Coffee – or other caffeinated beverages – has always been our savior after sleepless nights. But there’s a catch.
A recent study by scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research now suggests that caffeine is no longer effective after three nights of inefficient sleep.
These scientists worked with a group of 48 subjects, all of whom got only five hours of sleep on three consecutive days. Some of the participants received 200 mg of caffeine twice on the first two days of the study, and the rest only received a placebo pill.
All of the participants were tested for mental capacities each day. By day three, there was no longer a significant difference between those who took caffeine throughout the day and those who only took a placebo pill.
If you can, don’t get less than seven or eight hours of sleep a night. It will limit your mental facilities, and as it turns out – that cup of Joe won’t do you much good by day three.
