“Effects of Modafinil and Caffeine on Night-Time Vigilance of Air Force Crewmembers: A Randomized Controlled Trial”, Yara Q. Wingelaar-Jagt, Charelle Bottenheft, Wim J. Riedel, Johannes G. Ramaekers2022-12-14 ()⁠:

Background: Fatigue remains an important factor in major aviation accidents. Stimulants may counteract fatigue’s adverse effects, with modafinil as a promising alternative to caffeine. However, the effect of a single dose of modafinil after a limited period of sleep deprivation remains unknown.

Aims: This study aims to determine the effect of 200 mg modafinil on vigilance during a limited period of sleep deprivation compared to 300 mg caffeine and placebo.

Method: 32 volunteers of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) were double-blindly administered modafinil, caffeine, and placebo on 3 non-consecutive trial days after being awake for median 17 h. Afterwards, subjects completed 6 series of the Vigilance and Tracking test (VigTrack), psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), yielding 6 primary endpoints.

Results: This study revealed statistically-significant effects of caffeine and modafinil compared with placebo on all endpoints, except for VigTrack mean tracking error. PVT results were less impaired 2h after administration, followed by VigTrack parameters and SSS scores 2h thereafter. Compared with caffeine, modafinil statistically-significantly improved PVT and SSS scores at 8h after administration.

Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that 200 mg modafinil and 300 mg caffeine statistically-significantly decrease the effects of a limited period of sleep deprivation on vigilance compared with placebo. Although PVT parameters already improved 2h after administration, the most notable effects occurred 2–4 h later. Modafinil seems to be effective longer than caffeine, which is consistent with its longer half-life.

See Also: