Caffeine for Athletes

Caffeine: Better Performance, With a Possible Cost to Sleep

Caffeine is found in coffee, tea and dedicated sports products. It may improve endurance and some aspects of strength and muscular performance, but the response is not uniform. Caffeine provides no carbohydrate and does not replace sleep; its main action involves blocking adenosine receptors and changing alertness and perceived effort. ISSN position stand on caffeine and exercise.

This article covers the substance itself and its use in sport. For coffee as a food and a drink, see the article on coffee.

Who might it help?

The evidence is strongest for endurance exercise, and there is also a possible benefit in some strength, jumping and muscular endurance tasks. No single number describes the improvement in every sport, and there is no certainty that more arousal means a better result. ISSN performance review.

It is worth defining in advance what you want to achieve: a faster pace at a given effort, the ability to hold power output, or completing your sets. If you feel energized after taking it but your pace, technique or performance does not improve, the feeling alone does not prove it helps with that goal.

Research doses vs. safety limits

Sports studies commonly use doses of 3–6 mg/kg, often about an hour before exercise. Lower doses can also help, and higher doses do not guarantee extra benefit. ISSN. AIS guidelines stress that doses of about 2–3 mg/kg may be effective. AIS — Caffeine.

It is important to distinguish between a protocol studied in sport and an amount suitable for self-use. According to EFSA, a single dose of up to 200 mg and a daily intake of up to 400 mg from all sources raise no safety concerns for most healthy adults. These are general assessment limits, not targets, and sensitive people may experience side effects at lower amounts. In pregnancy, the limit set is 200 mg a day from all sources. EFSA safety assessment.

For example, 6 mg/kg for a person weighing 70 kg is 420 mg in a single dose. The fact that the number comes from a research range does not make it a recommendation: it already exceeds the general daily amount of 400 mg. Do not copy the upper end of a study without accounting for your other intake, your sensitivity and your medical situation.

Coffee, gel, tablet or energy drink?

Caffeine content depends on the product and the serving size. In the FDA’s table, for example, brewed coffee in a volume of about 355 ml usually contains 113–247 mg, and an energy drink of the same volume may contain 41–246 mg. These are examples of variability, not fixed values for the product you drink. Even decaf coffee can contain a small amount. FDA — Caffeine sources.

As a purely arithmetic example, a drink with 120 mg, a tablet with 150 mg and two gels with 50 mg each add up to 370 mg. Add up the whole day, not just the product labeled a “supplement.” Do not assume that caffeine from guarana is an ingredient that doesn’t count.

Half-life and sleep

Half-life varies between people. Purely as an illustration, if it is five hours, about 100 mg of a 200 mg dose will remain after five hours and about 50 mg after ten. This is a simple model, not a personal prediction or a promise that the effect will wear off at a particular time. Caffeine kinetics — ISSN.

In a small 2013 trial, a 400 mg dose disrupted sleep even when taken six hours before bedtime. You should not conclude that every cup of coffee causes the same disruption, but neither should you conclude that being able to fall asleep means your sleep was unaffected. The trial on caffeine before bedtime.

Evening exercisers should assess the full 24 hours: does the improvement in training come with difficulty falling asleep, night waking or fatigue the next day? Instead of setting one cutoff time for everyone, you can log when you take it and how you sleep, and discuss with a professional whether to cut back or take it earlier.

Side effects, medications and withdrawal

Too much caffeine can cause tremor, anxiety, palpitations, nausea and sleep disturbances. Medications and medical conditions may change sensitivity or clearance rate. Anyone with symptoms or taking medication should check suitability with a doctor or pharmacist. Tapering gradually may ease withdrawal symptoms such as headache and fatigue. FDA — Safety and cutting back.

Never measure pure caffeine powder with a household teaspoon. Highly concentrated products can cause severe poisoning from a small measuring error. FDA warning on concentrated caffeine.

How to test it in training

Try a new product in a planned training session, not for the first time in a competition. Record the product, amount, time, other intake and athletic result, along with side effects and sleep quality. There is no need to raise the dose if the low dose already delivers the result you want. The adult guidance here is not a usage plan for children or teenagers.