Using coffee to compensate for poor sleep: Impact on vigilance and implications for workplace performance

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Sleep Science
• Human Performance

Background:

• Poor sleep quality significantly impairs cognitive functions, including vigilance.
• Caffeine (from coffee) is commonly used to mitigate sleep deprivation effects on performance.
• Limited research exists on coffee's real-world impact on vigilance across different sleep qualities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of coffee consumption on vigilance in individuals with varying recent sleep quality.
• To assess coffee's impact on reaction time and error types during a continuous performance test.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-nine participants underwent two randomized, counterbalanced trials: one with water, one with coffee (100 mg caffeine).
• Vigilance was assessed using a continuous performance test at 30, 90, and 120 minutes post-consumption.
• Participants' recent sleep quality was considered in the analysis.

Main Results:

• Coffee consumption consistently improved and stabilized reaction time irrespective of prior sleep quality.
• Coffee's benefits on omission and commission errors were observed only at the 90-minute mark.
• Individuals with poor sleep quality experienced increased commission errors and only partial reduction in omission errors with coffee.

Conclusions:

• Coffee effectively enhances reaction time, offering a potential countermeasure for sleep-induced vigilance deficits.
• However, coffee consumption may negatively impact inhibitory control, particularly in individuals with poor sleep.
• The use of coffee to combat fatigue may be counterproductive in tasks demanding precise error monitoring and control.