Drink more water can improve night shift performance and protect brain from sleep deprivation: a preliminary fMRI study

Motivation: Effective countermeasures are sought for radiologists to deal with the adverse consequences of sleep deprivation (SD). Goal(s): Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was used to analyze changes in local brain activity after night shifts and after seven days' rest for radiologists, and to analyze whether increased water intake affected local brain activity. Approach: Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fraction ALFF (fALFF) were used to characterize regional neural function. Results: Compared to seven days of rest, the ALFF and fALFF values changed in some brain regions after night shift. Impact: Increased water intake during night shifts may help radiologists cope with the adverse consequences of SD.