Both Adderall and Ritalin are central nervous system (CNS) stimulants. They work by increasing the availability of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine in your CNS connections. This speeds up your brain activity. Ritalin works sooner and reaches peak performance more quickly than Adderall does.

What does Ritalin do to a normal person?

Ritalin influences both dopamine and norepinephrine activity in your brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that affects pleasure, movement, and attention span. Norepinephrine is a stimulant. Ritalin increases the action of these neurotransmitters by blocking their reabsorption into your brain's neurons.

How does Ritalin make you feel?

As stimulant drugs, methylphenidate and the methylphenidate-based drugs can make you feel very 'up', awake, excited, alert and energised, but they can also make you feel agitated and aggressive. They may also stop you from feeling hungry.