may involve hypersomnia and fatigue that last for an entire day. However, a single dose of Ritalin typically lasts three to six hours. Concerta will last longer because it’s formulated to be long-acting. The timeline of effects after you take Ritalin will vary from person to person, but it may look like the following:
20 minutes: You may start to experience the drug’s first effects after 20 minutes, but it may take longer for some people. The way you take the drug also has a significant impact on when you feel the first symptoms. Generally, Ritalin is taken by mouth.
60 minutes: The drug’s effects will increase for around 60 minutes (an hour) before they reach their peak.
2 hours: Peak symptoms are when the drug is the most effective. The effects will stop increasing in intensity and reach a plateau. The drug may start to lose its effectiveness after two hours, and the comedown period will begin.
6 hours: The comedown period can last between two and six hours after your last dose. During this time, you may experience some of Ritalin’s negative side effects, such as anxiety and restlessness.
After six hours, the drug’s stimulating effects will have worn off, and you may feel the crash. Ritalin has a half-life of around 3.5 hours. That means your body will reduce the drug’s concentration in your blood by half during that time. Half-life is often used to determine the duration of a drug’s effectiveness. As it wears off, you may start to feel fatigued. You also may experience withdrawal if you’ve become dependent on the drug.