Caffeine consumption can help night-shift workers to avoid making mistakes.
A large number of employed people are engaged in shift work or permanent nighttime work these days, which can disrupt their body clocks. Some suffer from shift-work disorder, in which they only sleep for short periods of time and become sleepy on the job, boosting the risk of errors.
To assess the effects of caffeine in preventing injuries or errors caused by impaired alertness in persons with shift work disorder, researchers looked at 13 studies, which examined the effects of caffeine on shift-work performance. Most of the studies, however, only simulated the workplace. The participants took caffeine through a variety of sources, including coffee, pills, energy drinks or food, and some were given placebos (simulated medical intervention). The researchers used neuropsychological tests to assess cognitive performance.
It was found that caffeine appeared to do a better job in preventing errors than naps or the placebos, and it also improved performance in areas such as memory, attention, perception and reasoning.
The researchers suggest that there's still a need to study older workers, because the results largely originate from studies involving young participants under simulated conditions.
A large number of employed people are engaged in shift work or permanent nighttime work these days, which can disrupt their body clocks. Some suffer from shift-work disorder, in which they only sleep for short periods of time and become sleepy on the job, boosting the risk of errors.
To assess the effects of caffeine in preventing injuries or errors caused by impaired alertness in persons with shift work disorder, researchers looked at 13 studies, which examined the effects of caffeine on shift-work performance. Most of the studies, however, only simulated the workplace. The participants took caffeine through a variety of sources, including coffee, pills, energy drinks or food, and some were given placebos (simulated medical intervention). The researchers used neuropsychological tests to assess cognitive performance.
It was found that caffeine appeared to do a better job in preventing errors than naps or the placebos, and it also improved performance in areas such as memory, attention, perception and reasoning.
The researchers suggest that there's still a need to study older workers, because the results largely originate from studies involving young participants under simulated conditions.