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Caffeine as an Ergogenic Aid
It is a psychoactive drug affecting several powerful neurotransmitters. When consumed, it triggers changes in the same area of the brain activated by nicotine, cocaine, and heroin. Used regularly, it leads to tolerance and addiction. As many as ninety percent of athletes use it, and chances are you had a dose of it today as well.
Caffeine. Eighty to ninety percent of American adults consume it every day, and student-athletes are no exception. Increasingly, high school athletes are rivaling adults in their caffeine use, downing sodas and visiting coffee shops for caffeinated drinks. In addition, many student-athletes turn to the drug to enhance their performance. While there is evidence that caffeine enhances performance, athletes who use it need to be educated about the risks and realities of competing under its influence.

How it works

Caffeine mimics one of the body’s natural chemicals, a neuromodulator called adenosine. Normally adenosine slows down the central nervous system by inhibiting neuron firing and neurotransmitter release. As adenosine concentration builds slowly in the body over the course of a day, its inhibiting effects lead to feelings of sleepiness and, eventually, to sleep. When caffeine is ingested it binds to adenosine receptors, which does not allow adenosine to have its normal effects. So you feel less fatigued and more alert.
So why is caffeine so addictive? Recent research now shows that that caffeine releases dopamine, (the “pleasure and reward” neurotransmitter) in a part of the brain called the nucleus accubens – an area that plays an important role in all addictive drugs. Researchers believe this may explain why casual caffeine users often become dedicated, and then addicted, users.

Effects

Besides using caffeine as a way to stay alert during the day many student athletes are now turning to caffeine as a performance-enhancing agent, drinking more caffeinated beverages, especially so-called energy drinks, before games or meets. The question is does caffeine work as a performance-enhancing supplement? The answer is most likely yes, but with some major side effects.
Caffeine may boost performance depending on the student-athlete’s sport and his or her individual response to the substance. Particularly with endurance exercise, (exercise lasting 20 minutes or more), multiple studies have shown that athletes given caffeine prior to workouts in the laboratory outperform those given a placebo. More recent research has shown that caffeine can also improve performance during sprinting events lasting 90 seconds or more.
The performance enhancing effects of caffeine has not been shown to be physiological in nature, but rather due to the results of the central nervous system stimulation that caffeine provides. Caffeine has been shown to boost awareness, vigilance, and alertness, particularly during boring, long term exercise bouts. Caffeine also reduces perceived exertion, so athletes report that they don’t feel like they are working as hard. Although there are many performance-enhancing benefits to using caffeine before events, there are also major side effects involved.
Caffeine use has been shown to disrupt sleep. Caffeine increases the length of time it takes to fall asleep and decreases total sleep time. Also, consuming even a moderate amount of caffeine early in the day has been shown to reduce the quality and quantity of that night’s sleep. So even though caffeine consumption may make an athlete feel as though his or her day-to-day performance is improved, the sleep deprivation involved with prolonged use can be detrimental to his or her performance over the course of an entire sports season.
Another problem with caffeine is that most of the sources it is found in, (such as coffee, colas, and energy drinks), deprives the body of calcium. Coffee, colas, and energy drinks are high in phosphorus, and the body requires a certain phosphorus-to-calcium ratio. If your phosphorus intake is high, and you don’t ingest enough calcium, your body will pull calcium from your bones. If you look at the diets of student-athletes, and look at their calcium intake alongside their use of coffee and colas, you will see that most student-athletes are in a negative calcium balance. This in turn will create long-term health issues that will affect the student athlete later on in life.
Along with calcium intake issues, caffeine has also been shown to create two other nutritional negatives. First, since caffeine increases stomach acid, large amounts can induce upset stomach or acid reflux. Second, while caffeine is no longer believed to be a diuretic, most caffeinated beverages are not particularly a good source of hydration. If they replace water or sports drinks in an athlete’s diet, chances of dehydration increase dramatically.
Caffeine also has the ability to produce anxiety. Huge doses of caffeine are not required to produce anxiety. Studies show that 400 milligrams of caffeine, or the equivalent of a 16-ounce cup of coffee from Starbucks, is enough to induce anxiety. In the case of the student-athlete, caffeine will magnify the stress and anxiety involved with being a student and an athlete. A student-athlete who has an exam looming, a paper due, and a game coming up may down a mug or two of coffee to make it through the day, then add to this add to this the feelings of stress and anxiety already present due to the workload. Caffeine is probably making this student-athlete feel much worse, and he or she doesn’t even realize it.
Student athletes who use caffeine daily will build up a tolerance, gradually needing more and more to achieve the same effect. They’ll also develop dependence and feel like they need caffeine to function normally. The physical addiction to caffeine creates a drug dependence / drug withdrawal like effect, where the athlete may think caffeine makes them perform better, but in reality it just keeps them from feeling bad from not having it.
Finally, the most important and most severe adverse effect of caffeine is its ability to create serious health risks when mixed with other supplements. Combining caffeine and other stimulants found in dietary supplements can be a deadly mistake. If caffeine is combine with other ephedrine or ephedra based product, as often found in energy drinks, the risk for sudden cardiac issues increases tremendously.

Is it worth it?
So as an athlete you may be asking yourself is using caffeine as a performance-enhancing supplement worth it? The performance boosting effects are undeniable, but the side effects are significant as well. It is always better to address energy issues with proper diet, proper training, hydration, and rest. However, there are athletes who are looking for a “quick fix” or a boost right before competition. This is where the answer to using caffeine becomes complex.
As a high school athlete the answer is absolutely not. We don’t know whether caffeine affects a developing central nervous system differently from an adult central nervous system. This cannot be studied due to ethical reasons. What we do know is that an adolescent brain is still developing up until 18 years of age, and caffeine affects brain neurotransmitters.
In the case of the college or recreational athlete, it is up to that person to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. Once again, there is no replacement for proper diet, proper training, hydration and rest.

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