Focus on caffeine

[Sports Science Editor]

Most commonly drunk in coffee, tea and soft drinks, caffeine is used around the world by athletes to improve their alertness, concentration, reaction time and focus. Found naturally in leaves, nuts and seeds of various plants, caffeine is not on the WADA list of prohibited substances and does not dehydrate you when taken before or during exercise.

Caffeine has been found to help improve performance in both short and long endurance events, as well as short, high intensity intermittent exercise. While the exact reasons behind the performance benefits of caffeine remain unclear, it is thought that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, reducing the perception of effort. This is important because sport at all levels requires you to be on top of your game both physically and mentally. The brain is the control centre for the central nervous system, so if mental fatigue occurs during exercise, then your performance will be adversely affected.

The performance benefits of caffeine have been shown with doses ranging between 1-13mg/kgBM although it appears that there is no dose response above 3 mg/kgBM. Caffeine has tradionally been consumed by athletes in isolation (in powder form or commercially available pills) or in the form of coffee. More recently, caffeine is taken in combination with carbohydrate, typically in an isotonic sports drink.