Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Energy drinks and athletes

Energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster are all the rage right now. Apparently, athletes are using them to enhance performance. This study assessed responses to energy drinks compared to placebo in athletes. The results showed athletes increased their "sporting performance by between 3% and 7%." Athletes were also able to up their performance at high intensities. The results also showed that "Energy drinks increase jump height for basketball players, muscle force and power for climbers and trained individuals, swimming speed for sprinter swimmers, hit force and accuracy for volleyball players, and the number of points scored in tennis.”

However, the energy drinks increased the frequency of insomnia, nervousness, and the level of stimulation in the hours following the competition. The researchers attributed all of the positive and negative effects to the caffeine in these energy drinks. The other ingredients did not seem to produce any benefit above the caffeine.

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