Caffeine(1,3,5-trimethylxanthine) is a drug that is commonly found in many of

the items consumed by the general public on a daily basis, including coffee, tea, pop
beverages, and some types of medication. Once metabolized by the cytochrome P450
enzyme system, it can travel to the brain and cross the blood brain barrier due to its
lipophilic property. In the brain, this drug exerts its primary effect as an antagonist to
adenosine receptors due to their structural similarities. Adenosine is a locally released
hormone that acts mainly on two receptors, A1 and A2, which are found throughout the
body. Caffeine, by binding to these receptors, blocks the inhibitory activity of adenosine,
causing the release of more norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin in the brain and also
increasing circulating catecholamines. This leads to physiological effects such as
increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased respiratory rate, and can cause
increases in an individuals alertness and neurocognitive performance, especially when
one is fatigued.
Research on athletes has provided information that suggests this drug may have
an enhancing effect on performance during competition. These findings are most relevant
to endurance-based, high-intensity events such as running, cycling, swimming and
rowing. For example, Bruce et. al. did a study on rowers where they completed three
double-blind experimental trials, each separated by 3-7 days. The subjects took a pill that
contained 6mg-kg^-1 caffeine, 9mg-kg^-1 caffeine, or a placebo containing 500mg of
glucose and then 60 minutes later completed a 2000m row timed trial. During the timed
trial, data such as the subjects time for completion, ratings of perceived exertion(RPE),
and blood content were measured. The researchers discovered that by ingesting 6-9mg-
kg^-1 of caffeine approximately an hour before exercise lead to an improvement in the
rowing time trial performance. The caffeine enhanced performance by a mean of 1.3%
and 1% for the 6mg-kg^-1 and 9g-kg^-1 doses respectively compared to the placebo, as
shown by differences in time to complete the 2000m row. This difference was deemed to
be statistically significant, meaning these dosages of caffeine were likely to be
worthwhile for competitive rowers(Table 2).
This study, along with others, showed that caffeine improves performance time,
as reviewed in the tables presented by Louis Burke that summarize findings from
different studies on caffeine as an ergogenic aid, where a variety of different sports were
covered from a variety of endurance and intensity levels. As well, I myself have
experienced the boosting effects caffeine can have, and know that it does make me feel
more energetic and agile. Therefore, I do believe the studies when they say that caffeine
could potentially be useful in boosting an athletes performance during competition.
However, when looking at the various data represented in the studies, not all of them find
that caffeine boosts performance when compared to a placebo, and for the ones that do,
there wasnt always statistically significant improvements. For example, while endurance
sports had more uniformity on caffeine enhancing performance, a lot of the other
categories like short-term high performance sports and ones that are team based varied on
their results, and on whether the differences were statistically significant. While Burke in
his review considers the fact that this could be due to scientists varying on certain key
criteria, such as use of highly trained athletes and also on conditions in the lab that best
simulate real-life competition conditions, the data is a little too variable. Using a drug
such as caffeine can have dangerous side affects attached, such as nervousness,
irritability, insomnia, arrhythmia, tachycardia, elevated respiration, and gastrointestinal
disturbances that depend on the dosage and regularity of caffeine consumption. Chronic
exposure to this drug can lead to addiction and cause dysfunctions in the gastrointestinal
system, liver, renal system and musculature. Therefore, as caffeine brings about serious
side effects without guaranteed efficacy, it may be wise for athletes to avoid using
caffeine as an ergogenic aid, as the possible risks could be met with possibly insignificant
changes in their competitive abilities.