Abstract
Rationale
Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that can be used to increase alertness and performance especially in low arousal situations such as monotonous highway driving or after sleep deprivation. The effects of caffeine in rested, alert, participants are less clear, and this may be attributable to difficulties in objectively assessing small changes in alertness.
Objectives
The present study examined the effects of caffeine in non-sleep-deprived participants with methods that have previously been shown to be sensitive to changes in alertness. In order to avoid confounding results, low, or non-users of caffeine, were sought as participants.
Materials and methods
Twelve subjects participated in a within-subjects double-blind placebo-controlled design study and were administered either a capsule containing 200 mg of caffeine or placebo on two separate days. Ten-minute long tests of vigilance were performed at baseline and then at 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 min after swallowing the capsule. During vigilance tests, eye blink variables were measured using infrared reflectance oculography and converted into a drowsiness score, Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS).
Results
Caffeine significantly reduced JDS scores (drowsiness) and reaction times, and these changes persisted for 3 to 4 h. Self reports of sleepiness were not as sensitive, with Karolinska Sleepiness Scale scores only being significantly lower in the caffeine compared to placebo condition at 30 min post capsule administration.
Conclusions
The results demonstrated that despite being well rested, administration of caffeine significantly increased alertness and enhanced performance, and these changes were able to be detected with the JDS.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr Kate Crowley for critical review of this manuscript, the anonymous reviews for their feedback, and Dr Andy Tucker for performing additional post hoc statistical comparisons.
Sleep Diagnostics Pty Ltd is a Research and Development Company that provided financial support for this research by way of salaries for Dr Johns and for Miss Michael during the data collection and analysis phase. Dr Johns is also a share holder of the company.
Furthermore, this study was performed in compliance with the current laws of Australia.
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Michael, N., Johns, M., Owen, C. et al. Effects of caffeine on alertness as measured by infrared reflectance oculography. Psychopharmacology 200, 255–260 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1202-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1202-z