At the same time, caffeine has become ubiquitous in the sporting world, where there is keen interest in better understanding the impact of caffeine on various types of exercise performance.

Ĭaffeine and its effects on health have been a longstanding topic of interest, and caffeine continues to be a dietary compound of concern in public health, as indicated by extensive investigations.

Caffeine-containing products have a range of doses per serving, from 1 mg in milk chocolate up to > 300 mg in some dietary supplements. In young adults and exercising individuals, there has also been a rise in the consumption of other caffeine-containing products, including energy drinks, ‘pre-workout supplements’, chewing gum, energy gels and chews, aerosols, and many other novel caffeinated food products. adult men and women estimated at approximately 200 mg/day in a 2009–2010 survey. In Western countries, approximately 90% of adults consume caffeine on a regular basis, with dietary caffeine consumption of U.S. Caffeine is ingested most frequently in the form of a beverage such as coffee, soft drinks and tea, although the consumption of many functional beverages, such as energy drinks, has been on a steady rise in the past two decades. The use of caffeine in conjunction with endurance exercise in the heat and at altitude is well supported when dosages range from 3 to 6 mg/kg and 4–6 mg/kg, respectively.Īlternative sources of caffeine such as caffeinated chewing gum, mouth rinses, energy gels and chews have been shown to improve performance, primarily in aerobic exercise.Įnergy drinks and pre-workout supplements containing caffeine have been demonstrated to enhance both anaerobic and aerobic performance.Ĭaffeine is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance and naturally occurs in dozens of plant species, including coffee, tea and cocoa. Other factors such as habitual caffeine intake also may play a role in between-individual response variation.Ĭaffeine has been shown to be ergogenic for cognitive function, including attention and vigilance, in most individuals.Ĭaffeine may improve cognitive and physical performance in some individuals under conditions of sleep deprivation.

Inter-individual differences in sport and exercise performance as well as adverse effects on sleep or feelings of anxiety following caffeine ingestion may be attributed to genetic variation associated with caffeine metabolism, and physical and psychological response. For example, as compared to caffeine capsules, caffeine chewing gums may require a shorter waiting time from consumption to the start of the exercise session.Ĭaffeine appears to improve physical performance in both trained and untrained individuals. Optimal timing of caffeine ingestion likely depends on the source of caffeine. The most commonly used timing of caffeine supplementation is 60 min pre-exercise. 9 mg/kg) are associated with a high incidence of side-effects and do not seem to be required to elicit an ergogenic effect. Minimal effective doses of caffeine currently remain unclear but they may be as low as 2 mg/kg body mass. Small to moderate benefits of caffeine use include, but are not limited to: muscular endurance, movement velocity and muscular strength, sprinting, jumping, and throwing performance, as well as a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic sport-specific actions.Īerobic endurance appears to be the form of exercise with the most consistent moderate-to-large benefits from caffeine use, although the magnitude of its effects differs between individuals.Ĭaffeine has consistently been shown to improve exercise performance when consumed in doses of 3–6 mg/kg body mass. Supplementation with caffeine has been shown to acutely enhance various aspects of exercise performance in many but not all studies. Following critical evaluation of the available literature to date, The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position regarding caffeine intake is as follows:

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