Look at the Light, Stay Awake

All kinds of companies sell special lights that supposedly can wake up jet-lagged travelers -- or even cure the "wintertime blues." The Air Force thinks there may be something to the lamps. It's shopping for a "Short-Wavelength Countermeasure for Circadian Desynchrony."
 "An effective photic stimulus" could correct the imbalance between a person's normal sleep pattern "and the requirements for alert human performance on imposed environmental schedules (e.g., facilitate adjustments to “jet lag,” or shift work, etc.)," an Air Force request for proposals notes. Now, the trick is to figure out what exactly is the "optimal dose" of light.

For decades, the U.S. military has been tried all sorts of ways to keep its soldiers and pilots awake. During World War II, G.I.s were issued rations of amphetamines (as were German, Japanese, and British troops.) In the early days of the Afghanistan war these "go pills" were blamed for a particularly ugly "friendly fire" incident. A newer drug, modafinil, in being pushed in the military as a safer alternative, New Scientist notes.