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Coffee, Tea--Or Neither

For many people, getting going in the morning requires caffeine. Coffee and other forms of caffeine, such as tea and cola, are a necessary part of the day for all kinds of people. But there is a lot of debate about whether caffeine actually helps or hurts our best efforts.

Athletes in particular want to know how caffeine affects their performance. Several studies have shown that caffeine helps athletes in endurance sports. For sports that require short bursts of energy, studies so far are inconclusive. Caffeine use led to more fatigue in some studies and better peak performance in others.

This study of 16 sprinters doesn't exactly answer the caffeine question. A couple days before the test, the sprinters stopped all caffeine. They didn't eat in the three hours before the test. An hour before the exercise test, the sprinters were given either caffeine or a placebo, without knowing which. They then did 10 sprints. This same test was repeated three times over a week.

The results showed a slight improvement in sprinting times with caffeine--but the improvement was so slight that it wasn't felt to have any practical significance. The authors felt that the response to caffeine really depends on the individual. Some sprinters consistently did better on caffeine, and some consistently did worse. Until the role of caffeine in energy-burst sports is better understood, it looks like athletes need to pay attention to the effect caffeine has on their own performance.

References: Carl D. Patton, et al. Little Effect of Caffeine Ingestion on Repeated Sprints in Team-Sport Athletes. In Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. May 2000. Vol. 33. No. 5. Pp. 822-825.

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