%0 Journal Article
%T Mild hypohydration increases the frequency of driver errors during a prolonged, monotonous driving task
%J Physiology and behavior
%D 2015
%A Watson, Phillip
%A Whale, Andrew
%A Mears, Stephen A.
%A Reyner, Louise A.
%A Maughan, Ronald J.
%V 147
%N 
%P 313-318
%X <p>This article was featured on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Scientific Studies (HBO) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rnq1NpHdmw]. The British National Health Service issued statements of caution about this research because, although the methodology was flawed, the results had been prominently featured on TV newscasts throughout the world; the study was funded by the  European Hydration Institute with primary funding by the CocaCola company.</p>  Authors' summary:  <p>The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of mild hypohydration on performance during a prolonged, monotonous driving task.   Methods  Eleven healthy males (age 22 ± 4 y) were instructed to consume a volume of fluid in line with published guidelines (HYD trial) or 25% of this intake (FR trial) in a crossover manner. Participants came to the laboratory the following morning after an overnight fast. One hour following a standard breakfast, a 120 min driving simulation task began. Driver errors, including instances of lane drifting or late breaking, EEG and heart rate were recorded throughout the driving task  Results  Pre-trial body mass (P = 0.692), urine osmolality (P = 0.838) and serum osmolality (P = 0.574) were the same on both trials. FR resulted in a 1.1 ± 0.7% reduction in body mass, compared to − 0.1 ± 0.6% in the HYD trial (P = 0.002). Urine and serum osmolality were both increased following FR (P < 0.05). There was a progressive increase in the total number of driver errors observed during both the HYD and FR trials, but significantly more incidents were recorded throughout the FR trial (HYD 47 ± 44, FR 101 ± 84; ES = 0.81; P = 0.006)  Conclusions  The results of the present study suggest that mild hypohydration, produced a significant increase in minor driving errors during a prolonged, monotonous drive, compared to that observed while performing the same task in a hydrated condition. The magnitude of decrement reported, was similar to that observed following the ingestion of an alcoholic beverage resulting in a blood alcohol content of approximately 0.08% (the current UK legal driving limit), or while sleep deprived.   Keywords Cognitive function; Dehydration; Fluid balance; Road traffic accident<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 0031-9384
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.04.028