Effects of Energy Beverage Consumption on Pistol Aiming Steadiness in Law Enforcement Officers

Working hours, sleep, and fatigue in the public safety sector: A scoping review of the research

BACKGROUND

The public safety sector includes law enforcement officers (LEO), corrections officers (CO), firefighter service (FF), wildland firefighting (WFF), and emergency medical services (EMS), as defined in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Across these occupations, shiftwork, long-duration shifts, and excessive overtime are common. Our objective was to identify research gaps related to working hours, sleep, and fatigue among these workers.

METHODS

We used a scoping review study design that included searches of MEDLINE, Embase, CAB Abstracts, Global Health, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Scopus, Academic Search Complete, Agricultural and Environmental Science Collection, ProQuest Central, Cochrane Library, Safety Lit, Homeland Security Digital Library, and Sociological Abstracts using a range of occupational search terms and terms related to working hours, sleep, and fatigue.

RESULTS

Out of 3415 articles returned from our database search, 202 met all inclusion criteria. Six common outcomes related to working hours, sleep, and fatigue emerged: sleep, fatigue, work performance, injury, psychosocial stress, and chronic disease. Nearly two-thirds (59%, n = 120) of the studies were observational, of which 64% (n = 77) were cross sectional and 9% were (n = 11) longitudinal; 14% (n = 30) of the studies were reviews; and 19% (n = 39) were experimental or quasi-experimental studies. Only 25 of the 202 articles described mitigation strategies or interventions. FFs, LEOs, EMS, and WFFs were the most studied, followed by COs.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, more longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to enrich the knowledge base on the consequences of long working hours, poor sleep, and fatigue in the public safety sector. Few experimental studies have tested novel approaches to fatigue mitigation in diverse sectors of public safety. This gap in research limits the decisions that may be made by employers to address fatigue as a threat to public-safety worker health and safety.

The eSports conundrum: is the sports sciences community ready to face them? A perspective

The reality of eSports is something much more complex than individual users playing video games. There are several characteristics that eSports have in common with traditional sports: from the spirit of competition to the structural composition of the teams, including the increase in performance with training and practice, up to the injuries and physical and psychological stress of the athlete. The number of scientific papers interested in this reality is still relatively low, although in recent years there has been a significant increase in this regard. Probably the lack of knowledge of the world of eSports by inexperts can represent an initial obstacle in the approach to this environment. Therefore, an all-round analysis of the eSports industry is fundamental: including the figures that characterize them, the different eSports disciplines, the possible physical and mental consequences for athletes. Emphasizing the similarities between electronic and non-electronic sports is essential in order to make people, and the scientific community in particular, understand how they should be considered equal to the "traditional" vision of sports especially in the need for professional medical support. The number of professional and amateur eSports players increase every day as well as the birth of professional organizations and national teams while medical monitoring seems to have fallen behind. In the near future, we hope that the scientific community and in particular the medical disciplines will be able to closely support the world of eSports to guarantee the correct assistance to all professional and non-professional athletes. An increase in the number of scientific work and specific studies will certainly bring benefits in countering physical attrition, reducing the risk of injury, in psychological support to athletes and in the fight against doping reality.

Effect of caffeine ingestion on competitive rifle shooting performance

PURPOSE

The purpose of the present study was to test if caffeine ingestion affects rifle shooting accuracy in trained shooters.

METHODS

Twenty trained shooters performed 4 shooting tests in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled crossover design; 2 identical tests after placebo ingestion and 2 after ingestion of 300 mg caffeine. The tests consisted of 30 shots in prone position and 30 in standing position on a 10 ring electronic target, on a distance of 50 metres, without any time limit, at rest.

RESULTS

Caffeine supplementation entailed a mean decrease in shooting performance by 11.8 points (95% CI: 6.7 to 17.0, effect size: 0.9). This was primarily a result of an 11.3 (95% CI: 7.2 to 15.4, effect size: 0.9) point decrease during shooting in standing position and not in prone position (0.6 point decrease, 95% CI: -2.1 to 3.2, effect size: 0.1).

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that prior ingestion of 300 mg caffeine impairs rifle shooting accuracy in trained shooters when performed in standing but not in prone position.

The Effects of Energy Drink Consumption on Cognitive and Physical Performance in Elite League of Legends Players

To examine the cognitive and physical changes associated with consuming an energy drink concurrent to video gaming, we examined a convenience sample of nine elite League of Legends (LoL) e-sport players (21 ± 2 y, BMI 25.6 ± 3.4 kg/m²) consuming an energy drink (Reload^TM) or placebo (Placebo) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. Participants completed the same test battery prior to treatment consumption and after playing each of three competitive LoL games. Primary outcomes included measures of attention (Erikson Flanker Test), reaction time (Go/No-Go test) and working memory (n-back test). Secondary outcomes examined fatigue (hand grip strength and finger tap speed). Statistical analysis was performed by repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and reported as the mean (standard deviation [SD]) or mean change (95% confidence interval [CI]). Participants reported sleeping 8.1 (1.2) h/night, playing LoL 10.3 (2.1) h/d, playing other video games 1.8 (2.8) h/d, and exercising 4.2 (1.7) times per week. Overall, we observed no significant time, group, or group-by-time interactions for any measured performance index with the exception of a significant improvement for the n-back test, where the Reload group demonstrated a significant within-group improvement: Reload [−171 ms (95% CI, −327.91, −14.09), p < 0.004], Placebo [−92 ms (95% CI, −213.63, 29.63)]. However, no between-group differences were noted (38.50 ms, 95% CI, −141.89, 64.89, p = 0.803). Our findings suggest that elite eSport athletes do not demonstrate a mental or physical improvement in performance relative to the treatment supplement or indices measured in this study.

The effects of caffeine on marksmanship accuracy and reaction time: a systematic review

Military and law enforcement personnel are required to maintain optimal marksman accuracy and reaction time during extended duty hours amidst environmental stressors. Although caffeine is commonly used to mitigate the consequences of fatigue, the effects of caffeine on marksmanship accuracy are inconclusive. The purpose of this review was to determine the effect of caffeine on marksman accuracy and reaction time. A literature search was conducted and 17 articles were selected for review based on relevance and methodological quality. Caffeine consistently improved marksman reaction time but did not improve marksmanship accuracy. However, there is some evidence that caffeine attenuates performance decrements in marksman accuracy caused by stress and fatigue if optimal dosing strategies are employed. Dosing strategies timed according to hours of wakefulness and time before testing could prevent performance deterioration. Doses of 100-200 mg every 2 hours may effectively improve accuracy during extended duty; however, further research is needed. Practitioner Summary: The purpose of this review was to determine the effect of caffeine on marksman accuracy and reaction time. A literature search was conducted and 17 articles were selected for review based on relevance and methodological quality. Caffeine consistently improved marksman reaction time but did not improve marksmanship accuracy.