Molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) has been suggested as an agent capable of exerting neuromodulating effects; yet, its potential to affect brain circuits linked to alertness remains poorly examined. In this randomized controlled cross-over pilot trial, we compared acute effects of single-dose hydrogen-rich water (HRW) and caffeine on estimates by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for alertness and on Attention Network Test (ANT) subscales in 23 young healthy men and women (21.6 ± 1.3 years) who were sleep-deprived for 24 hours. Caffeine induced a significant increase in VAS-estimated alertness (1.6 points, P = 0.01); HRW also increased VAS alertness for 1.7 points on average ( P = 0.003). Both caffeine and HRW acutely affected markers of alertness in young sleep-deprived men and women. Caffeine induced a significant drop in alerting (19.9%, P = 0.01) and executive control in a 15-min follow up (7.3%, P = 0.03), while HRW caused a significant reduction in the orientation at post-administration (2.4%, P = 0.05). However, no differences were found between interventions (treatment vs. time interaction) for all evaluated outcomes of alertness ( P > 0.05), with the effects similar among interventions. HRW displayed no side effects and, therefore, might be advanced as a safe and effective alternative to caffeine for sleep deprivation, although more studies are needed to corroborate and expand these preliminary findings.

中文翻译：

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氢气与咖啡因可提高睡眠不足人群的警觉性

分子氢 (H 2 ) 已被建议作为能够发挥神经调节作用的试剂；然而，其影响与警觉性相关的大脑回路的潜力仍未得到很好的研究。在这项随机对照交叉试点试验中，我们比较了单剂量富氢水 (HRW) 和咖啡因对视觉模拟量表 (VAS) 的警觉性估计值和注意力网络测试 (ANT) 子量表在 23被剥夺睡眠 24 小时的年轻健康男性和女性（21.6 ± 1.3 岁）。咖啡因显着增加了 VAS 估计的警觉性（1.6 分，P = 0.01）；HRW 也将 VAS 警觉性平均提高了 1.7 分（P = 0.003）。咖啡因和 HRW 都会严重影响年轻的睡眠不足男性和女性的警觉性指标。咖啡因导致警觉性显着下降（19.9%，P = 0. 01) 和 15 分钟随访中的执行控制 (7.3%, P = 0.03)，而 HRW 导致给药后方向显着降低 (2.4%, P = 0.05)。然而，对于所有评估的警觉性结果（ P > 0.05），干预措施（治疗与时间相互作用）之间没有发现差异，干预措施之间的效果相似。HRW 没有显示出副作用，因此可能会作为一种安全有效的替代咖啡因来治疗睡眠不足，尽管需要更多的研究来证实和扩展这些初步发现。时间交互作用）对于所有评估的警觉性结果（ P > 0.05），干预措施之间的效果相似。HRW 没有显示出副作用，因此可能会作为一种安全有效的替代咖啡因来治疗睡眠不足，尽管需要更多的研究来证实和扩展这些初步发现。时间交互作用）对于所有评估的警觉性结果（ P > 0.05），干预措施之间的效果相似。HRW 没有显示出副作用，因此可能会作为一种安全有效的替代咖啡因来治疗睡眠不足，尽管需要更多的研究来证实和扩展这些初步发现。