The effect of caffeine to promote improvements in mood, cognition, and exercise performance has been well established in young and athletic adults. However, little is known about whether such nutritional ergogenic aids are effective in enhancing psychological well-being, physiological or cognitive performance in older adults. This study assesses the ergogenic effect of caffeine on mood, perceptual-motor coupling, and muscular strength in an older human population. Following a familiarization session, 12 apparently healthy volunteers (nine females and three males; 69 ± 6 years) completed two laboratory visits. “Pre ingestion” trials of mood state Brunel Mood State Inventory (BRUMS) and coincidence anticipation performance (Bassin anticipation timer) at slow (3 mph) and fast (8 mph) stimulus speeds were completed on both visits. Using a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, participants consumed either caffeine (3 mg/kg body mass) or a placebo. Sixty minutes postingestion participants repeated the trials before completing a set of 10 consecutive repetitions of maximal knee extension using isokinetic dynamometry. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was assessed following the fifth and final repetition. Caffeine ingestion significantly improved mood state scores for vigor by 17% (P = 0.009) and reduced absolute error by 35% (P = 0.045) during coincidence anticipation assessment at 8 mph compared to placebo. There were no other significant effects. Caffeine ingestion failed to augment maximal voluntary contraction of the knee extensors and RPE did not prove to be significantly different to from placebo (P > 0.33 in each case). Acute caffeine ingestion may not be an effective ergogenic aid for improving muscular strength in older adults but could possibly be used as a nutrition supplement for enhancing mood and improving cognitive performance in daily living tasks where interceptive timing skills are required.

Individualising the exposure of −110°C whole body cryotherapy: the effects of sex and body composition. Journal of Thermal Biology. 65, pp. 4147. 03064565. It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of whole body cryotherapy (WBC) on a range of thermoregulatory measures. We also sought to examine the influence of sex and body composition.A convenience sample of 18 healthy participants (10 males and 8 females) (27±6 yrs) volunteered for this study. Temperature (core, tympanic, skin and mean body), heart rate, blood pressure, and thermal comfort and sensation were recorded pre-and post-(immediately and every 5 min until 35 min post) exposure to a single bout of WBC (30s at -60°C, 150s at 110°C). Anthropometric data (height, weight, body surface area, body mass index, fat mass and fat free mass) were also recorded. No significant differences in temperature (core, tympanic, skin and mean body), heart rate, blood pressure, or thermal comfort / sensation were observed between male and females at baseline.Immediately post WBC mean body (male: 31.9 ± 0.8°C; female: 31.0 ± 0.9°C; ∆ mean body temperature: 0.9 ± 0.1°C; P ≤ 0.05, d = 0.64) and mean skin (male: 22.1 ± 2.2°C; female: 19.6 ± 2.8°C; ∆ mean skin temperature: -2.5 ± 0.6°C; d = 0.99, P ≤ 0.05) temperature was significantly different between sexes. Sex differences were also observed in regional skin temperature (male thigh, 20.8 ± 1.1°C; female thigh, 16.7 ± 1.1°C, ∆ mean thigh skin temperature: -4.1°C; d = 3.72; male calf, 20.5 ± 1.1°C; female calf, 18.2 ± 1°C, ∆ mean calf skin temperature: -2.3 ± 0.1°C; d = 3.61; male arm, 21.7 ± 1°C; female arm, 19 ± 0.4°C, ∆ mean arm skin temperature: -2.7 ± 0.3°C; d = 3.54; P ≤ 0.05). Mean arterial pressure was significantly different over time (P ≤ 0.001) and between sexes (male 0 mins: 94 ± 10mmHg; female 0 mins: 85 ± 7mmHg; male 35 mins: 88 ± 7mmHg; female 35 mins: 80 ± 6mmHg; P ≤ 0.05). Combined data set indicated a strong negative relationship between skin temperature and body fat percentage 35 minutes' post WBC (r = -0.749, P ≤ 0.001) and for core temperature and body mass index in males only (r = 0.726, P ≤ 0.05) immediately after WBC. There were no significant differences between sexes in any other variables (heart rate, tympanic and perceptual variables). We observed sex differences in mean skin and mean body temperature following exposure to whole body cryotherapy. In an attempt to optimise treatment, these differences should be tak...

The aim of this study was to investigate how body thermal resistance between sexes evolves over time in the recovery period after a WBC session and to show how this parameter should be considered as a key parameter in WBC protocols. Eighteen healthy participants volunteered for the study (10 males and 8 females). Temperature (core and skin) were recorded pre- and post (immediately and every 5 min until 35 min post) exposure to a single bout of WBC (30 s at -60 °C, 150 s at -110 °C). From both core and skin temperatures a bio-heat transfer model was applied which led to the analytical formulation of the body thermal resistance. An unsteady behavior presenting a similar time-evolution trend in the body insulative response is shown for both females and males, possibly due to the vasodilatation process following an intense peripheral vasoconstriction during the extreme cold. Females present a 37% higher inner thermal resistance than males when reaching an asymptotical thermal state at rest due to a higher concentration of body fat percentage. Adiposity of tissues inherent in fat mass percentage appears to be a key parameter in the body thermal resistance to be taken into account in the definition of appropriate protocols for males and females. The conclusions of this preliminary study suggest that in order to achieve the same skin effects on temperature and consequently to cool efficiency tissues in the same way, the duration of cryotherapy protocols should be shorter when considering female compared to male.

Objectives: This study compared the effect of acute caffeine ingestion on coincidence timing accuracy in younger and older adults. Methods: Thirteen young (aged 18-25 years, age: 20 ± 2 years, 7 females, 5 males) and 13 older (aged 61-77 years, age: 68 ± 6 years, 9 females, 3 males) adults, all who were habitual moderate caffeine consumers undertook measures of coincident anticipation timing performance pre-and post-acute caffeine (3 mg/kg) or placebo ingestion administered in a double blind, randomized fashion. Results: Results indicated significant pre-to-post X substance (caffeine vs. placebo) interactions for absolute (P = 0.02, Pη 2 = 0.204) and variable error (P = 0.015, Pη 2 = 0.221). In both cases, error (absolute or variable) improved pre-to-post ingestion in the caffeine condition but not in the placebo condition. There were no significant differences due to age (younger vs. older adults, P > 0.05) in any of the analyses. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that acute caffeine ingestion positively influence coincidence anticipation timing performance in both younger and older adults, who are moderate habitual caffeine consumers. Such effects might therefore be useful for older adults in enhancing ability to undertake cognitive-perceptual tasks which involve interceptive actions.