@article{ref1,
title="Bright light alone or combined with caffeine improves sleepiness in chronically sleep-restricted young drivers",
journal="Sleep Medicine",
year="2022",
author="Shekari Soleimanloo, Shamsi and Garcia-Hansen, Veronica and White, Melanie J. and Huda, M. Mamun and Smith, Simon S.",
volume="93",
number="",
pages="15-25",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Young drivers are over-involved in sleepiness-related crashes. The alerting effects of bright light offer a potential countermeasure for driver sleepiness, either replacing or in conjunction with current countermeasures such as the use of caffeine. <br><br>METHODS: Thirty young (18-25) chronically sleep-restricted drivers drove in a simulator under randomized conditions of continuous bright light ('Light,' 500 nm, 230μw/cm(2)), caffeine ('Caffeine,' 100 mg caffeinated gum), or light and caffeine together ('Light + Caffeine'), after driving under a placebo condition ('Placebo,' decaffeinated gum, 555 nm light, 0.3 μW/cm(2)) on three consecutive days. Using mixed-effects linear models, the associations between these conditions and physiological outcomes (EEG alpha and theta power, heart rate, and beat-to-beat intervals), driving performance (lateral lane and steering-related outcomes and lateral acceleration), and subjective sleepiness was assessed. <br><br>RESULTS: Relative to Placebo, all conditions improved driving performance outcomes (P < 0.0001), with effects of Light + Caffeine equal to Light but greater than Caffeine. Light + Caffeine reduced EEG alpha power more than Light or Caffeine (P < 0.0006), but ECG outcomes were generally worse under all conditions relative to Placebo. Subjective sleepiness improved under the Light + Caffeine condition only (P < 0.0001). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Combining bright light and caffeine enhances their alerting effects on lateral lane variability and subjective sleepiness. A bright light could be a practical alternative to caffeine for sleepy drivers who avoid caffeine. The alerting effects of bright light could alleviate chronic community-level mild sleep restriction and provide on-road benefits to reduce severe injuries and fatal sleepiness-related crashes.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1389-9457",
doi="10.1016/j.sleep.2022.03.013",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2022.03.013"
}