Megastudy discovers that caffeine can improve athletic performance



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Photo: ninikas (iStock)

I can not imagine going running in the morning without drinking a cup of coffee beforehand. It has nothing to do with sports performance; I just can not imagine doing anything without coffee. But it may be wise to prepare a coffee before training, since a new article from more than 300 studies concluded that, in reality, caffeine increased sports performance by 2 to 16%.

The researchers analyzed 21 meta-analyzes combining studies of more than 4,800 participants and published their results in the press. British Journal Of Sports Medicine. The authors summarize their work in an article for The conversation, claiming that caffeine consumption leads to improvements in sports performance. On the high end, some people could see improvements up to 16%, but the average sports performance of an average person would only increase by 2 to 6%. Nevertheless, the authors note that even a 2% increase in performance could make the difference between winning and losing a competition.

Caffeine is thought to improve endurance (number of kilometers traveled or cycled) and discrete performance (weight lifted) because of the way it binds to certain receptors in our brain. Caffeine blocks receptors that normally bind to adenosine and signal to our body that we are tired. It thus reduces the feelings of exhaustion and encourages the body to make more effort.

To apply these results to your own sports activities, the researchers noted that the average dosage to achieve these results would be about 210 to 420 milligrams of caffeine for a 150-pound person, or about two cups of coffee, consumed approximately 45 to 90 minutes before. A training. People who are not used to drinking caffeine should start with a lower dose for safety. And of course, if caffeine hurts your stomach or head, it is more likely to affect your running time.

So, what can caffeine consumption do at the right time? Improve the accuracy of tasks requiring concentration. It can also help you nap better. Seriously.

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