A double espresso first thing in the morning might
not be the best way to jump-start your brain, say scientists.
Caffeine taken in small doses, over regular intervals throughout
the course of the workday, is much more effective in stimulating
cognitive performance than one large dose.
The finding came from a recent study of 16 adults conducted
over 29 days by Boston-based Harvard Medical School, Chicago-based
Rush University Medical Center and Boston-based Brigham and Women’s
Hospital.
Released in the May 2004 issue of the journal
Sleep
(
www.journalsleep.org), the study proposes that workers
who punch in long hours or regularly perform high-concentration
tasks, such as long-haul truckers, will be more alert, have fewer
nap episodes and perform better if they change their
caffeine-drinking habits.
“I hate to say it,” reports Dr. James Wyatt, sleep researcher
at Rush University Medical Center, “but most of the population is
using caffeine the wrong way.”