Provigil and Sleep Deprivation Research
Writer visits the United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Fort Rucker in Alabama… Tells about sleep deprivation research there by John and Lynn Caldwell… In ordinary circumstances, as the Caldwells’ research confirmed, sleep-deprived pilots make more errors and respond more slowly.
Dexedrine has been the standard treatment for narcolepsy, and it has had military applications as well: the United States Air Force supplied it to most air crews during the Persian Gulf War… Dexedrine interferes with normal sleep, leaving its users feeling hung over when they awaken. This so-called sleep inertia often prompts the user to take more pills, and a vicious cycle ensues. Provigil preserves normal “sleep architecture.”
Even as sleep disorders increase, firms are pushing their employees to disrupt their normal sleep patterns in order to provide services around the clock. Mentions that this may provide competitive advantages. The capability to resist the mental and physiological effects of sleep deprivation will fundamentally change current military concepts of “operational tempo” and contemporary orders of battle for the military services.
