A small study of 30 “aeromedically fit” employees of the Royal Netherlands Air Force concluded that a 300 mg dose of caffeine limited deterioration of their nighttime performance, even if they had consumed caffeine during the previous day, according to a report by Dutch researchers.1
The report, published in the October issue of Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, discussed the reactions of the group, 70 percent of whom were pilots, to late-night caffeine consumption and concluded that a midnight dose of caffeine “has beneficial effects on performance during the night in a realistic scenario for military aviation,” the report said. The study was part of a larger trial that examined the effects of caffeine and the stimulant modafinil as fatigue countermeasures.
“On trial days, subjects followed their normal routine till 1700, after which caffeine intake was stopped,” the report said. “At midnight, subjects were given 300 mg of caf…
