Effects of alcohol and caffeine on maritime navigational skills

Ergonomics. 2000 Jan;43(1):17-26. doi: 10.1080/001401300184639.

Abstract

Twelve experienced navigators participated in an experiment to determine the effects of alcohol, caffeine, and an alcohol+caffeine mixture on performance during the following tasks: visual search, the search and location of items on a navigational chart (chartsearch) and the solving of maritime navigational problems. Alcohol (75 ml) produced impairment in performance on visual search (p<0.05) and navigational problem-solving (p<0.01). Caffeine was found to enhance performance on visual search (p<0.05) but not on the chartsearch, although a significant correlation was found between performance on the two tests (p<0.05). Caffeine was not found to improve the accuracy of navigational problem-solving (p>0.05). Neither alcohol nor caffeine had any significant effect on the speed of problem-solving (p>0.05).

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Caffeine / pharmacology*
  • Ethanol / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Motor Skills / drug effects*
  • Naval Medicine*
  • Task Performance and Analysis*

Substances

  • Caffeine
  • Ethanol